LAN question

[Maverick]

Hi there,

I need some assistance on setting up a small LAN. I want my son to be able to use the DSL modem in my system while we are online and to be able to swap files easier.

System specs are this, both almost identical.

AMD 1.8 gig
521 megs ram
DFI mobo
win xp

We tried the linksys wire system with my puter being host. No luck it keeps saying there is no connection using a cross over or straight connection wire. It's an older card linksys and I'm tired of tinkering with it.

Now I have a lap top (win xp) with a wireless system on it (802.11) as well as WIFI and was thinking of getting a LAN for all 3.

Here is the main question. What do I need to make this work for all 3 puters? Do I just need the wireless cards for the table tops or do I need them pluss a router?

Linksys seems the most prevalent but there is another brand out there called Belter. Are they any good as they are about half the cost of the lynksys. Right now I'm not too fond of linksys due to the problems I have had so far.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance. PS please type slowly and use small words for the puter challenged here.

Mav

[zmeg]

The crossover cable should have worked, no dought one of the net cards was bad, I've had 3 linksys nc100 cards go bad but all other linksys products have worked very well. Alot of people are having problems with linksys routers, I would try something else.

[DAVENRINO]

Is your son's puter in a different room?  Most wireless routers also have 4 wired ports so you don't need wireless cards for puter(s) in same room as router.  If you go wireless to your son's puter, I wouldn't reccomend the USB type card if he also used it for gaming.  You also  may want to get the same standard as your laptop.  The new 802.11G is faster = $$.  If your laptop is 11B it will still work with most 11G routers but none of your 11G cards will be any faster than 11B.

I have no problems with my Linksys WRT54G hardwired to desktop and wireless to laptop.  Lotta people like the Netgears, also.  Read a lot of bad reviews  on Dlink.

If you go wireless, make sure you set up ALL the security features.

DJ229 - AIR MAFIA

[Maverick]

Daverino,

Both systems in same room, side by side. I just couldn't get the wire system to work at all even after XP.

[DAVENRINO]

Is the Linksys a router or just a hub?  You really need a router if you want to share the internet connection.  If you don't plan to use the laptop anywhere else in the house, you can connect all 3 with a standard 4 port hardwire router and connect each through it's ethernet NIC. I think you can get a wired router for as low as $30.  A router gives you the added benefit of a hardware NAT firewall.  You may have to open ports 2000=5000 to play AH.  Insructons were very good with mine.

DJ229 aka Dave

[Maverick]

Guys,

We went away from the original question. I still need to know what equipment I need to get to make this work. I know I need the wireless cards to put into the table tops. Do I need to get the wireless router as well or will the puters all link up without the router? This is all very new to me and I have almost no LAN experiance.

Mav

[DAVENRINO]

You don't need a wireless anything unless you want to connect with the laptop from another part of the house.  All machines close enough to the router to connect by cable need only an ethernet network card or onboard equivalent.  

I think I misunsderstood your original question.  I thought your "linksys wire system" was a router or hub.  Now I see it is juast a second network card.  It is possible to pass through  connect with just a crossover cable, but I have no experience with that setup and you couldn't make it work.

If no one can help with your original attempt, the simplest/cheapest solution is an inexpensive hardwired router.  You already have the cards you need in the desktops (you didn't say if the laptop has an ethernet port) and the router will let you use the second puter without the master being on, and give you some hardware firewall protection as well.

Good Luck,
DJ229

[Maverick]

Daverino,

Thanks. I guess I need to get the router then. I'll go wireless since after a few months I'll be linking the laptop and table top only and the lap top only has te wireless setup now.

The modem in my table top in the mean time is a DSL. Later I'll go satelite when we start RVing accross the country next sumer. We'll be without a permanent location until we decide to settle down again. Being retired gives options.  

[DAVENRINO]

Dang,
This keeps getting more complicated.  Your DSL modem is internal?  The router has to go between the modem and the computers.  Most broadband modems are external.  I am not sure how you are gonna make that work.
DJ229

[beet1e]

Mav,

I have a mini network set up between mine and Tomato's PC, and it works fine. You don't necessarily need a router. You need two NICs but your DSL modem is acting as one of those. If your mobo does not have onboard LAN, you need a network card in yours. The cross over connection runs from your network card to your son's LAN connector. Your IP address will be 192.168.01 and your son's will be 192.168.0.2.

If you're still struggling, I'll send you all my notes. It's not hard to set up, just fiddly.

One other thing - if you have a firewall like Zone Alarm Pro, you need to tell it that YOUR computer is a gateway to the internet. You'll want to define the connection as shared, and share printer etc. We got all that working too.

[beet1e]