Ok so I know nothing about networking.... but I'm ok with setting up a PC, adding components etc.

What I'm looking to do is 'split' a BB connection (NTL cable running through a set-top box direct to my PC at the mo via "AEI USB to Fast Ethernet adaptor"") so that I can use my BB on 2 (potentially more, at a later date) PCs.

What do I need in order to do this? and can anyone give me step-by-step idiot-proof instructions as to how to do it??

To complicate matters slightly, I'm also moving my pc into another room, and the current cable won't reach! Pondering going wireless, but I know nothing about that either

All help gratefully received

If your cable modem is using an ethernet connection then you need a router that plugs into the modem.

Your PCs can then all plug into the router , or if you get one with wireless capabilities as well then you can have a mixture of wired or wireless clients.

The newer MIMO wireless devices are good for range and 'difficult' houses.

I have the Netgear Rangemax one which seems ok, although the little blue rotaing light on the top can be a little OTT.

Again, it grieves me to say it but this is the cheapest place I could find it -

http://www.pcworld.co.uk:80/martprd/product/NETGEAR/WPN824/450368

If buying instore, reserve online first or if buying online use YAWPCW5 for 5% discount.

If you do want a cable let me know how big you need. I have lots of 5m and 10m cables here not doing much. I don't have any other lengths cut up at the mo.

Yup, agree with Dr Zoidberg, go with a router with wireless capabilities and avoid USB altogether. Better still, buy one with a built-in parallel or USB print server so any machine can print through it too. My policy is always hardwire to fixed pcs where possible. I only use WIFI for my laptop although it has never let me down.

If you don't need wireless and since you don't need an integrated ADSL modem, you could pick up a a router for as little as

NTL seem to only like to have one computer directly connected to the conection device (set top box or cable modem) so you have ot connect the main PC (the one that's likely to be on all the time!!!) and share that connection out to other computers.

I had to do that for a while until I moved out from my parents. I did have a network switch but if that was directly connected to the cable modem only one computer could see the internet and the shared drives and folders between machines were not visible due to the cable modem assigning a different IP to the system.

NTL seem to only like to have one computer directly connected to the conection device (set top box or cable modem) so you have ot connect the main PC (the one that's likely to be on all the time!!!) and share that connection out to other computers.

Spoof the MAC address of the computer which originally connected onto the router...that way as far as NTL is concerned it is just one computer connecting.

Rob.

I can't recommend the Netgear DG834G highly enough (for me being a simple home user its a "wickid, aye!" bit of kit.

Basically you're BB connection still plugs in the back as normal, but instead of having USB the machine basically hardwires into your ethernet port (which is, IIRC, a much more reliable connection than USB ) through one of the FOUR ports on the back.

The other three ports can then have ethernet cables going from them to other PCs with ethernet ports, and Bob's your Uncle, they'll be sharing your BB connection. The added bonus is if you have a laptop/s with wireless, as you can simply ask the lappy/s to find a connection, you're router will say, "OI! someone with wireless is trying to tap in!" - you go, "Yeah, I know. Its ME!" :grumpy: Then you click "allow" and jobs done - You can surf wirelessly (and fold ) from anywhere in your house, or maybe even a couple of hundred yards away.

Just get a router and let it do all the bluffing. It'll pay for itself in a year given the electricity savings you'll make by not having to run the host machine all the time the other machine(s) are running.

hmmmm...... thanks for all the replies chaps..... still not sure I'm any clearer on what I need to get lol.... but you've given me a few ideas and I think I prolly will go and have a word with the guys at the dreaded PC World and see what they reckon

tbh, my pc runs pretty much 24/7 anyway so that's not too much of an issue..... and I need to get my laptop up and running again before I'll need the 2nd connection, but if I'm moving my stuff around I may as well get things ready now

Right, I'd go with an ethernet router and NAT the 2 or more PCs (on a private network) to the external ip address given by NTL. Since I'm a Cisco head, It'll be a Cisco 831 router - 4 port ethernet and 1 external ethernet port. I'm sure there are other cheaper routers that'll do this, but I don't know of any specific ones.

Christ don't do that.

To start off you need a broadband router (non ADSL) with WIFI (at least 54Mbps). I recommend you stay away from D-Link or Netgear (i'll get grief for that) . We've had several Netgear units in work and they are really hit and miss on the wireless side.

I went through a couple of D-link units at home which just burnt out before changing to an SMC router and Belkin wireless gateway. SMC very good but pricey. I'd recommend Belkin or Linksys if you can run to it.

I'd buy a couple of Cat5 network cables to get both pcs working on the network first before getting a PCI Wireless network adapter for the furthest away pc. Don't get a USB one.

Dump the AEI USB Ethernet unit and use the built-in network card. If you don't have one then buy a PCI one. Less than

Christ don't do that.

To start off you need a broadband router (non ADSL) with WIFI (at least 54Mbps). I recommend you stay away from D-Link or Netgear (i'll get grief for that) . We've had several Netgear units in work and they are really hit and miss on the wireless side.

I went through a couple of D-link units at home which just burnt out before changing to an SMC router and Belkin wireless gateway. SMC very good but pricey. I'd recommend Belkin or Linksys if you can run to it.

I'd buy a couple of Cat5 network cables to get both pcs working on the network first before getting a PCI Wireless network adapter for the furthest away pc. Don't get a USB one.

Dump the AEI USB Ethernet unit and use the built-in network card. If you don't have one then buy a PCI one. Less than

If you're on NTL, as others have said, you need a non-ADSL broadband router.

I'm on NTL and have a Linksys WRT54G. Currently, they're under

And if you buy from PC world reserve it online first as I said above.

JohnnyC - I have no ties with PC world and don't especially like the place myself but you show me where you can find the Netgear WPN824 cheaper than that I posted above including delivery. Don't always assume they are more expensive in PC world. I agree with the part about selling you something you don't want but if you know what you want before you go in and stick to it you are fine.

Agreed but i'm still not convinced about the wifi abilities of Netgear. Most of my friends have gone the Ntegear route and are astounded by the wifi reception i get from my Belkin wireless gateway. It could be because it's a dedicated device I suppose.

The Linksys MIMO router seems to be outperforming both the Netgear & Belkin. There was a recent test in a PC magazine where it trounced them on all tests.

It is more expensive and not as compact - http://www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk/Shop/ShopDetail.asp?ProductID=2015&CategoryID=269&ShopGroupID=38

I have two netgear products the DG834UK V2 Modem/Router and the WPN824 Wireless Router both of which suit my needs and take up little space.

Lets also not forget that the original question was to share a BB/Cable connection between 2 or more PC's so even the slowest transfer speeds will be enough to share the average 1 or 2mb connection. It didn't mention being able to do massive file transfers between PC's at 100MB/s.

Help again!

I've moved my pc into the front room and installed a network card into my pc... I had one lying about anyway

Anyway, I decided to try plugging NTL straight into the PCI card rather than using the USB/ethernet adaptor... but it's having none of it, won't connect!

help?? what do I need to do to sort it?

(as a refresher - NTL connection is broadband running thru my set-top box)

Won't work due to the way NTL has registered the client MAC address of your PC.

You will need to add the MAC address of your network card.

Did you power off the set top box for a while (like overnight, unplug the mains).

I would go for the Linksys range (afterall they're Cisco boxes' date=' and I've never had a problem with them). These routers will NAT the traffic (I was just being a bit of a techie ).

I will suggest however, get a techie friend to do a site survey on the house and bring him to PC World (or the local Computer shop) and he'll point you in the right direction. He may cost you a pint or two, but It'll be worth it in the end. I won't be able to help as I'm on the wrong side of the Irish sea - but PM me if you need any specific advise [/quote']

I use the Linksys range to....No problem....Main computer, 2 laptops and printer all networked............ACE

If you go into network settings in control panel, select 'local area connection' the TCP/IP

Select 'Obtain IP Address Automatically' and 'Obtain DNS server address automatically'.

Go into Internet options > connections in control panel and select automatically connect.

Go into system>hardware>Device manager. Right click your usb BB adapter and select disable.

See how that goes

ok chaps... I'll try various combinations of those suggestions over the next coupla days

Won't work due to the way NTL has registered the client MAC address of your PC.

You will need to add the MAC address of your network card.

Did you power off the set top box for a while (like overnight' date=' unplug the mains).[/quote']

Where do you add the mac address of your network card. The STB isn't configurable for this as far as i know. Nor is an NTL BB modem. I've only ever seen MAC addessing available through a router.

NTL is NOT concerned with the MAC address of the PC you have attached to the cable, at least not on a cable modem (it may be different via the set-top box, but I don't believe so). Instead I believe what happens is you get an IP address leased via DHCP and you need to either release it or wait for it to expire. I have had both my main PCs and a router attached to my cable modem at various times, and I've never needed to register any MAC addresses. My router has a spoofing capability, but it's never been necessary to use it. If you wait a while, your new device will usually obtain an IP address.

In fact when we came back off holiday, my router refused to power up so the PC went straight back into the back of the modem and acquired an address within seconds. When the router sprang back into life a few days later, back it went, and within 10 minutes at the most it was also working fine, after a reboot of the cable modem.

One way to check your DHCP settings on the PC:

If running Windows 2000 / XP:

bring up a command prompt (start, run, "cmd" without the quotes)

type "ipconfig -all" without the quotes

it will show you your network configuration, and will say whether you have DHCP enabled or not.

If it's not enabled, then do start, settings, network connections. Double click on your network card, select TCP/IP in the window and click properties. You need to check "Obtain an IP address automatically" radio button is selected.

If it is enabled, you can "release" the IP address manually by typing

ipconfig -release "[i]local area connection[/i]"

The "local area connection" is the default name (it's the name you will see under the icon in the network settings.

Once released, you then do a

ipconfig -renew "local area connection"

If you're on NTL, you'll most likely end up with an 82.x.y.z address, or something near the 82 number.

If you have a 169.x.y.z, it's not talking to the ntl network properly.

Good luck

P.S if you're in windows 98, then do a start, run, "winipcfg"

That'll show your settings in a little program IIRC