never networked before..where do i start

[philzee]

HI, I have a PC in my main room of the house running win98se that is connected to the internet via a netgear FA311 and a Motorola SB4100 cable modem.
My question is...How do I connect this to my sons PC in his bedroom upstairs? what do i need to buy?
To make things clear I want to connect his computer to my computer not his computer to the internet.....
Any advice is much appreciated ;)

[YODA74]

this should explane everything you need and how to hook it up

http://www.wown.com/

[philzee]

Thanks Yoda....seems a good site....a bit heavy for this time of night though (10:55pm BST) I'll have a proper look in the morning lol:D

[Gallaeglagh]

If you just want your 2 comps connected and nothing more get NICs for both comps and use a crossover cable.

I'm not sure why you gave the info on the router and cable modem if you don't want your son to share the internet.

[philzee]

Originally posted by Gallaeglagh
I'm not sure why you gave the info on the router and cable modem if you don't want your son to share the internet.

I gave the info because I didn't know if it would be relevant or not so i put it in anyway to avoid a case of "you never told us you had that already" type of thing :)

[Gallaeglagh]

ok, fair enough I thought I was missing something. Another thing you could do is run a wireless network or there are some newer options such as a LAN through the home wiring or telephone lines - a lot less messy but not as fast or as proven.

[philzee]

Originally posted by Gallaeglagh
If you just want your 2 comps connected and nothing more get NICs for both comps and use a crossover cable

can i have 2 nic's in one pc? if one connected to cable modem and other one to other PC would that not cause problems?
and what is a crossover cable...do i just ask for that from computer store?

[Gallaeglagh]

I believe you need Win 2000 or maybe XP for 2 NICs, otherwise you can try the old switcheroo with the 2 cables, alternatley you could hook the sons computer into the router and then you should be able to block his computer from accessing the net via the filter options on the router by blocking ports.

[saphalline]

Just out of curiosity, philzee, why don't you want your son's PC on the internet? Connecting both computers to the router is actually the easiest way to connect them, given your layout.

And yes, I believe you can have two NIC's in one PC, even under Win 9x (tho I could be wrong) as long as you mess around with a few settings (ie tell Windows which one will be used for what). If the host PC is running Win XP, your options expand even more as it can then network numerous other PC's together from Win 95 to ME with extreme ease.

If the two PC's in question are far apart, running cables through the house can be a daunting task, which is of course why wireless networking was invented. :D That's certainly an option but quite expensive right now, however they do have total start-up kits that give you step-by-step directions that even non-techies can follow! :eek:

[philzee]

Originally posted by saphalline
Just out of curiosity, philzee, why don't you want your son's PC on the internet? Connecting both computers to the router is actually the easiest way to connect them

The reason i dont want his pc on the net is because our other son is younger but very technically minded (he managed to get into the bios and reset all the settings on the PC) causing me problems i could do without and i figure if a password wont stop him getting into the bios then nothing will stop him seeing stuff he shouldn't on the net.
But back to the matter in hand...I don't think the cable modem is a router? and if it was would it allow me accesss to the files on his pc or just allow him access to the net?

[saphalline]

Originally posted by philzee
I don't think the cable modem is a router? and if it was would it allow me accesss to the files on his pc or just allow him access to the net?

That's a good question. I know a router will allow you to access files from both computers, because essentially what you're doing with a router is creating a LAN. But as I've only heard of people using routers (and switches and NIC's/cable modems) for sharing internet connections, I'm not sure you could keep it off the internet. But of course, there must be a way because there are settings that need to be... set... before both can be online.

The beauty of a router is that it can act as the hardware host of the LAN without requiring a host PC (aka "gateway PC") to be active for the other(s) to be online. If you don't have a router, then your PC will need to be set as the host PC and will need to be on whenever the other PC is online (which I realize you don't want but just fyi).

Since both of these make possible the fact that the other PC could go online (if your "resourceful" younger one ever started messing with the settings), the best solution to cut that off would be to connect the PC's directly, through separate NIC's (like Gallaeglagh said). This makes it much more difficult and messy to share the internet (or so I've heard).

You should still find out if you have a router or not. Did your internet provider give it to you? Ask them if so.

[John0904]

A cable modem is like any another modem. It only allows access to the Internet. It is not a router.

As for having two NIC’s cards, it is possible. Even with Windows 98. I suspect with Windows 95 too.
It would be best to have two different brands though. It will much easier to identify them during setup of the LAN.

Then just get the crossover cables and setup the LAN and your set to go.

Also to let you know it is possible to disable the sharing quite easily whenever your son wanted.
Unless you have an operating system with administration rights. Like Windows 2000 or XP.
Which you can set the control what settings can be changed. Or a security program that will disable certain settings.

[videobruce]

Yes you can have 2 NIC's inone system. Just be sure ther are NOT the same brand or model! You will never be able to tell them apart. That goes for HD's also!

With a router (don't get Netgear) you can restrict internet access from th router and still connect both puters and that geves room for another puter in the future.

Stay away from wireless. There are enough RF crap out there. Too much interference, and besides why spend additional money for something that a twisted pair will do better?


N2NJO said that!