I'm running Windows XP Home edition on two computers; my desktop and my laptop. Do you know if it's possible to have a dual ethernet cable jack like you can have a dual telephone jack? This is what I want to do. My internet service on my desktop is on cable. I want to know if I can have a dual cable jack so that I can bring my laptop and sit it on my desk sometimes and have them both connected to the internet at the same time through my cable, without having to disconnect the cable from my desktop and plugging it into my laptop when I want to use the laptop. Is that possible?

Hi vip4bham

Not sure if this even exists (and if it works) as I never seen that. I think you'll need a hub (or switch)... there are some cheap ones on the market, about $ 30.00

I will move this topic to the Networking and Lan support forum, as maybe someone have a better suggestion on this

Chris

You need a router, either wireless (which I am a fan of) or cabled. The reason is that in order to access the internet, you need to have a valid IP address assigned to both machines, but you can only do one at a time unless you have two separate broadband cables run into your house (rather extravagant to say the least ).

SO you get yourself a router, and the router automatically assigns a different IP addy for both of your machines, and you set your computers up as a network. Now you can run them both online at the same time, totally independent of each other. D Link makes a really great router for a low price; you will need one router and two NICs (Network Interface Card). If you want to go cabled, you can use the NIC that is already on the back of your computer; if you want to go wireless, you must buy & install a wireless NIC in each computer and get a wireless router.

Hope this helps.

Hey
If your looking for a quick solution, all you need to do is get another PCI LAN card
and install it in your desktop.
After doing so create a home network using windows network wizard, and there you go...
_______________
"Cocaine is God's way of saying you're making too much money"

SimpleJohn:

That is fine for simple file sharing type networking; that won't work for internet access.

To add to the suggestion about wireless routers, if you do buy one you need to set it up securely. My stepmother bought one, and I have a friend that informed me I could "name" the network so that only someone who knew the name could use it (assuming they configured their PC/laptop correctly). That way her neighbors couldn't steal access from her. Might sound silly, but there was a story about people doing that with CVS (or Walgreens..I forget which) where within X many yards of the store you could use their internet. So anyway, read up on proper configuration. You'll be glad you did if even just to know what you spent your hard-earned money on!