2 PC's & broadband - dummies guide needed!

alidai

Hi,

After trawling quite a few forum's on the net i am asking here if someone can help as i can't find a step-by-step solution to what i need.

I have two PC's at home, one of the is already connected to broadband (Utility Warehouse 1MB Unl) and i want the other PC to be connected also.

From what i understand, the USB modem that i got when i subscribed to broadband will not be needed as i should just buy an ADSl Router(inc modem). Then i think that i just connect the router to my phone line and then each PC to the router.

Am i correct in thinking this or not?

Also, if i am right, do i need a new card in either of the PC's? I have seen Ethernet cards everywhere but am not sure whether i'd need one.

Please help someone.

Thanks

James

p.s. sorry for the length of the post.

Graham1

Yes, if you don't mind laying Ethernet cable buy an Ethernet card for each PC (some newer PCs already have these built in on the system board) and connect these to the router. If you want to save a little bit then one PC can be connected to the USB port on the router if it has one (most do).

The more expensive "wireless" option is a wireless router and a wireless interface card for each PC. Costs more but no cabling to do and you can move machines around the house without having to lay new cables.

alidai

cheers Graham,

i am looking to go for the Ethernet cable option because i can't see me moving the PC's in the near future. How would i find out whether the PC's have an Ethernet card in them? The computer that is already connected to Broadband was built by my step-dad about a month ago and is pretty up-to-date. The other is a Time Computer (rubbish i know) that was bought by my parents about a year ago.

James

gavinp

A network adapter (RJ45) has a socket in it which looks like a larger version of a modem socket (RJ11).

This page has a picture of a network card and socket so you can see what you are looking for:

http://www.cableuniverse.co.uk/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=23_49&products_id=855

You don't need the card shown on this page - you can buy a 10/100 card (which is plenty fast enough) for around a fiver - the link is for the picture only.

Thanks

Gavin

D.A.

Or you could of course do without buying the router, and turn on Internet Connection Sharing on the PC which is already connected to the Internet. You would of course then need to connect the other PC to this one, and the first PC would need to be turned on to allow you to access the Net from the other PC, but hey.