Networking of computers in the home

[FCurran]

I have four computers and a laptop in the house where can i find information that will help a novice to link them through a network so that all the computers can use such facilities as the printer and the internet which is broadband?

[BenDToy]

I looked for information on this a while back, and found the following sites which may be useful http://www.sussex.ac.uk/USCS/Publications/Guides/a
dslshare.shtml http://paler.com/home_networking.html

[BenDToy]

Sorry about this, one of the addresses got cut off http://paler.com/home_networking.html

[j2buttonsw]

You will need ethernet cards in all of the computers and laptop and they are joined to each other as a Local Area Network (LAN) by CAT5 cables via a hub. Use file and printer sharing to share (guess what?) files and printers and use internet connection sharing (on Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 or XP) to share the broadband internet connection. A good site is: http://www.pcmech.com/networking.htm It is not that difficult to do.

[BenDToy]

I saw the following item on sale on ebay, and it seems to be a simple solution to this question. It is described as a 4 port PCI router card, and seems to me a bit like a combined ethernet card and switch which can be used to connect 4 computers together (or more if hubs are connected). If I have interpreted this correctly it may be the answer you need!

[BenDToy]

Sorry - forgot the link. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&it
em=2082871763&category=3706

[j2buttonsw]

Mr Toy is correct but it may require that you to have an ADSL/cable modem which has a network card interface and can therefore be plugged straight into the card. The popular BT Alcatel modem is an example of an ADSL modem which only has a USB connector and thus may not work (if I have interpreted this correcly).