Linksys WRT54GS setup with USB connected Modem
 

Hi All,

I am about to help a friend set up a new Linksys WRT54GS wireless router so he can move his PC away from the cable connection in the wall (i.e. to another room).

I have read over the instructions, and the only thing I can't get my head around is that he has no Ethernet connection on the PC (it is an older machine). The cable modem supplied by Telewest, uses a USB connection to the PC.

How do I get the Telewest network to recognise the router? Do I have to call the (1 pound per minute!) broadband "extended PC support" line to register the MAC address of the router?

I thought it would suffice to "clone" the MAC of the PC in the router, and therefore the use of router would be transparent to the Telewest network. However, obviously the PC has no MAC address as it has no Ethernet card.

I should also mention that he has a PCI Linksys Wireless G card to hook the PC up to the router.

How should I tackle this router setup with the Telewest network?

Thanks in avance for any help offered....

J

Re: Linksys WRT54GS setup with USB connected Modem
 

hi :welcome:

the wireless pci card will provide the ethernet connection between the pc & the router, you can then use a cat5 ethernet cable to connect the router & modem & ditch the USB.

- I'm not sure how easy it will be to set up, but lots of people with more nous than me frequent these forums, so you should be able to get help, if needed.

- you shouldn't need to worry about cloning MACs using a cable modem, though, just power cycling everything is usually enough to get a connection.

Re: Linksys WRT54GS setup with USB connected Modem
 

I just got a Linksys WRT54GS for Xboxlive and it works perfectly. :)

Re: Linksys WRT54GS setup with USB connected Modem
 

Hi,

Thanks for that, Excuse my 'thickness' but I still don't understand how I'm going to configure the router without an ethernet connection to the thing?

Should I buy a cheap ethernet card, install this in my friends PC, then hook up this way? Or perhaps I can just take along my laptop, hook that up to the router and configure it that way?

If I can configure the router (with laptop), and install the PCI card successfully, then I should never need the ethernet connection between PC and Router, is that what you mean?

If that's so, my only question is whether or not the actual Telewest connection to the internet will fail because the router is a new device on the network? Do you know if this would be the case? Or, as you say, does a simple reboot of the modem after connection to the (powered up) router usually work for Telewest Blueyonder connections?

Sorry to ask so many questions! Any replies gratefully received!

Cheers,

J

Re: Linksys WRT54GS setup with USB connected Modem
 

Thanks for the help I received regarding this topic. I found to my complete joy that the whole thing was dead easy to set up. Linksys have an 'easy setup' feature on their new equipment which allowed for literally one touch connection setup. Fantastic!! I may even replace my old 802.11b stuff with new Linksys equipment...

Cheers,

J