Internet Connection For 2 Laptops

[mussen]

Hi all, I use a XP Pro laptop for work daily. Internet is Edge GPRS via a Nokia mobile phone (connected by bluetooth). I have a second XP Pro laptop which doesn't have bluetooth, I'm just wondering if I buy a bluetooth dongle for it can I run internet on both computers simultaneously? Alternatively is there a way I can connect the 2 laptops (USD cable etc) so they can both use the internet?

Thanks in advance.

[thaimite]

Hi all, I use a XP Pro laptop for work daily. Internet is Edge GPRS via a Nokia mobile phone (connected by bluetooth). I have a second XP Pro laptop which doesn't have bluetooth, I'm just wondering if I buy a bluetooth dongle for it can I run internet on both computers simultaneously? Alternatively is there a way I can connect the 2 laptops (USD cable etc) so they can both use the internet?

Thanks in advance.

If you buy a Bluetooth dongle for your laptop, but you would not be able to connect both lapops simultaneously to the one phone.

Assuming both laptops have network cards (or wifi), the alternative is to use Internet connection sharing (ICS) This is easy to set up and their many huides on the net as to how to do trhis.

The easiest way is if both computers have network cards buy a network crosossover cable and connect them together with this, although WiFi does have the advantage of the machines not having to be tied together. It is a little ,more complex to set up but not much.

The disadvantages with ICS is that the main machine has to be on all the time you want to use the 2nd laptop.

Also you will be sharing a very low bandwidth between two machines which will make browsing very slow at tmes.

[mussen]

Fantastic, thanks for the quick reply. So using a network cable is different to ICS? What is the easiest way to check if both machines (they are laptops) have network cards? Thanks.

[thaimite]

Hi all, I use a XP Pro laptop for work daily. Internet is Edge GPRS via a Nokia mobile phone (connected by bluetooth). I have a second XP Pro laptop which doesn't have bluetooth, I'm just wondering if I buy a bluetooth dongle for it can I run internet on both computers simultaneously? Alternatively is there a way I can connect the 2 laptops (USD cable etc) so they can both use the internet?

Thanks in advance.

No

Using either a crossover cable or wiFi requires ICS to be setup, but the setup with Wifi is a little more complex than with a crossover cable, and some firewall such as the free Zone alarm make it even harder.

To identify if you have a network port you should see something like a telephone socket only larger on the PC.

If you need further help setting up ICS feel free to PM me

Network port

[CrossBones]

Hi all, I use a XP Pro laptop for work daily. Internet is Edge GPRS via a Nokia mobile phone (connected by bluetooth). I have a second XP Pro laptop which doesn't have bluetooth, I'm just wondering if I buy a bluetooth dongle for it can I run internet on both computers simultaneously? Alternatively is there a way I can connect the 2 laptops (USD cable etc) so they can both use the internet?

Thanks in advance.

What you need to do is buy a CROSSOVER ethernet cable. It looks like a normal network cable only the polarity of the wires inside have been crossed over. Plug the computers together. make sure the lights on the ethernet socket come on on both computers. If the lights dont come on you have probably been sold a normal patch cable, not the crossover cable you need.

Set up a home network on both computers using the wizard. On the computer with the connection to the phone select that is the computer that connects to the internet. On the other say that it is connecting to the internet via the LAN.

It will now work.

If it doesnt go to the network connections and control click both connections right click (i think) and bridge connections (the bluetooth phone connection and your LAN connection).

Unfortunately windows doesnt allow you to bridge 2 wireless connections (maybe vista does?) so you will have to use the cable.

The other replies are incorrect you can not bridge 2 wireless (one wi-fi and one bluetooth) connection in Win XP.

You might find that windows home networking is pretty crap and you need to set the network up (wizard) everytime you turn your computers back on and that the settings wont stick.

Its pretty straight forward.