Computer help needed please

[bearfan454]

Mrs bearfan and I both have a computer now. What type of hardware do we need to connect both computers to the same modem but not network the 2 computers together ? A router or a hub maybe ?

[welshTerrier2]

1. a router and ...

if you get a router (under $100), you can share a broadband connection among multiple computers ... the basic setup would be to run a wire from your modem to the router ...

the next step offers a few possible combinations ... somehow, you need to "connect" both computers to the router ... a nice way to go is wireless (assuming you get a wireless router) ... this would require also buying a wi-fi card for each computer (unless they are already equipped with one) ... then, the signal would come into the modem, then go to the router, then be pushed out to both computers ...

the "not networking the 2 computers together" is easy ... each computer (talking a windows OS here) has the ability to "share" all or parts of its hard drive ... so, for example, you could create a directory on your computer called "stuff the wife can see" and create a "share" on this directory ... then, you could put stuff in there that was networked to the other computer ... or you could just share nothing at all ... creating a "common area" or a "share" on each machine at least creates the option of moving files between the two machines when you want to ... only stuff in the "shared" directory would be available ... creating shares is part of the windows OS ...

anyway, to summarize, you need either a wired or wireless router and some way of connecting the computers to the router ... either a special cable called an ethernet cable can hardwire the computers or you can get wi-fi cards (about $30 each) ... hope this helps and wasn't too technical ...

sharing a modem connection is the way to go ...

[bearfan454]

2. kick

[LiberalUprising]

3. I've had good luck with D-Link routers

Got mine for around $35, very easy set up, just plug your router into the modem, run a cat 5 cable from the outputs on router to each computer, and install the software.

The wireless are a bit more expensive and unless you have laptops or a situation where running wire is difficult you really dont need wireless.

Also the wireless have different speeds of data transfer, be sure to take this into account. Wireless G with a high rate of transfer would be the best.

More info on wireless here

Wireless routers are not as secure as hard wired....
http://www.firewallguide.com/wireless.htm

Wireless Broadband Routers for Home

The newest generation of wireless routers for home broadband networks use a technology called 802.11g. An 802.11g wireless router supports more bandwidth than their older 802.11b counterparts. That lets you add more computers to a network without bogging it down. You'll also notice faster file sharing and printing. As with all network gear, consider the cost, features, and brand name when choosing your wireless broadband router. Individual preferences ultimately make this a personal decision.

http://compnetworking.about.com/cs/wirelessrouters/tp/80211ghome.htm

Frequenty Asked Questions (FAQs) in Wireless Networking

http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessfaqs/

[bearfan454]

4. Thank you everyone. We got it.

[RoyGBiv]

5. You need a router ...

Not a hub. A hub is different.

The basic connection is pretty simple actually. The response from welshTerrier2 gives you good advice as does LiberalUprising.

My rambling additions:

You did not say, so I'll ask what your operating system is. If it is some flavor of Windows XP or 2000, pretty much any router you can get today will work. IIRC, Windoze has a setup wizard that will guide you through all the bits about file sharing and such. You can turn all this off so that your computers are not effectively connected.

If you're using an older version of Windows, 98 for example, you could experience some issues. With LU's response in mind, avoid D-Link routers in this case. Win 98 doesn't like them for reasons I've never explored. You can get them to work, but it's iffy.

This is a personal paranoia thing, but I do not like wireless routers. They are inherently insecure. If they aren't set up correctly -- and sometimes even if they are -- you could end up sharing your Internet connection with your neighbors, should they discover you have a wireless connection and decide they want to exploit it. There are other issues as well, the most common being signal strength and effective connection speed.