Do i need a router?

[Xoligy]

ok here is the situation i live in the uk and i get my 2mb internet connection from my set top box, now the connection runs through a cat5 cable (network cable) which goes into the onboard lan but i have a usb converter for it too incase i wanted to use usb (no lan connection i suppose) now if i try and use them both at the same time i carnt! do i need to buy a router or something to get it all to work together?

would i have to get more cat5 cable too if i needed a router/switcher? :shrug:

[9mmCensor]

Do you have more than one computer?

You only use network cable or USB cable with the modem. You cant use both.

[bert202]

here's my quick diagram of what you can do.

|-------|......|-----|
|Modem |----|COMP|
|______|......|_____|

Option 1^
One computer hooked up to the cable/dsl modem with CAT5 or USB
.......................................|-----|
.......................................|Comp|
|-------|......|------|-------|____|
|Modem |----|Router|..................
|______|......|______| -----|------|
.......................................|COMP|
.......................................|_____|
Option 2^
Multiple Computers hooked up to the cable/DLS modem through a router.
In this case the router has your account info and acts like a computer to connect to internet and the computers connect through the router.

<side note> Lot of older Win98 computers do not include network cards, the usb is included for these older computers generaly.

[Xoligy]

yeah i hae 2 computers the second is going to be a backup computer for my work im sorry i should of said that im not thinking right as im working at the moment.

and yeah bert i think you've hit the nail on the head, but im not sure tell me if i right...

broadband to the router so both computer have internet access
both computers conected to router and can talk to eachother yeah???

is there a way to block the backup maching from seeing the net? i dont want somone coming along and deleting my work you see lol

[klingens]

If you use a router, it's pretty much impossible to connect to any computer behind the router from the internet. The only way this can happen if you forwarded a port on the router (like for p2p, games, etc) to the backup machine and an actual program is listening at this port you opened.

So your backup machine is safe

[Xoligy]

ok thanks for the info mate! i'll have a gander at routers now lol