another network problem

[Tetsuo316]

i'm trying to set up a home network, but have run into a snag.

my dsl modem is hooked into port 1 of my hub through crossover cable.

comp1 (winxp) is hooked into port 2.

comp2 (winxp) is hooked into port 3.

and comp3 (win98se) is hooked into port 4.

all comps are connected by straight patch cable.

now, the problem is that when i had only comps 1 and 2 hooked up, everything was fine and they could both access the internet. as soon as i hooked up comp3, the internet on comp1 went down and the computer restarted. i can still access the internet on comp2.

what should i do? should i upgrade comp3 to winxp? also, the ethernet card in comp3 came from comp1 because i used to have comp2 connected to comp1 by crossover cable.

so, now that everyone is confused...

i would appreciate some help.

 

[minendo]

What IPs do you have assigned to each computer? Any chance that comp1 and comp3 got the same IP?

 

[Tetsuo316]

they all have different ip's

 

[Tetsuo316]

i upgraded comp3 to winxp and i still can't connect. once i upgraded i also checked the ip again and it has changed. it's still not the same as comp1's.

could it be the ethernet card?

 

[wjsulliv]

Hub???

Or Router?

Hub, shouldn't really work for cable/dsl connection unless your paying for multipl static IP's.

Router, well that is another story. Try giving all three computers different IP's, spaced out, like xxx.xxx.xxx.24, xxx.xxx.xxx.39, etc.

Without a router, you will have problems.

 

[Tetsuo316]

i just figured that out myself. i checked directvinternet.com and saw that they charge $10 extra per month.

stupid.

me and them.

 

[rw120555]

They charge you $10 a month for a router? Buy your own, unless you want their tech support. (Will they also sell you the 2wire home portal? I've noticed a lot of DSL companies doing this -- probably smart of them to get into the router business, especially if they can get people to pay a steady $10 a month for something they could easily do on their own.)

 

[wjsulliv]

tetsou316- If you've go a microcenter in your area, get out there today and pick up one of the routers that are on special ending today for $20. It'll have one uplink and 4 output ports. That should help solve your problem cheap.

 

[Tetsuo316]

will a router make it so that i don't have to give my isp more money? i don't want to fork over $50-80 to find out that i still can't set up a network because of my stupid isp. thanks for the help everyone, i know very little about networking.

 

[rw120555]

Buy something that is returnable and then if the router doesn't work you are ok. It will probably work though (if it doesn't, how could they charge you $10 a month for their service?) One possible exception: there was a post recently about how AOL DSL has managed to use a weird software setup to prevent router connections. See the Anandtech Networking FAQs to find out the basics.

 

[Tetsuo316]

would i hook up the router the same way as i jooked it up in my first post? i would guess so.

also, is the transfer rate faster if i hook up the dsl modem to the uplink port of the router rather than using crossover cable in a regular port?

thanks.

 

[Utterman]

To help you out, I suggest reading the Anandtech FAQs to get answer your questions.

What is a router, ect.
and
Basic net sharing options

Both of those FAQs where very helpful in getting my net connection shared.

 

[rw120555]

A cable/dsl router should have a port explicitly labeled for this purpose and you want to be sure to use it. On my Netgear, it is called the "Internet" port, on others it may be called a Wan Port. But, it should be pretty obvious what to use.

 

[Tetsuo316]

i had looked through those faqs a lot, but i guess i just wanted some sort of confirmation. thanks for all the help, and i guess i'll go buy a router tomorrow. if i can't get that to work i'll post here again.