Share Internet Access

[uclown2002]

I have a 2MB STB Broadband connection and I'm using an Actiontec 1(?) port Wireless Cable/DSL Router Model No: R3010UW (supplied by NTL) and an USB 802.11b Adapter attached to PC.

I'm quite knowlegeable about computers but not so hot on the networking side of things. My wife quite fancies a laptop to do some coursework, some of it, maybe a lot, on internet-and I don't want to give up my connection.

My question is how would I go about that sharing my connection?

Is it as simple as buying another usb adaptor and plugging it in to laptop?

Will I have to buy new router etc etc

I'd be grateful for any advice.

Dave

[Raistlin]

If you are happy with the may that your current PC > Adaptor > Router setup is working then I would stick with that.

Simply buying a new adaptor for your Laptop should do the trick, there should be no need to buy another router as the one you have should be capable of handling multiple connections at once.

[homealone]

If you are happy with the may that your current PC > Adaptor > Router setup is working then I would stick with that.

Simply buying a new adaptor for your Laptop should do the trick, there should be no need to buy another router as the one you have should be capable of handling multiple connections at once.

I'm not sure, Raist - it says 'one port' - I think uclown2002 will need a switch, as well ???

what is the point of a one port router, anyway? :confused:

[Hom3r]

If you buy a laptop which has wirless It should detect your wireless network.

(you should temporary boadcast the SSID untill its set)

[Raistlin]

I think the one port may refer to the number of RJ45 sockets on the rear, this page certainly seems to suggest that you can add further adaptors to increase the number of computers connected:

http://www.ntlworld.com/help/services/wireless/

* Expand your home network even further by buying additional wireless adapters

[homealone]

I think the one port may refer to the number of RJ45 sockets on the rear, this page certainly seems to suggest that you can add further adaptors to increase the number of computers connected:

http://www.ntlworld.com/help/services/wireless/

it does - just me :confused: - it is bad enough with wires :dunce:

[Raistlin]

In fact, the specifications here suggest that this excellent piece of kit can support up to 253 users :Yikes:

http://www.ntlwireless.co.uk/specs.htm#router

[uclown2002]

Ok guys thanks for the responses. So another adaptor should work; need a laptop with wireless (card?).
you should temporary boadcast the SSID untill its set what do you mean by that?

Thanks Dave

[uclown2002]

Hi folks.


OK I've received the laptop (OS XP Pro also) , and it came with a wireless network card. It detected the actiontec wireless network immediately, so I had the internet connection immediately, without loading my actiontec drivers.

I'd now like to network the laptop to my main PC so that the wife can share files and the printer, but I'm having trouble doing so. I tried to set up a home/small office network but clearly I've done something wrong, or maybe I don't have all the equipment I need.

First of all do I need to load the actiontec drivers on my laptop? I take it the laptop is communicating with the router, otherwise I would not be getting a connection? Do I need to register my laptop to the router? I have only a usb network adaptor in main PC and wireless network cared in laptop.

I'm a little stumped so I would appreciate a step by step guide, or a link to an idiot's guide for my set up.

Thanks Dave

[jellybaby]

If you run the network setup wizard on both computers, you should be able to see each other in 'my network places'.

You can find the network wizard in Start>Control panel>network and connections.

[Raistlin]

Hi Dave,

You need to make sure that both machines are part of the same workgroup:

Right Click on My Computer
Select Properties
Select the "Computer Name" tab.
Check that the bit that says Workgroup is the same for bothe machines, if it isn't click "Change" to make it so.

Before you leave this screen you might want to change the Name of each machine so that it is something that you can remember Laptop and Desktop might be good ;)

The next thing that you need to do is make sure that the PCs can see each other across the network.

Close the properties window.

Click Start > Run

In the Run box type cmd.

You should now see the command prompt.

Type "ping machinename" without the " and replacing machinename with the name of the other machine.

So, doing this from the Laptop (and assuming that you used Laptop and Desktop as the names) you would type "ping Desktop" without the ".

Hopefully you should get something that looks like:

Pinging Desktop [192.168.1.***] with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.***: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.***: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.***: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.***: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.***:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 1ms

Once you've done that post back and let us know if it worked and we can either go to the next step or solve any problems you're having.

[uclown2002]

OK guys, thanks for the help so far.


I followed Network set up wizard initially and it appeared to be OK (no error messages) but obviously it is not correct.

Both 'Desktop' and 'laptop' are in the same workgroup called 'Home' but they can't see each other. I tried pinging both ways without success.

If I open explorer>my network places>entire network>ms windows network>home then I get error message on main PC (desktop) saying " Home is not accessible. You might not have permission to use the network resource. Contact the administrator of this server.

On the laptop I can access 'Home' and it shows a computer called 'Laptop' with shared docs/printers etc but obviously no sign of the 'Desktop'

Where do I go from here?

As an aside on the desktop the 'Computer Description' box is blank. Don't think it means anything but worth a mention.

Dave

[MovedGoalPosts]

What a bunch of crooks. Actiontec will tell you how to do this if you pay nearly $30 for the privelidge, according to their suppport pages. http://www.actiontec.com/support/pay_4_support.html :mad:

[JohnHorb]

You need to have the same username/password on both PCs. Also, try (temporarily) disabling any firewall on both PCs, just to check that is not causing the problem.

[MovedGoalPosts]

Linksys talk about tow different types of network setup. Infrastructure and ad-hoc. Infrastructure setup allows the rrouter to pass signals between the wired and wireless parts of the LAn. Anything like that described in your user guide?

[Raistlin]

Sounds like a firewall/permissions problem to me.

Try disabling all firewalls on both machines (if they're running XP they probably have the Windows firewall running by default).

Next make sure that both machines have an identical account set up on them (same user name and password).

Then try the Pings again.

Another thing you can try is to go to Start > Search

Computers or People

A computer on the Network

Type the name of the other machine into the Computer Name box and then hit Search.

It should find the other machine if the network is configured correctly.

[uclown2002]

Well, the machines do not have identical usernames so maybe that is where I am going wrong. I'll try that later and give it a go.

My desktop PC is running zonealarm with windows firewall disabled; the laptop has just windows firewall. I'll try disabling these settings if username does not fix it.

Thanks again.

Dave

[zing_deleted]

I got this router off ukonline. You say the laptop just connected this would tell me your have no wep security set up on your network this is a little bit risky as someone can just sit outside and log on

[Raistlin]

Just adding the username won't fix it.

You will need to configure the two firewalls so that they trust the opposing machine.

[uclown2002]

I got it to work. After a recent install of XP Pro I disabled a lot of services I didn't need at the time. Re-enabling some of these did the trick. I also had to configure zone alarm to accept instructions from laptop.

I am a bit disappointed with signal strength with in-built wireless card so may need to get add-on card in future. Not going to worry at moment though.

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

Dave

[Raistlin]

Dave,

It's unusual for in-built wireless cards to have serious problems with signal strength of their own accord.

Best bet is to try and eliminate any possible chance of interference. There may be an option in the settings of the card or the router for you to change the channel/frequency. Try changing the channel/frequency to as far from the default as possible.

If that doesn't work, look for anything nearby that may be interfering (microwaves, cordless phones) - possibly something that sits between your router and the laptop.

Also bear in mind that if the two are too close together this can also cause problems (sometimes :) ).
__________________

Thanks for all the help and suggestions.

:) You're welcome.