Cheapest/Easiest way to Home Network 20 September 2004 at 9:44PM in Broadband & Internet Access 7 replies 2.4K views

david5151

I have just ordered Tesco's Broadband package and would like to know the easiest/cheapist way to wirelessly connect my 2 home computers to both use broadband when it arrives.
Both run Windows XP and 1 has got a 10/100 Mbps Network Card Onboard.
Once they are networked can they both use the internet at the same time?

Thanks In Advance
David

woo

i use a netgear wireless modem / router and an wireless ethernet bridge on my pc's. means i didn't have to open the pc up as it plugged straight into my ethernet port. you can also get usb wireless devices. these are all straight forward to configure.

david5151

Is it just the Netgear wireless modem/router i need to go on the PC without the network card or do i need something else?
Sorry for asking maybe obvious questions but I am not sure exactly what i need and how to do this.

Cheers
David

Woby_Tide

if you're going wireless by rights the network card isn't going to help much I think unless one of them is next to the connection/router where you can just use ethernet cable rather than an extra wireless device. Depending on what broadband you are using i.e. NTL or an ADSL/BT style setup will determine if you just need a router or a router with built in modem. Once you have that then you either have to choose to add a couple of wireless network cards into any spare PCI slots on your PC's or buy the plug and play USB adaptors. A good starting point may be someone like https://www.dsl-warehouse.co.uk, you can usually e-mail them or do a live chat with them about your requirements and they can give you info and suggested products etc. Then you can choose if they are cheaper or get your equipment elsewhere(in my case they were fairly competitive and quick to deliver so I was happy with them).

And yes both PC's will be able to access internet

david5151

Thanks Woby_Tide for the info

Chippy_Minton

I'm using the Netgear DG834G wireless ADSL router with a USB wireless adapter to network 2 PCs wirelessly and share a broadband connection. They work flawlessly together.

Several online shops sell these 2 devices as a bundle, including Simply.

My main PC (with integrated network) is connected to the router using the supplied Cat5 Ethernet cable (giving 100Mbs performance) and the other PC uses the USB wireless adapter. One advantage of the USB device is that it has a 1.5 metre cable allowing you to position it on shelf etc. for improved reception - something you can't do with a PCI wireless network card.

david5151

Trying to get my head round what i need to buy to network my 2 pc's, one which has a 10/100 mbps network card already installed, to both share a adsl internet connection.

Can i just buy 2 of these, "54mb wireless pci network card 54g speed 802.11g wifi", as seen on e-bay @ £23.80 and fit one to each pc and remove the 10/100 network card which is already fitted.Will this work without buying a router?

OR

Do i need to buy a router and connect the new computer which has 10/100 mbps network card already installed to the router or modem(not sure which) and then fitting a "54mb wireless pci network card 54g speed 802.11g wifi" to the other computer.

Thanks for your replies in advance

David(I'm no network expert)

Chippy_Minton

David,

It depends whether the Tesco broadband modem has a built-in wireless router. If not then your second option of buying a _wireless_ router and 1 wireless PCI card would work. Your new computer would connect via network cable to the router (better for configuring the router and upgrading its firmware) and the other computer would have a wireless connection to it. The router connects to the modem which connects to your filtered telephone socket.

See this thread for some useful information.