[gcowett]

Hi, I have a question about how I would get my computer on the internet. Here's the situation:

I usually stay at my dad's, but I've been at my mom's for a while so I decided to bring my desktop PC. However, I'm not really sure how to get the internet on it. My mom has the internet on her desktop (this computer) and it works fine, but on my computer when I try to get on the local area connection I have "little to no connectivity." My mom uses Vista and I use XP, so when I went to look at her network settings it was very different (I personally have very little experience with this sort of thing, so yeah).

Where it said connections, there were two: "Local Area Connection" and "Wireless Network Connection (Netgear)". The Local Area Connection is sending tens of millions of bytes and receiving hundreds of millions, while the wireless is in the tens and receiving thousands. Don't really know what that actually means but common sense tells me the Local Area Connection is the one being used.

I looked in my computer and I did not see a wireless card, nor do I have my computer connected directly to a router. I haven't looked inside my mom's computer for a wireless card, but there's not an antenna on the back. She is directly hooked up to a router that is sitting right next to her computer.

I suppose my question now is what exactly do I need to get? A wireless card, a router, or both?

And if I do/don't find a wireless card in my mom's computer, what does that mean?


Thanks for reading all this junk :P

[4D(Fordy(Ford) Ollie]

Ok, so I presume when you say your mums connected to the router, you mean by one of these:
[IMG]file:///L:/DOCUME%7E1/Fordy/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/moz-screenshot-2.jpg[/IMG]
And then that router is connected the phone line, correct?

From then on, it depends on two things:
1) Is the router Wireless?

If it looks a bit like that - it is, if it has any antennae, it definatly is, but not all wireless ones do.

2) How far away is you're PC?

Would a cable reach?


To be honest if it's a wireless router you're best of just getting a wireless USB or PCI, they're so cheap anyway.


However if it's the early type of broadband ADSL Router, where one wire goes in from the wall, and anoter ONE comes out to the PC (they're usually very small - fist-sized) then you'd need another one of those in a different wall for you both to connect.

However those things are awful. If you've got one of those you're best of investing in a wireless router and a wireless card/USB (your mum could still connect by cable if she wanted)

Hope that helps.