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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 7:56 pm
Ok, I like to think I have an understanding with my computers where they let me think I know what I'm doing. I just off the phone with the Comcast gal who really confused me. I am switching to cable from dsl AND I'd like to finally use the wireless networking I bought when I moved. So can someone help me with it? I have 2 computers right now (there's a third but we'll get to good old Sabona later). Dumela is my HP athlon laptop with XP on it (ZE4101) - DS pulled it off my desk and broke the LCD, but it works fine with a monitor. Rafiki is my new eMachine athlon desktop with XP on it. My dear compy geek friend in PA sent me a netgear wireless router WGR614v2 so I could set up a wireless network at home as well as have a good firewall. SO, here's the questions. My router is not the same as a cable modem, right? I will still have to pay for that rental, right? Is it expensive to go out and buy a cable modem? Do I need to get a wireless card for Rafiki (the emachine desktop) or can I hook it straight to that compy since it has the printer and scanner attached to it. Do I need to get a wireless card for Dumela (HP laptop) because I'm pretty sure it has that infared deal on the corner so I can hook up to wireless networking without an extra card. this is why I can't get a different router. . . I have another computer. . . Sabona who is a homemade P1 running Linux. Don't ask which version because my dear geek friend upgraded me to this "cool new system" just before I moved and I promptly packed the serial port mouse and even older keyboard in a box that is yet to be found (it has all my original software with most of the serial numbers and my usb floppy drive and my usb zip disk drive too). He runs that system on his own computer and told me that this particular netgear router can handle Sabona's OS. Not that I'm that great at Linux, but I'd like to learn in my effort to ban anything MS (I'm a good alkalyte for my dear geek). So someday when I find that golden treasure of a box, I plan to hook up Sabona to this mess and I think dear geek told me to use it as the server between the two less fortunate MS systems since it's more stable. Can I just say I'm confused . . .do I really need to be buying cards for all these computers?
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Wendo
Member
08-07-2000
| Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 8:57 pm
A router is not the same as a cable modem. The router sits between the cable modem and your computers. Therefore, all the internet sees is the IP address of the router rather than your computers. Internet -> Cable modem -> Router -> Computers This is your router:
You can rent a cable modem or buy one. I recently stopped renting and bought one because as RCN increased bandwidth, the rental became unable to handle the high speeds. Also, it is not expensive to buy one at all. The one I purchased was $80. It's really a matter of choice. Yes, the eMachine will need a wireless PCI card or wireless USB adapter to access the wireless router should you decide to make all connections wireless. However, the router you'll be using has a 4-port switch so, you can connect the eMachines via wired ethernet if you want. The HP laptop will need a wireless card if it does not have built in wireless. The infrared port is not what the laptop would use to wirelessly connect to the router. How old is the laptop? What are the specs? Is it a regular Pentium 3 or 4 machine? Or, is it a Pentium Centrino? If it doesn't have built in wireless, you would have to get either a wireless USB adapter for it or a wireless PC card. (You're router utilizes 802.11g wireless technology. Getting a wireless 802.11g PC card would be what I would get if the laptop doesn't have built in wireless. Regarding the Linux computer, even if you do use it as a server, it still needs to be connected to the router to be able to access the internet. That means, again, like your desktop, either the wireless options or ethernet. (If your two desktops, eMachine and Linux box, will be near the router, use ethernet to connect them.) If the eMachine and Linux box have built in ethernet, then the only card you MAY have to buy would be for the HP laptop. (And, if it's a Centrino laptop or has built in wireless functionality, then you won't need to buy anything.) It's just a matter of hooking them all up together. eta: Grace, I'll put together a better flow chart tomorrow for ya that'll better illustrate the connections.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 9:11 pm
wendo thanks so much!!! i do understand what you are saying perfectly my laptop is an hp ze4101, it's running XP on an athlon processor. . .it's fairly new - maybe 2 years old in November - I think I bought it when I was pregnant, but I could be wrong, it could be 3 years old. I thought it had built in wireless technology because that was all the rave for laptops at the time, but I might be wrong and at the moment it's put away until my husband makes the space for the monitor on his desk. yeah I may not have to buy anything (but the modem) afterall. . . well I just spoke to the Comcast rep and she said I could buy the kit at Best Buy and they have it listed online at $15. . .could that be right? All the other ones looked so much more. . .
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Draheid
Moderator
09-09-2001
| Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 9:31 pm
Graceunderfyre: According to the HP support site, your ze4101 has both 802.11b & Bluetooth wireless built into the computer so you should be able to configure it to work with your wireless network without additional hardware. Other then that tidbit, it looks like Wendo has you heading in the right directions already. Hope this helps.
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Graceunderfyre
Member
01-22-2004
| Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 11:26 am
thanks all!
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