Is this possible? Help please!

mrsfrench

After much deliberation I have finally got a laptop! However, when I went to connect to the internet it said there was no modem. At the moment I am connected to the internet on dial-up on a desktop pc. My question is.....

Can I connect my laptop in some way? It has a 'wireless' button and shows other connections (probably neighbours I would think). The pc runs XP and the laptop is on Vista until my Windows 7 disk arrives. Can I have both machines connected at the same time and do I need to buy any new equipment.

Many thanks in advance for reading.

Eric_Pisch

Dial up is really only of use for very casual web surfers and the performance is drivel at best.

you can share an internet connection between windows computers, you will need a network to connect the PCs together (Cable, switch, wifi), but on dial up i wouldn't bother.

Ideally you should get a broadband connection with a wifi modem (most will supply this). The cost is only a few pounds a month.

samknows will tell you what connection you can get

http://www.samknows.com/broadband/search.php

Marty_J

Why are you using dial-up. I can't imagine it's much cheaper than a broadband connection (if you have Sky, you can get one very cheaply). Unless you're in an area with no broadband access, I'd suggest you consider upgrading. Many ISPs will provide you with a wireless router free of charge; you can connect your desktop to this with an ethernet cable, and your laptop wirelessly.

totalsolutions

You do need to upgrade to BB. However a modem only has one serial lead to connect to one PC. You would need to swap the lead over then configure the laptop for dial up and enter your ISP telephone number(!) and your username and password, which you will find in the desktop's dial up properties box. ICS is available but rarely works correctly.

Might be quicker to use the coffee shops wireless portal.
Until you get home networking up and running you are stuck in dinosaur land with no networking, no sharing files between computers, no printer sharing.. you cannot exist without a router.. it is now a basic human right for internet access.

Edit
You might be paying to much for dial up at a cost per minute basis + min. connection fee.
Good Luck.

BillScarab

If you in an area covered y Virgin Cable broadband it's well worth considering it. It's not the cheapest but you can get up to 50Mbps, even their slowest offering is 10Mbps.

If you get broadband get a router ( a lot of ISP's provide them) and then you can connect more than one machine to the net at the same time.

maxtweenie

Are your neighbours wireless connections password protected? If not, I'm sure they'll never know if you just connect to them.

(Disclaimer - No, I am NOT serious, but if they're stupid enough to do it....)

macman

If you really want to persist with dial up the you will need to buy a USB modem. Plenty of secondhand ones on eBay for a fiver or less. Modern laptops do not have built in modems, as dial up is effectively obsolete.
But as most replies have indicated, you can probably get broadband for as little as dial up. then you can use your laptop wirelessly or via ethernet and router.

davester

56k moderm that use the dial up connection are disappearing from all computers now. you would have connected your internet to your network card which looks very similar, however is not the same thus you not connecting to the internet.

There are many Broadband and landline phone deals that you might find is much cheaper than how your paying for your internet right now.

It would be also rare to not have wifi on your laptop which you could then have a wifi router and then you can move around your house with your laptop and do what you wanted anywhere, great for emailing on the sofa, webcaming your cooking lessons from your kitchen, or even instant messageing on the loo.:D

Donnie

totalsolutions wrote: »

You do need to upgrade to BB. However a modem only has one serial lead to connect to one PC. You would need to swap the lead over then configure the laptop for dial up and enter your ISP telephone number(!) and your username and password, which you will find in the desktop's dial up properties box. ICS is available but rarely works correctly.

Might be quicker to use the coffee shops wireless portal.
Until you get home networking up and running you are stuck in dinosaur land with no networking, no sharing files between computers, no printer sharing.. you cannot exist without a router.. it is now a basic human right for internet access.

Edit
You might be paying to much for dial up at a cost per minute basis + min. connection fee.
Good Luck.

Clearly this won't work if the laptop doesn't have a dial up modem. Most don't these days.

Donnie

macman wrote: »

If you really want to persist with dial up the you will need to buy a USB modem. Plenty of secondhand ones on eBay for a fiver or less. Modern laptops do not have built in modems, as dial up is effectively obsolete.
But as most replies have indicated, you can probably get broadband for as little as dial up. then you can use your laptop wirelessly or via ethernet and router.

Some Toshibas still do. Useful when travelling the world.

andy2004

The wireless switch on the laptop means its got WI-FI built in, all you need is a modem router. This is plug into your internet connection, wired to your PC, via ethernet and is also wireless, meaning the laptop can pick up the connection anywhere in the house.
They range in price, you can pick one up for around £40.
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/Networking-Wireless/WirelessRouters/DSLRoutersNTL/Virgin/Novatech/NOV-DSL54.html <example all depends on the broadband connection the type you need to get, this 1 will work with virginmedia.

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/Networking-Wireless/WirelessRouters/ADSLRoutersBTLine/Novatech/NOV-54ADSL.html <this one for BT

I'm personally with Virginmedia as i have the telephone package aswell.