Help! Broadband on 2 computers...Help!

[Zumina]

ah, what a think tank the friendly corner here on AO is.

[~Backdraft~]

I'm sure XspyX greatly appreciates all of these responds unfortunately he can't access the internet right...i'll will call him and read this stuff out to him and hopefully he can try and figure it out...thankyou everyone for helping a fellow ao member out!

[steveg]

hi you guys like to make life complicated. I have two 98se
computers and occasionally a linux box all internet sharing

there are two methods

mine which is a linksys befsr11 (1 port) router and a hub

the second being a linksys befsr41 it is a router and 4 port
switch

the second is the more elegent because it doesn't require
the hub

with each computer you set the IP address to "obtain an IP address automatically" and thats it.

the cable or adsl plugs into the router, and thats all the ISP sees.
here in new brunswick i have a fixed IP that is programed into the router (through your browser)

in ontario I had a dynamic IP but the router could handle that as well.

now the router has a function built in called DHCP
dynamic host configuration protocol. this assigns each computer connected to the router its own IP neat huh
my router can assign 256 addresses, in fact after I bought
mine and showed it to our IT guy, he bought one for the company serving about 25 people,
just plugged it into a network hub and away it went WAY more reliable that software
internet serving.

Now why a router over software sharing ? you don't need to have both computers turned on

so my suggestion based on what work for me, return the hub
and get a linksys befsr41 router, it has 4 ports, the manual is great, setup is laughable easy.
just checked circuitcitys web site they are $100us or $150can.
by the way there are other brands besides linksys and some
include print servers as well GO GET EM

[shartley]

Also good...

Steveg,

[cphilip]

So amusing...Me? Two iMacs and a cross over cable...allow file sharing on each and poof! Two on one. Life is so simple with Apple.

Now if I just had a decent phone line so I could get more than 26400...

[Miscue]

Originally posted by steveg

Now why a router over software sharing ? you don't need to have both computers turned on

The other advantage of using a hardware router is speed... response times... etc. Not really an issue unless you have a somewhat large network... or perhaps if you're playing LAN games. Great thing about software solution: it's free.

Haven't played with the LinkSys routers... but I like the SMC's... they pretty much do same stuff as typical Cisco router... except not remotely programmable.

[Thordic]

Originally posted by cphilip
So amusing...Me? Two iMacs and a cross over cable...allow file sharing on each and poof! Two on one. Life is so simple with Apple.

Yeah, simple like Forrest Gump. It may run fast, but it isn't good for much.

(I used that analogy a few times when I worked at CompUSA and people asked about iMacs...)

They are good computers, hardware wise, their OS is ehhh, but looking at Microsoft OS's you cant say much, but the compatability issue is the major factor. True, you can get OS Clones for the Mac, but I've heard tons of complaints about their reliability and thier demand on system resources.

Oh well.. I won't complain about Macs any more today

(Before anyone asks, yes, I did own one for a while. Then I sold it when I realized I hated it )

[cphilip]

Good one Thordic. But I will say that they are great little Surfers and Homework thingies though. And so easy to link together and net work. Nothing but a cross over cable needed.

No... I don't use one at work though. I work with Microsoft OS's there always have. Also you need to look agian at the OS lately. Not X but 9.2 and now X.1. You might change your mind a little. And see how much sofware Microsoft is making for Mac OS. Almost 15% of thier business last I heard.

However I do need to tell you my Wife just got in a Power Mac G4 with the dual processors in last Friday. Let me tell you that will kick your butt big time. You ought to look at one of them. Her first ever Mac product and she is loving it. It's awesome. Trust me.

[Thordic]

yeah, I've used the Duel G4's before, I know they are nice hardware.

As for the iMac I owned, it was OS10, I think? maybe OS9.

But in any case, 15% is still a very low level for any sort of compatability. It means you are incompatable with 85% of the world

I knew a guy who was about as much of a die-hard Mac addict as you could get, he owned a business that involved digital video editing and that sort of stuff, and used macs exclusively for that work.

But besides the graphics stuff, he ran his business off PCs because he needed to be able to easily interact with other companies and clients.

[cphilip]

I didn't say "compatable" on the 15%. I said that was the market share they make for Apple stuff. MS Word for Apple being the main one. And there is no problem interfacing with any other system that I have ever run into. Over 20% of our users here at Clemson Use Macs. All oour graphics arts gusy do. A lot of academia started adn still swears by them. Now mind you I am not a Mac guy but I am aware theya re here to stay. And we all talk and share stuff. In fact some of our servers are Macs. Al of use Unix and same thing. We all talk. Maybe not some kinds of software acalable but if I send you a word, excel, power point or whatever that was made on a Mac you would never know it. And if I send you an email on one you would never know it either. Incompatable? Not any more.

[Miscue]

OS X is sweet. I'd love to have a Mac if I had the money for it.

[XspyX]

Hey, Got the internet back up on one computer. We took back all the networking stuff and got out $$$ back. The mother was quite angry with me so she trashed the idea.

BUT! I have a new idea...

Right now we have the cable modem hooked to the Dell. There is Cat-5 coming from the modem to the comp. My idea is simply to run cat-5 into my room and leave the other end next to the box. Then, when I want to use the net, i just unplug the dell and hook up mine.

What I need to know is, how do I configure my computer so I can use the cable internet?

I would only need the net in my room during the night anyway, thats why its not a problem to just switch the cat-5 over manually.

So, would this work?

Oh, thanks for all the info but most of it was just TOO much. I learned some stuff though.

One system has 98SE and the other has 98FE. The dell is 933mhz and mine is 500mhz. 192 megs of ram each. Both have the ethernet cards.

[Tunaman]

Linksys router

Buy the linksys router. It is excellent. I have 2 computers setup with it right now. Let me know if you need specific help. I am an ace with the Linksys routers also. And you will have to reset the power on the cable modem each time you switch computers.

[joeyjoe367]

From my understanding, In order to share a Cable Internet connection you need to do 2 things:

1. Buy an Extra IP adress for each extra computer

2. Buy a Router, not a HUB

If i'm wrong about this, someone tell me How.

[XspyX]

Well, considering only one computer would be using the internet at a time, I don't see why you would need another IP. I just unplug the computer currently on and plug myslef into the box. So I could use the same IP. I just need to know how to set it up so it would work. Like the settings and numbers and stuff like that...???