Problems with Surfboard 5100 and linksys router connection

Your modem might need to be power-cycled every time you connect a new MAC address. Try powering it off for a minute, repower, then connect either another computer or the router.

....additionally, if Telewest requires a specific MAC address (i.e., your original computer NIC's MAC address) to be connected to the modem, you can clone that MAC address into the router to make the router appear to be the originally connected computer. Telewest support should be able to tell you if this is required.

Does anyone else think that it is odd to use PPPOE for a cable modem?

theres no network card in the main computer as it connects through the USB connection and will connect through wireless when i finnaly get the thing to work...so i dont think i have to clone the MAC address (although i originally thought this thats why i bought this router). is there a setup site for the modem like there is for the router? is there something in there that may need altering? as for the PPPOE connection this is what the telewest tech said to do, bosh the router on and connect using PPPOE. what other system should i use? DHCP perhaps?

All cable cos that I've ever heard of use DHCP - PPPOE is used a lot on DSL lines. There's nothing you have to do with the cable modem - that's all handled by your ISP. The router should be good at the default state (you could configure it with the latest firmware if there an upgrade). Since I've never tried using USB, I'm not sure what you need to do differently (probably nothing at the router) - I'm guessing the router can figure out which you're using. The most you should have to do is possibly clone your PC's MAC address into the router - most of the time it's not necessary.

The router is good for more than cloning a MAC address - it gives you a ton of extra protection from the slime on the Internet trying to break into your computers and will also give you a local LAN functionality with the builtin switch.