lan

[wickedtart]

i am about to connect 2 pcs in my house to an internet connection and am told each pc will need an lan, where do i find this and what does this mean pls. Thanks

[stevie21]

Just that you'll need network cards in each PC so that they can be connected with an ethernet cable

[dodgyshirt]

Lan stands for Local Area Network which simply means the joining together of two or more PCs to form a network.

Go into device manager of each of the PCs and see if a Network Adapter is listed. These are either incorporated in the motherboard or as a separate PCI card.

If not listed then a LAN PCI card can be bought for as little as �5 and fits in the PCs expansion slots.

You can then use an RJ45 Crossover cable (about �7) to join the PCs or use a network hub and RJ45 Patch cables.

The final alternative is a wireless network which with a modem/router and two wireless adapters will set you back upwards of �80

[wickedtart]

Hi where do i find the device manager pls

[vehelpfulguy]

From the nature of your questions I do not think you are yet technically capable of setting up a lan on your own.

Buy a boook about home networks, or buy a PC magazine with an article about home networks. Or go into the Windows help and type "Home Network".

Or get some help from somebody who can come to your house and set up the network for you.

It is not THAT difficult, but if you do not even know where Device manager is then it could be a long slow process via answerbank.

[qapmoc]

HI, I have to agree with VHG on this, setting up a LAN is ''usually'' not too difficult but can be a real pain sometimes and there are quite a few issues you need to know about first , you really do need some outside help from somebody at this stage in your PC experience.

[theo_wyvern]

if the internet connection has the ability to connect two pc's and you do not need to share information between them then there is no need to create a LAN, and as said if you are not computer literate enough it could be a pain.

[wickedtart]

Thanks all for your help, i do not need to share information, however i am on dial up and proceeding to get broadband, what do i need so that both pc's can be on line at the same time please. Thanks and not i am not at all technical. lol

[stevie21]

If you only need to connect 2 PCs to one internet connection then the easiest way is to buy a combined "modem/router".
The broadband connection from your phone line is wired into this modem/router and that splits the connection between 2 or more PCs (which are connected to this modem/router via these RJ45 "ethernet cables").
At the PC side of things, the RJ45 cable plugs into the "network card" which is visible in the device manager.
To see your device manager, click Start, then Run and type:
devmgmt.msc
then look for "network adapters"

This all sounds MUCH more complicated than it actually is.

[qapmoc]

I can't really agree with you there stevie21, if the PC's already have network cards installed and setup, then yes it might not be too bad, BUT if you have to install and setup new NIC's in older PC's it can be a real pain and in my experience nothing gives as much hassle as setting up NIC's for problems with interupts etc... even now with plug and play on XP.

[wickedtart]

I should have said one is my pc and the other is a laptop that my partner needs to have to have connected at the same time.