Three computers but only 1 modem

[John2897]

I have an NTL 250 CABLE MODEM Model No. E08C007, but three computers. Does anyone have any advice (or links to products) on how I can "cheaply/wirelessly" connect all three computers to the Internet, without simply changing my ISP to one which supplies a free wireless router? And how would my other PC's communicate with the router? I'm not technical with modems/routers/networks, so please be specific.

Thanks in advance, John.

Unfortunatly there isnt really a cheap way. I have seen usb wireless adapters for about 10 quid each herehttp://www.microdirect.co.uk/product...x?GroupID=1072
Found this starter kit router and usb 2 adapter for £38

If you wire one pc to the router it could be done for 50 quid (buying a second one for a tenner)

[Gareth]

John, the cheapest wireless router I've seen is £12 including delivery.... it's part of the Fon idea where they sell you a subsidised wireless router as long as you promise to share some of your bandwidth to allow other Fon users in your vicinity to connect.

There's a thread about Fon somwhere on the forum, otherwise check out www.fon.com

As well, you'll need wireless network cards in the 3 PCs that you want to be able to connect to the router. You can buy either PCI versions, provided each PC has a spare PCI slot, or alternatively you can get USB variants - these can be good if not all 3 PCs will be connected simulataneously as you can share 1 or 2 USB adapaters amongst the 3 PCs.

Expect to pay anywhere between £10 and £50 for each USB adapter, or £20 to £60 for a PCI adapter. Personally, I prefer the PCI versions, but that's just my opinion.

However, buying the cheapest may not be the most reliable, and it could turn out to be a false economy as you might end up replacing it with a more reliable and expensive brand anyway.

Hope that helps.

[John2897]

When I buy parts for my PC, I know that, -

For a graphics card; AGP will work. PCI-E will not.
For a HDD; IDE will work. SATA will not.
For memory; DDR will work. DDR-2 will not.

When I'm looking for a wireless router to replace my current modem (see first post), what will, and what will not work?

Thanks again, John.

wireless modem routers wont work (sometimes labeled adsl or dsl)
standard wireless broadband routers will (sometimes labeled cable)
you wont get rid of your modem it will still be used

[John2897]

1, Ah, so the router plugs directly into the USB port, or the Enet port on the modem?

2, And then the router connects to all the PC's?

3, So the only thing the modem connects to is the router, and no PC's?

yes via the ethernet

[handyman]

Try one of these
With 2 of these
or
With 2 of these if your confident at fitting a card inside your pc.

And you will not go far wrong.

Just remember that you don't need your ntl disk, and to use ethernet. Since I'm assuming that you will have a pc next to your modem already just use an ethernet cable from the router to the pc, the router will allow upto 4 wired pc's connected to it and loads of wireless.

[Matth]

Modem to router, router to PCs

If a PC is close enough I'd suggest using a wired connection to the router - most "wireless" routers also have one or more wired ports, particularly useful if you have an accident with the wireless setup and secure yourself out of access, though there's usually a way to force a reset to default.