After you configure Internet Connection Sharing in Windows Vista, you may find that, although the network connection works correctly at first, the network connection stops working after one-to-two hours. For example, you may be unable to connect to the Internet, to other computers on the local area network (LAN), or to network resources on the LAN.

In some scenarios, the Network Discovery and File Sharing dialog box may be unexpectedly minimized to the taskbar in Windows Vista. The Network Discovery and File Sharing dialog box may contain prompts that affect how files and folders are shared on the computer.

For example, the Network Discovery and File Sharing dialog box may be waiting for an answer to a prompt. However, you may not notice the prompt immediately because it is minimized. Therefore, you may unnecessarily wait for the prompt because the dialog box is minimized. In some scenarios, a sharing progress bar may appear on the screen. However, the progress bar never finishes.

This problem may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

• While the computer is connected to a network, you turned off Network Discovery and File Sharing.
• You tried to share a file or a folder.