Currently I have to have my Linksys Router connected to my old desktop PC in order for my laptops to receive the internet connection. I want to trash the old desktop but when I disconnect it from the router my laptops lose the internet connection. How can I run the linksys router with it being hooked to a desktop PC? I'm running Comcast HighSpeed and my laptops are using Vista. Anyone?
Sounds like you've got your desktop running ICS and acting as a gateway for the other computers. Look at the IP configuration on each laptop, they ought to be pointing everything at the router.
open a command prompt window on one of hte laptops, and type ipconfig /all
Do the same on your desktop. Then post the results back here, along with the make and model of your laptop wireless card(s) & router and the OS on the desktop.
Which Linksys router is it? Do you use/need wired or wireless connections? There is absolutely no reason to run with this setup AFAIK. And just to make a point the router is not connected to the computer but it's really the other way around. It would be more correct to say the router is connected to the cable modem and then your computers would connect to the router.
The way a router works is typically by acquiring your WAN IP address from the cable modem. The router in turn issues out IP addresses to the computers connected to it via the routers own DHCP service thus sharing your high speed connection with all your computers. If you desire to share files/folders between systems then Sharing needs to be setup on each system.
Don't know which model Linksys I have but yes, a cable modem is connected to the router. I'm just wondering why the desktop is affecting connection to the laptops. Is it because I installed the Linksys software on that PC? I tried installing the Linksys software on a laptop but it won't load.
They've made dozens. Take the time to flip it over and FIND OUT. While you're at it, look for a version number on the label too.
This IS your own router, correct? If so, they log into it and find out how it's making the WAN connection. Make note of what sort of connection it's making (PPP, PPPoE, static, dhcp, etc). Print the web page. You may also need to dig up your configuration instruction your ISP provided you. If it's got a PPPoE setup you'll need the password. The online web page probably won't SHOW this to you so you'll have to get it.
Then just reset the router to factory defaults and start over on it. Depending on which model router and the cable modem setup it may simply start working right away. You'll then want to change the wireless security, the SSID (network name) and the admin password.
But start by digging up the model number and version of the router.
When you disconnect the router from the old PC, does the old PC still have access to the internet?
You probably have a USB cable from the cable modem to the PC, and then an ethernet cable from the PC to the router.
The cable modem probably has both a USB and an ethernet connection.
Try unplugging the ethernet and USB cables from the old PC and the cable modem. Turn everything off for five minutes. Connect the ethernet cable from the router to the cable modem, instead of to the old PC.
Turn on the cable modem, wait until it shows online status. Turn on the router. Wait for it to come online. Now the wireless PCs might be able to connect to the ethernet. The old PC would need to be reconfigured to use a new ethernet cable to a different port on the router, if you want to continue to use it.
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