i was wandering if there is a easy way to network 2 pc's on cable internet without buying routers and such using one as a master and slave setup??? both pc's are running xp2

It is very very easy under one of two circumstances:

1) If you have two network cards in one of the machines (this can be 1 wifi card and one ethernet card I guess, but sounds like you might not have wifi)

*or*

2) Your cable modem hooks up via USB (so the network adapter on one machine can be used to get the other one online).

Simple setup: Enable internet sharing and/or bridge the two network connections together in the network settings - basically, you would plug the master computer into the modem (by USB or 1st network card), then plug the slave into the 2nd network card of the master (hence why you need 2 cards).

If you do not fit into either category, then, no, it is not easy. And, really, a router is so easy to configure and very cheap these days. $19.99 gets this wireless + wired one (4 wired ports to let 4 computers on the network):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=115743&Sku=L48-2024&SRCCODE=PRICEGRABBER&CMP=OTC-PRICEGRABBER

With a deal like that, why would you possibly want to skimp? :)

I suggest spending the $20 + shipping, it's even cheaper than buying another network card. Just be sure to TURN OFF the wireless part of that thing since you won't likely be using it.

PS - Tigerdirect gets great reviews online, it's a secure place to order, hundreds of thousands of people do business w/them every day.

Shifty can you explain what a router does, how and if a router would work for me please? I have DSL, 2 puters, one isnt hooked up right now and was wondering about using a router. Do the puters work independently of each other? I would like to run the second puter just for pics and music, while still being able to go online. Any info sure would be helpful. The link above to a $20 router sure looks enticing! Hope this isnt hijacking the thread too much.

think of a router as doing to internet kinda what a power strip does for electricity. basically, a router has one input port where you feed it internet and then it has one or several output ports. you feed the internet in, it builds a private little network for you and any computer that you plug into it gets put on that network - so in addition to being able to share the internet, they can also talk to each other. to add icing to the cake, a router will also stop people from getting to your computers in a lot of cases (it acts as a firewall).

honestly, i swear that connecting directly to your modem with no router these days is about one of the stupidest things anyone can do. the only way you can you could possibly one-up it is by connecting directly to your modem without any software firewall turned on :).

i've explained all the things that a router will accomplish, but not really how it works ... or have i? they call it a "router" because it acts like a castle wall - when people come knockin' (invited or not) the router decides whether it should open the door and let that traffic enter or not and decides which computer to send it to (hence the term "router"). most modern routers have features which allow you to configure it to use a username/password combo so you can authenticate with your DSL company or if your cable company is finicky you can set it up to mock like it's your computer so they won't know you're using one.

when using a router with a cable connection, the first time you power it up, you'll need to turn off your modem and leave it off for a good 5-10 minutes so it will clear out configuration data, otherwise chances are you won't be able to connect to the internet using the router right off the bat. this is usually not the case with DSL users.

i'll be happy to answer any more questions if you got em. i hope this stuff makes sense. it's a little late and i'm a little tired :)

Thanks! That pretty much explains it for me. Next Question is.......Are they all about the same? Like that one you posted a link to above, or should I look for something else? I think I will be buying one for sure now.

honestly when it comes to home network stuff I typically stick with one of two companies: Linksys or SMC. Both make a great product, excellent support and whatnot. A lot of people swear by Netgear, I use their switches a lot, but I don't necessarily like thier routers.

The only thing I will definitively say is this: If you know you will not be using wireless, either do not buy a wireless router or be sure the first thing you do is turn the wireless off on your router. and if you can't figure out how to turn it off, post the model number of the router here so someone (probably me) can help you turn it off.

Do not trust off-name brands for routers unless it's Hawking (pretty solid cheaper brand, but not at the top of my list). I refuse to buy Microsoft, Belkin and Siemens/Speedstream routers and suggest to everyone I know just the same.

Thanks again Shifty. I will let ya know what and when I buy. Probablly need help from you to hook it up! :)

Honestly, it's really easy to set a router up. Most routers have jacks on the back of them for network cables. One is always labelled "WAN" and it goes to your DSL or cable modem. The other one (or group) is called "LAN" and this is where you plug your computers in.

Almost all reputable routers come with a "quick setup" CD - Linksys has a great one. Installation is literally almost always this easy:

- Turn off your modem, plug its network jack into the WAN port of the router and leave it off
- Plug the computer into the router using a network cable
- Power up the router only
- Pop the CD into your computer, the CD will connect you to the thing and walk you through configuration steps.
- You may need to power up the router at some point during the last step. If it's a cable modem, I suggest leaving the modem off for at least 5-10 minutes.

The most important thing you could EVER do is read this small post I put together at a gaming forum I'm admin on :

http://myunreal.com/showpost.php?p=528609&postcount=2

It pertains to both wired and wireless routers. All of the points in there are totally valid - the part about using WPA and setting it up (Step 5) might be a little dated and the process may not work for you in particular, but you should set up security if you're using wireless and you should not use WEP! Use WPA.

Again, read the article. It covers basic security concepts which are very important like "how to create a password", "which passwords to change", etc.

I'm always around if you got questions :) I know this stuff might seem complex, but the learning curve is actually quite small and our trucks sometimes make this stuff pale in comparison!

I have a Hawking 809 wiFi/4 wired router.. It has worked well for about 18 months so far. Took about 5 minutes to set up and get basic functionality going -- another ten to get the wiFi safely locked down. (Most of that time due to my own sluggishness in understanding the options.)

One complaint I did have is that it was a pita to get games to work with it since games often use obscure ports.

"Port forwarding" is a breeze. A lot of the new Linksys devices come with preconfigured dropdown menu options to open the firewall for certain games.

:tj:


you should set up security if you're using wireless and you should not use WEP! Use WPA.


So should I dump my Motorola SBG9000 in favor of something else since it only has WEP?

I like the all in one cable modem/router/wireless convenience--at the time I don't think Linksys offered an all in one. Looks like they have the WCG200 now. . .

It's up to you - WEP security is better than no security. If you have the option of WEP *and* WPA, got with WPA. Most people won't try to hack a WEP network unless they're reaally curious person like I am. I have all the tools readily available on my laptop to hack into WEP based network pretty quickly (if it's using plain jane stock config w/WEP). I use this a lot while travelling though, and I'm in securities, so I guess you need to consider that also (remember though - kids are incredible at picking up things like this).

Linksys and Netgear both have a modem+router+wireless device out now. They're great from what I ehar, but some DSL/Cable companies may not support the device. You need to call and ask before purchasing and expect the cost to be ~$50-150 for the device (worth every penny if you rent).

You might be able to do WPA on that Motorola. You should look into updating the firmware - maybe it's an option w/the newest firmware?

thanks shifty i was thinking of getting a router to put them both on just wanted to see if there was a way of doing it with out one

There is - and it's actually really easy if you have XP (actually everything is easier and more streamlined with XP, not sure why some people are scared to upgrade).

The main problem is that no matter how you slice it, you're going to need some kind of hardware at some point, unless you've got a modem that uses a USB plug (as a lot of DSL modems do have). Almost all cable or DSL modems come with a network cable interface (ethernet), some come with both USB interface and network interface and some of the super cheap ones are USB only. In your case, you'd either want to score a USB+ethernet modem (if possible), or score an add'l PCI network card (if you got several laying around, it would work), or score a router (makes your network super-expandable).

If you want a network card, I got several laying around, would probably cost ~ $4.50 to USPS priority mail to you (no tracking info, that costs xtra). I can take Paypal - it's your call. It should work out fine for you, I'm using it in a computer I built yesterday using spare parts.

Another question please. And I havent read the assignment you gave me yet, shifty, so if the answer is in there tell me again to read it.
One of my puters is XP the other is ME can I still hook em up to the same router?

yes, you can. however, ME does not natively support WPA encryption. if you're not using wireless, this does not matter and a simple "yes you can" will suffice :)

Cool! I am going shopping! :metal:

hey shifty, does this info also apply to dial-up?

thanks, Bernie

No. Dialup users typically don't need to worry about getting hacked, to be honest. It's really hard to work with/on a computer that's on dialup once you've hacked it b/c it's so slow.

There are ways to share a dialup connection though - if both computers have a network card and one of them is using XP (preferrably the one with the dialup connection and modem setup on it), it's quite easy to share the internet connection. If you want to have more info, create a new post and I'll help you set it up.