Hi
is it possible to share an internet connection between my pc and laptop without a router?
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Hi
is it possible to share an internet connection between my pc and laptop without a router?
Yes, you should be able to do that. You will possibly need a "crossed" cable (and that may well set you back as much money as a switch/router).
You will obviously also need some sort of Proxy Server on the PC - such as "Internet Sharing" that Windows has.
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Mats
You can turn the PC into a router. You don't need a dedicated router.
Yeah the only hardware you need is a crossover cable. If you go to college you might be able to make one there if you ask; thats how I got mine. The wiremap is basically the same as a normal cable, but on one end the green and orange wires are swapped. If not I wouldent worry as i cant see one costing much. Or at least not as much as a router, with which you would need a straight through cable anyway.
A crossover cable shouldn't take a fraction of the cost of a router. As for the proxy, I would go with some of the freeware alternatives which offer better and more secure alternatives to Windows Internet Sharing.
I thought you could also use a Firewire cable with Internet Sharing too. (It's an option on a Mac anyway).
You can even use an USB cable. It's just not a practical choice when the alternative CAT-5 cable is so much cheaper.
Wait... I'm baffled by how this would work... Sure, I can see how you'd make your PC a router if it has multiple ethernet ports, however, what's this crossover cable about and what kind of method does it use to identify where to send the data when it gets to the split?
EDIT: *shrug* I'm looking into it, got some articles and diagrams... I don't quite know what's going on here, but my whole world has been twisted upside-down. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!
It is a Type A to Type B cable. I think the "standard" is to use Type B (orange is first) but a crossover cable is one on each end.
BTW, if your internet connection is USB, the you already have a free Ethernet port on your computer. I personally don't like the USB type connections to the gateway, but some companies give this out as their default.
Anyways, to sum it up, regarding the opºs question:
1. Get a second NIC and install it on the machine that will be doing the share. You only need this second card if your current modem is using your current one.
2. Get a crossover cable to connect the free NIC of each computer.
3. There's windows ICS that will share your connection. Check the tutorials how to set it up. But I strongly suggest some of the freeware alternatives or the cheap shareware ones like my favorite Wingate.
Voilá.
Seriously, why not buy a router then?
If you plan to buy a NIC, crossover cable, etc it'll cost probably close to a cheap/okayish router. Don't forget you'll have to leave the PC on which you have acting as a router if you want to access the internet from the other PC.