Help Needed Please!!!

loobylou2

Hi, hope someone out there will be able to help me with this as I"m not a techie and am completely confused about what to do next.

I currently have an Acer Desktop PC which is connected to Broadband internet via my Virgin Media cable connection as they provide our television and phone services. I have also just purchased a Dell Vostro 1000 laptop and want to get this set up for the internet too. Could anybody please tell me what I need to do to get this sorted out as I"m unsure what sort of router etc I need to buy. I rang Virgin but they weren't particularly helpful and I"m completely stuck. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

espresso

loobylou2 wrote: »

Hi, hope someone out there will be able to help me with this as I"m not a techie and am completely confused about what to do next.

I currently have an Acer Desktop PC which is connected to Broadband internet via my Virgin Media cable connection as they provide our television and phone services. I have also just purchased a Dell Vostro 1000 laptop and want to get this set up for the internet too. Could anybody please tell me what I need to do to get this sorted out as I"m unsure what sort of router etc I need to buy. I rang Virgin but they weren't particularly helpful and I"m completely stuck. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you very much.

Assuming that your new laptop has wireless, you will need to buy a wireless router e.g. one of these here. This will allow the desktop to connect using an Ethernet cable and the new laptop to connect over wireless and share the broadband connection.

liam_h

You need to make sure it is a cable router. If you're not sure, go to PC World and ask a member of staff to point one out. Then have a shop around after you know what to get

BillScarab

My personal recommendation would be for a Netgear WGR614, £31.99 ont he link espresso provided. I use one with Virgin Cable and have never had a problem.

marleyboy

I am currently with VM, I use the "Belkin Wireless G router" the cheapest I could find, this gives you 4 wired connections on top of the wireless.

foreversomeday

You don't need wireless, I might add, if you only plan on using the laptop to access the internet in the same room as the PC.

This may be something to think about if you want to save money, but wireless is useful and it's generally no slower than a physical connection to the router.

As people have mentioned, make sure you get a cable router as opposed to a modem router.

HTH.

loobylou2

Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it, will pop into PC world after I"ve picked the kids up from school and see what they say.

BillScarab

I wouldn't bother with PC World. Just order one from the list espresso provided. There are stickies on here about configuring it and you can always ask if you have problems. I would always recommend buying a well known brand of router though such as netgear, Linksys or Belkin.

loobylou2

Thanks everyone for your help. I"ve ordered the Netgear WGR614, and it should arrive on friday. Fingers crossed I"ll be able to get it up and running quickly.