laptop and pc from 1 connection?

[Mandy]

hello,

can anyone help me... i am getting my son a laptop for xmas and would like to know how we both can get on the internet at the same time... i have only one cable connection...also does anyone know if there is a way to connect to the net with my pc, without a stupid wire running from the cable connection on the wall all the way through the house...do i need a wireless modem for this?? not sure exactly what it is...

thanks for any help

 

[Blane]

It all depends on what you want and The distance between the computers. You stated that you don't want a wire running through the house so you have to get a wireless router and a wireless notebook adapter for the laptop unless the laptop has wireless inside of it already. Then there's different flavors of wireless,a,b, and g. Explaining it all would be crazy but, a quick google search on (wireless help) should do.

 

[dx]

do i need a wireless modem for this?? not sure exactly what it is...

thanks for any help

Get a wireless router. You can share several wired and non-wired connections with one... I do.

The laptop will probably be wireless B or G... so just pick up a G, as the protocols are backward compatable.

 

[LTR12101B]

If the laptop does not have wireless built in, it can be added with a PCMCIA card, but on many, it's either built in, or an option that can be added.

You put your location as UK, so I'm assuming this is either NTL or Telewest.

So you use THEIR Cablemodem or STB, with an Ethernet connection to a Wireless router - NOT an ADSL model!

If you're only splitting broadband, 802.11b (11 Megabit) is plenty - if you want fast transfer between machines (and the laptop HAS the faster - 54 Megabit, 802.11G) then going for the faster version is worthwhile - in a mixed B/G setup, any connection involving a B will be at the 11 Megabit speed, while G to G connetions with a B connected or in range will be degraded.

There are faster (G+) speeds, but these are not a true standard - also, you may not reach the full speed unless the signal is good or above (and it can fall off quite badly if the signal has to pass acutely through a wall)

You also need to think about security, use a WEP key at the very least - some systems will also work with non-broadcast SSID, but I've seen setups that just will not work that way - or which cannot combine WEP and non-broadcast.


If you do not secure wireless well, you'll be amazed how far the signal goes in directions you don't want it to, and how popular you'll be as a free Wifi hotspot!

 

[scarecrow]

Simplest way, IF your main puter connects to the modem via an ethernet adapter is buying a small ethernet hub (costing less that 30 bucks), plugging there your main puter, your laptop and your ethernet modem/router, and setting your main box as DHCP server... Optimal for a puter to act as DHCP server is having TWO ethernet interfaces, but nevertheless on XP (pro) or 2000 server you can do it with just one NIC interface.