Hi. I have two computers in my room, and my sister has one in her room (3 total, maybe 4 when my other sister is home from school). I am getting a cable connection, and want to put them all on it. I want to set it up so the two computers in my room can transfer files freely, but I want the other one (or two) to be separate. My main computer runes Windows Media Center, my other computer runes 98, and my sisters runes XP.
Yeah you should be able to. But the easiest way to get the file sharing you want would be to run one computer in your room off the router and both the sisters off the router. Have the net run to the fastest, or closest computer, it really won't make that much of a difference. Buy another NIC if you have an open PCI port, you can get one at walmart for like $15. Run a crossover cable from the new NIC to the other computer and you will have 2 networks on 1 computer and one on the other. Make sure internet sharing on the connection you have coming in from the router is on, or you can "bridge" the 2 connections. The other network that you will have set-up between the computers will have file/print sharing to the extent that you wish.
First off, yes it will do what you want it to do but you have to set up the two computers you want to freely exchange files on their own network. Leave the other one or two out of that network loop. The only thing I am concerned about is the win98 and media center compability. You may need to fool around with them to get them to fully recognize each other, but then again I know more about hardware than software. The other thought I had was you may want to buy a better router than the one you have picked out. Linksys is a excellent brand and I highly recomend them.
Hp a1250n
XP(MCE)
AMD Athlon64 3800+ X2 939
Mobo: MSI Amethyst-M
ATI X800GTO (THX to Sammorris)
2GB Ram (need more)
250 Gig SATA HDD WD
320 Gig SATA HDD SG
HP DVD (it has it all)
HP-DVD Reader
Ok, so I need a crossover cable between the two in my room (to set it up to move files between them at will), and put one of the computers and my sisters on the router (and set it to only allow internet access through it, not file sharing). That is what your saying, right?
And where can I get the crossover cable? Radio Shack? And is any special software needed for any of this?
Radio Shack should have them yeah. If they don't and you don't have anywhere that you could get one long enough for your needs, you could always use 2 cat5's and a network hub. Network hubs look like routers, but they are ALOT cheaper. All it basically does for your case is turn the 2 cat 5's into a X/O cable.
And I have another question. What would happen if when I get the cable connection, I get two cable modems, and put one on my computers in my room, and the other on my sisters in her room. Will it work on both at the same time? I know it wouldn?t act as a network, but would both be able to access the internet independently?
What you would do is just set up the cable modem into the router, then you would only have to have 1 modem. I don't know if your ISP will support 2 modems. You will have to ask them as certain plans might support it and opther not.