How to Set Up a Computer Router With a Cable Connection

Computer networking is connecting two or more computers to enable them to share data and internet connections. The networking process can vary significantly depending on the setup the user desires, the type of internet connection they have, as well as the hardware that will be used to configure the network. One of the most common network setups is using a router with a cable internet connection to wire several computers together.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Router
• Ethernet cables
• Ethernet cards in each PC

1. Turn off your computer, and disconnect the power to your modem.

2. Connect your cable modem to the router's WAN, or WLAN port with an Ethernet cable. The router should have one port called WAN or WLAN, and then several ports numbered counting up from 1.

3. Hook your main computer's Ethernet card up to port 1 on the router with an Ethernet cord.

4. Plug in and turn on the cable modem, then the router, and then the main computer.

5. Open a web browser and open the log in screen for the router's management tools by typing the IP address/URL for the router. Most routers either use: http://192.168.1.1 or http://192.168.0.1. The manuals that came with your router should tell you which number to use.

6. Use the user name and password cited in the material that came with the router to log in.

7. Enter information about your connection into the proper section of your router's management center. This section will likely be called "Setup" or something similar, but will vary from one router to another. You should be able bring up a list of the necessary information, such as IP address, and subnet mask, by doing the following: click "Start," then "Run," then type "Command," click "OK," and type "ipconfig" in the DOS pop-up box, and press "Enter."

8. Attempt to use the Internet to see if the router is working. If information was entered properly, you should be able to access the web. If not, recheck the numbers.

9. Connect other computers to the remaining ports on the router with Ethernet cables to gain access to the Internet as necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Most routers will come with a configuration CD that will guide you through the process of setting up the router properly. If you ever want to hook up two computers direly through their Ethernet cards, you must use a crossover Ethernet cable, rather than a standard cable you would use to hook up to a modem, router or hub. Routers can sometimes block certain ports from the internet, causing some programs that use the Internet to run more slowly. (See resource 3 for information on port forwarding to alleviate this issue)

Resources

• Router hook up information
• Info on Router setup
• Info on port forwarding