ethernet cable

hi guys
i've got a laptop and a desktop at home and i online have one internet connection i wanted to connect the laptop and the desktop together with a ethernet cable so that they can both use the internet.

Can someone just give me a brief step by step guide


thanks!

 

What you want is a router.

What the router does is it takes your internet connection and divides it up into multiple parts so that multiple computers can use the same connection.

So, lets say you have Cable Internet.

Here is a picture that shows how this would basically work.



You take the Ethernet cord from your cable modem and plug it into the router.

You take 2 Ethernet cords (one for the desktop and one for the laptop) and plug them into the router and then the respective computer.

Ta Dah!

That is the basic break down.

 

thanks alot that helped!!!

 

If your notebook has an internal wireless card, then you could also purchase a wireless router, which would give the desktop a wired connection (via ethernet cable) and give the notebook a wireless connection. Its handy if you want to move your notebook around. If your notebook doesn't have an internal adapter, then you can buy many external ones, that range from USB ones, to PCMCIA cards.

 

thanks but i think i would stay with wired. Also could you guys suggest a good wired router. I live in the UK and it has to be quite cheap.

 

Routers in the UK are fairly cheap nowadays, and you should be able to find a good Netgear wired one online. Have a look at ebuyer.co.uk. They have some good deals, but are limited on just wired ones. However, they do have many wireless routers, that you can still use as conventional wired ones, and most are well priced.

 

Actually, if you're staying wired, you can get a switch instead, which is generally cheaper than a router. I have the same setup and I use a switch and it works fine. A router may have some advantages though, like built-in firewall, if you're interested in that.

Edit: You know what... I just realized, I think my switch only works because I have multiple static IPs, which is unusual. So yeah, I think you probably need a router.

 

Switch will not work, He must have the NAT routing function to share his ISP connection. Unless he want to pay for a second IP address.