8INXP.... Help!

[Paveslave]

Sorry about the cross post, but I need help.
I can't seem to figure out how to connect to my internet service. I have tried just about everything and it's driving me nuts. I have a built in ethernet card in the motherboard right? I tried connecting to my cable modem via the USB to the modem and it would not connect. it found the modem and installed the driver, but no connection. I went to the store and bought a router so I could keep my other computer up too and while I was at it I bought another Ethernet cable so i could hook both computers up to the router through the ethernet cables and no USB. I went into CMOS and disabled the onboard lan. The ethernet card was installed and the computer says it's working fine, but it keeps telling me that a cable is disconnected. Right now I have it all connected just like my other computer and I still can't get on. Is there something about this Mobo that is preventing me from connecting or whatever???????? Help???

-Ryan
paveslave@cox.net

 

[heliomphalodon]

OK, let's see if we can get this straight.

You have a cable modem, right? It's got coax going to the wall, and it has an ethernet port. (I'm not going to talk about USB at all.)

First off, the cable modem needs to be configured to connect to your cable company/ISP. Usually the installers will do this configuration for you. This ought to result in the appropriate green lights on the cable modem, indicating that it has connected properly to the provider's system.

So now, the Internet is available on the ethernet port of the cable modem. It becomes a question of how to connect to that port.

If you bought a router, it will be interposed between your PC and the cable modem. So the signal path will look like this:

Internet->coax->cable modem->ethernet->router->ethernet->PC. This is probably how you have things connected already, but just check and make sure.

Assuming that you got the correct kind of router, it will have one special ethernet port that is meant to connect to the cable modem. Make sure that you're using that port correctly. Also, check the port that your PC is connected to, and make sure that the link light is on.

The router will have to be configured before you can use it. Usually this is done through a browser-based interface. This means that you're going to have to make a connection to the router via ethernet. A common address for the router would be 192.168.0.1 -- check the router documentation.

Before you can connect to the router in order to configure it, you'll have to have the correct driver loaded on your LAN card in your PC. Make sure that you do. Also make sure that networking is configured on the LAN interface in such a way that the interface will acquire an address automatically.

So, once everything is wired up correctly, and you have the LAN driver loaded and configured correctly on the PC, you can get started.

Turn everything off. Turn on the cable modem, and allow it to connect to the ISP so that the indicator lights are green. Then turn on the router. Wait for it to initialize. Finally turn on the PC.

If everything goes well, the LAN interface on the PC will have acquired an address from the router. Grab the router manual and determine the default address that you're supposed to use to configure the router. Open a web browser on the PC and type in the appropriate address. If you get a login screen for the router, you're in business. If you're lucky, the router's default configuration will work for you and there will be nothing more to do. Otherwise, you'll have to configure the router appropriately so that it will do the routing correctly. The details of that are too specific to get into here -- the router manual and the cable modem manual will have to serve as your guides.

That's about the best I can do for you, I hope it makes enough sense to get you started.