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SimeyTheLimey · Feb 18, 2004, 11:15 AM

I know this is a stupid question, but I have to buy equipment to set up a home network using plain old wires. I don't have time to learn how to do this. I'm just going to buy the equipment and let the cable company guy install it.

I need to hook a cable modem to the outlet, use a router and connect to a mac running 10.3.2. and a pc running XP. In a couple of years I may also want to add an airport base station. But not now, and before someone suggests it, I don't have the spare cash at present.

Will I have any problems with the Toshiba PCX2200 cable modem and D-Link D 604 router?

Thanks much!

John Strung · Feb 18, 2004, 01:15 PM

The economics of going wireless have really changed in the last couple of months. It would probably now actually be cheaper to go wireless than running wires. You don't need an Airport Basestation. Any 802.11b or 802.11g wireless router will do. If you shop around, you can probably pick up a wireless router for $40 to $60, which is about the same cost as a wired router, give or take $5 to $10. You could connect the nearest compute using wires and would only need a wireless card for the other computer. The cost of the wireless card and the incremental cost of a wireless router versus a wired router will likely be less than the cost of running a cable up to the second floor.

SimeyTheLimey · Feb 18, 2004, 01:41 PM

Originally posted by John Strung:
The economics of going wireless have really changed in the last couple of months. It would probably now actually be cheaper to go wireless than running wires. You don't need an Airport Basestation. Any 802.11b or 802.11g wireless router will do. If you shop around, you can probably pick up a wireless router for $40 to $60, which is about the same cost as a wired router, give or take $5 to $10. You could connect the nearest compute using wires and would only need a wireless card for the other computer. The cost of the wireless card and the incremental cost of a wireless router versus a wired router will likely be less than the cost of running a cable up to the second floor.

Thanks for the post but the computers are 6' apart. I don't want to go wireless. I just want to be able to share the cable modem.

Will this particular cable modem (the one recommended by Cox) be compatible with both Mac and PC and will the router in question do the job?

Macola · Feb 18, 2004, 05:45 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:

Will this particular cable modem (the one recommended by Cox) be compatible with both Mac and PC and will the router in question do the job?

If you're using wired connections, there really shouldn't be any difference between the Mac and PC, in spite of what some ISPs might tell you...

Scarpa · Feb 18, 2004, 06:24 PM

My only question is why are you paying for a cable modem? Doesn't the cable company provide it?

I would be leery of having a cable technician do the install. You're better off reading the directions that come with the hardware. I have never met a cable guy who can't screw up someones computer within 15 minutes.

SimeyTheLimey · Feb 18, 2004, 08:06 PM

Originally posted by Scarpa:
My only question is why are you paying for a cable modem? Doesn't the cable company provide it?

Buying the hardware is cheaper than renting it. It's also cheaper to buy it yourself than to buy one from Cox.

As for installing the network. I'm in the middle of moving house and I'm in the middle of a law school semester. I have better things to do that learn how to network. It's worth $80 to have Cox do it for me.

Macola · Feb 18, 2004, 09:13 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:

As for installing the network. I'm in the middle of moving house and I'm in the middle of a law school semester. I have better things to do that learn how to network. It's worth $80 to have Cox do it for me.

It would take you all of 2 minutes...that would mean your time is valued at $2,400 per hour. Kinda high even for an attorney

fulmer · Feb 18, 2004, 10:14 PM

simey you will be fine with that stuff unless your ISP uses some crazy protocol or some other junk.

The cable modem will connect to a cable wall jack that the tech specifies (unless you have a particular one in mind). The router will connect to the cable modem via the appropriate ethernet port. Your mac and PC will connect to the router via the LAN ports.

Your cable provider most likely uses some type of authentication between the hardware and their systems, which means that the tech may have to register your router with the cable co. for it to be granted access to the web. This is simple in most cases, but have the router config guide on hand just in case the tech isn't familiar with it (though if he's worth anything, he's a pro).

SimeyTheLimey · Feb 19, 2004, 04:59 AM

Originally posted by Macola:
It would take you all of 2 minutes...that would mean your time is valued at $2,400 per hour. Kinda high even for an attorney

My impression is that it is not plug and play -- especially since I know nothing about Windows XP. I ran some searches where newbies ask about networking PCs to Macs. The answer is always expressed in deep geek. I don't have time for the learning curve necessary.

fulmer: thanks for the help.

Macola · Feb 19, 2004, 12:45 PM

Well, networking a PC and a Mac is different from networking a PC to a Mac. You're attempting to do the former, at least from your original post.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from hiring someone to do the job (after all, that's how I earn a living) but just saying that it's not as difficult as you were led to believe.

SimeyTheLimey · Feb 19, 2004, 12:58 PM

Originally posted by Macola:
Well, networking a PC and a Mac is different from networking a PC to a Mac. You're attempting to do the former, at least from your original post.

I'm not trying to dissuade you from hiring someone to do the job (after all, that's how I earn a living) but just saying that it's not as difficult as you were led to believe.

I have no idea, having never done it. If what you say is correct then this sounds like the next frontier for computer designers. Right now the technology is scary. Even figuring out which cable fits the router required me to do research. Computer designers need to dumb this sh1t down.

I bought a mac because "it just works." I have zero interest in IP numbers, configuration, and so on. If networking were as simple as plugging peripherals into a USB hub, then that would be fine. But right now anything more complicated, timeconsuming, or requiring specialized knowledge gets done professionally, unless the cost is really outrageous -- and $80 simply isn't.

FWIW, I'm also hiring a lawn service.

fulmer · Feb 19, 2004, 01:04 PM

Originally posted by SimeyTheLimey:
My impression is that it is not plug and play -- especially since I know nothing about Windows XP. I ran some searches where newbies ask about networking PCs to Macs. The answer is always expressed in deep geek. I don't have time for the learning curve necessary.

fulmer: thanks for the help.

I have a couple macs (10.3.x) and a windows xp box. I turn on windows file sharing on the macs and windows xp sees the macs and I can login from xp. However, I have had less success with the mac seeing the xp machine and logging into it--this could be something I'm just missing here.

Macola · Feb 19, 2004, 08:15 PM

Originally posted by fulmer:
However, I have had less success with the mac seeing the xp machine and logging into it--this could be something I'm just missing here.

Panther broke a lot of networking that used to work in Jaguar...browsing and connecting reliably to SMB shares being one of the major ones.

BkueKanoodle · Feb 24, 2004, 10:32 PM

Originally posted by Macola:
Panther broke a lot of networking that used to work in Jaguar...browsing and connecting reliably to SMB shares being one of the major ones.

Sorry I disagree. Panther for me in a Windows world has been a lot more stable, faster and reliable then jaguar ever was. At least now, if I forget to dismount my pc share at the office before I bring my powerbook home, it doesn't cause the beach ball of death like jaguar did.