Hi guys,i'm a newbie in networking and i'm planning to get another computer in my house.

I plan to network these 2 coms together using one cable modem.I plan to get a network starter kit to do the job for me.

Will i face any problems using the kit?Will my internet connection speed be slower because i'm sharing 2 coms with 1 modem now?

Thanks!

Well, this depends on a few things. First off, you may need to check to see if your ISP supports having multiple computers on a single network. If memory serves, Windows' Internet Connection Sharing doesn't hide your other machines so much as it just allows to computers to talk to the cable modem.

Otherwise, everything should work okay. I'm presuming that you've got a USB or an internal modem that you're using with this setup, because things would be a bit different if you had an external Ethernet-based modem. Then you'd have to play things around a bit differently.

But as far as you're saying it so far, it'll work. If you give more details, we can give you a better idea of what you're facing.

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it really depends on the networking kit you're gonna get and what OSes you use etc. If you're using 2000 then I don't think you'll run into much trouble, but 98 and ME I'm not sure about. Linux can be good too if you want to set up a proxy server or firewall. If you just need to share the connection then it won't be that complicated. More details would be nice

Yeah, all three support Internet Connection Sharing, but 98 and ME users seem to have about a 75% success rate. Either it works really well, or it's pretty bad.

Well i'm planning to use windows 2000 as my OS.My old one is running on windows 98

I'm using an external cable modem.There's a network card in my old pc and a 10 metre long cable connected to it from the modem.

So if i get a network started kit,i just have to out in additional network cards into the Coms and connect them using the cables provided right?

If you get the starter kit, you'll be cool. Just set the 2000 box up for internet sharing and you should be set. The only problem is if the 2000 box is off, the other machine doesn't have internet access.

This is why I opted for a $99 SMC Barricade. 4 PCs share and any one, two or three of them can be on at any time.

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Hey. What kind of party is this? There's no booze and only one hooker. -- Bender (Futurama)

But my old computer is running on windows 98 and it is not the Special edition which means it does not have internet connection sharing.

So i will have to upgrade it to a windows 2000 edition right?

Then once i have both computers with windows 2000 and running internet connection sharing,then only can i bring in the network starter kit right?

No. Only ONE of the computers need to have the internet sharing ability. NOT both.

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Hey. What kind of party is this? There's no booze and only one hooker. -- Bender (Futurama)

Oh ok.

But can i have internet sharing for both computers?
As u said,if the one with windows 2000 is off,the other one wont be able to go online.So if both my coms have windows2000,either one can go online even if the other is off?

The answer is no.

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Hey. What kind of party is this? There's no booze and only one hooker. -- Bender (Futurama)

ok thanks for the advice guys.U have been great!

For a little more clarification here...Just think about it. You've got a modem with two cables, one that's plugged into the wall for power, and the other one that's plugged into the computer for data. If that computer's not turned on, will you be able to get anything from it?

I'm not trying to be rude or sarcastic here. I'm just doing my part to alleviate situations like these and prevent them from happening in the future. I work in technical support, and there's an unbelieveable amount of people out there that don't realize that a computer can't send data to a printer if there's no connection (Read: A printer cable) between the two. I guess they just figured that things would happen. I also have to wonder...If manufacturers just suddenly started making everything operate wirelessly, would it confuse more people than there are confused now, thinking they don't need a cable?

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"And knowing is half the battle!"

Hmm if thats the case then i might as well go get a router.Then i can excess the internet even if either one of the coms are off

yea that would be a more robust solution but it also depends on your needs. Will you be using both machines constantly? Do you have a separate machine maybe that you can dedicate solely to being a router? Are you going to be adding more machines to the network etc?

If it's only two machines you want to connect to cable modem then I don't think getting a dedicated router is necessary. I mean you can probably live with just the internet sharing thing. However, if you plan to add more machines later on or don't want to have to rely on the single machine being on all the time, then go for it. Also are you willing to spend $$ on a router?

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