Okay, so I just got internet at my house. I plug my netbook into the ethernet cable and it works fine. My two roommates plug theirs in and it won't connect.

We haven't gotten a wireless router yet, but both of theirs work at wifi hotspots. Is there something very obvious we are missing? Can you help up let them get on there?

9/12/2010 11:46:52 PM

Sounds like they have their Ethernet adapters disabled. What version of Windows are they running?

For Windows 7 (and probably Vista, I don't remember): Control Panel -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Change adapter settings (in the side bar)-> Look for the Ethernet adapter and check to see if it's disabled, if it is just Right Click -> Enable

For XP (been a while since I've been in XP so this is from memory and could be wrong): Start Menu -> My Network Places -> Network Connections -> Look for the Ethernet adapter and check to see if it's disabled, if it is just Right Click -> Enable

For OSX: Fuck if I know

[Edited on September 13, 2010 at 12:22 AM. Reason : going to bed, hope that helps]

9/13/2010 12:10:40 AM

moar like you need a router to connect more than one I address

9/13/2010 12:22:47 AM

I was assuming they weren't all trying to connect at once.

9/13/2010 12:23:42 AM

Quote :

"I plug my netbook into the ethernet cable and it works fine."

Are you referring to the ethernet cable that is plugged into the Cable/DSL/U-Verse modem that the installer just hooked up?

Quote :

"My two roommates plug theirs in and it won't connect."

If what I said is true, then they won't get a connection since you already plugged your netbook into it. In other words, it remembers which device ID (called a MAC address) was plugged in most recently. It will remember this connection until you unplug the modem's power for about 5 minutes.

Quote :

"We haven't gotten a wireless router yet, but both of theirs work at wifi hotspots."

To begin with, you answered your question with the first part of this sentence. But I'll explain it below:

If you don't have a wireless router (aka Wi-Fi) that has the ethernet cable plugged into it, then you WILL NOT have a Wi-Fi internet connection in your place of residence. The Wi-Fi connection at Starbucks or the Airport (etc...) is an entirely different wireless router and is entirely localized to the specific location that advertises the Wi-Fi availability. Remember this: Wi-Fi is NOT a cell phone signal and spread by towers around town and down the interstate, it is restricted to a local area.

In short, go buy a wireless router, then unplug your internet modem from its power source for about 5 minutes and plug the ethernet cable between the modem and your router; then follow the directions that come with the wireless router to set up the wireless security and initialization. It's easy, really.

9/13/2010 12:26:49 AM

^You mean that just because we have a modem in our house we aren't automatically going to get a wireless service. Ugg that's bullshit. Earthlink said that we could have wireless with their internet! I should call them up right now and complain.

9/13/2010 9:46:37 AM

most modems aren't wireless

9/13/2010 9:55:58 AM

I'm just messing with you. I know I have to have a wireless router in order to get wireless internet. I am just waiting for my brother to bring the extra one that is in Conover here to the beach so that I can have one for free as opposed to having to buy a new one.

Thanks for the info guys.

9/13/2010 10:07:02 AM

I'm confused. Is this a troll thread or not?

9/13/2010 4:55:28 PM

No, not a troll thread. I really didn't know why my roommates could not access the internet through the ethernet cable when the same cable works fine on my computer. I have a wireless router coming to me tomorrow so we are going to be okay now.

I didn't troll until that one guy assumed that I was an idiot and didn't know that I couldn't just magically recieve wireless.

9/14/2010 9:33:46 AM

Well... you ARE a female.

9/14/2010 11:26:39 AM

How dare you accuse me of such a thing! I will not stand for this!

9/14/2010 12:08:24 PM

once you've connected your PC to the cable modem, if you want to connect a different device directly to the modem, you have to power down the modem for a few minutes, power it back up, and then connect a different device.

9/14/2010 1:51:33 PM

I answered your question in my second paragraph, as BobbyDigital has just confirmed.

Quote :

"I didn't troll until that one guy assumed that I was an idiot and didn't know that I couldn't just magically recieve wireless."

In my defense, I know people that think the 3G their phone uses is the same thing as the Wi-Fi at their house, and they are otherwise intelligent.

Further, I don't think I ever called you an idiot, I merely stated the obvious and explained it in case you didn't know. So unless you had reason to feel such a way, you never should have taken offense to what I said.

(Also, my last quotation of your own words suggests that you dodn't understand how Wi-Fi works, so get over yourself and be thankful I took the time to give you advice.)

[Edited on September 15, 2010 at 9:59 AM. Reason : .]

9/15/2010 9:57:44 AM

Haha, simmer down. I appreciate y'all helping me out.

9/15/2010 2:28:38 PM