- Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz With Hyper Threading (very fast), 4 Gigabytes (GB) DDR II RAM Memory
- DVD-RW Optical Drive (Plays and Records DVDs/CDs), 10/100/1000 LAN Networking and Internet (Cable-DSL Internet Ready)
- Dell 19″ LCD Flat Panel Monitor, Original Sealed Microsoft XP, Office Suite CDs included
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- Also Includes: Power cables, Keyboard, Mouse, New Speakers
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Question by MiNapi: If I connect my computer to a modem, can it disconnect other computers that are already connected?
I recently got my new desktop computer connected to the main computer modem in the house.
There was another desktop computer already connected to this modem and the owner of that computer is blaming me for his computer disconnecting.
I thought that computer modems can connect more than one computer in the house!
So is it really MY fault that this other person’s computer has some connection problems?
Best answer:
Answer by John S
Sorry to say.. you DID probably disconnect the other person. BUT.. you didn’t do anything irrepairable or damaging…just interrupted their use.
A modem is a “MOdulator, DEModulator” — all it does is translate the digital signal used by desktop computer to the slightly different digital signal on the internet. It can not talk to multiple computers at once. It merely encodes and decodes the data for you.
By plugging in your computer..and maybe turning the modem on/off..you reset it… and caused it to communicate with the Internet Provider and get a Internet Protocol address (IP) from the internet provider. This IP is used to communicate with the internet provider. The Modem can only request 1. SO by plugging your computer directly into the modem.. your desktop computer got the single IP the modem is allowed to use.
If you plugged the Owner’s computer back into the MODEM without resetting it.. it didn’t request a new IP from the interent provider so that explains why the owner’s computere didn’t work anymore.
To temporarily resolve the issue.. simply shutdown the owners computer… then unplug the power from the MODEM. Wait about 30 seconds and then plug the A/C power back in. Wait for the lights on teh MODEM to settle down and then turn on the Owner’s computer. That should temporarily resolve the issue until you try to use the internet again.. then YOUR computer won’t work and HIS will.
What you need in order to share the internet is a device called a “Router” — As the name implies..a Router… routes data around a web of interconnected computers.
The Internet or world wide web, (actually 2 different things..but that’s a different question all together) employs millions of routers to get data from 1 place to another.
If you click on a link to “Yahoo” your actual signal may travel thru half a dozen “routers” on its way to your computer.
A Router will sit between the MODEM and the rest of the computers on the network. Your computer and the owner’s computer will both plug into the router. The router will plug into the MODEM. The MODEM gives its 1 IP address that it gets from the internet provider to the Router. The Router acts as a middle man. It can give out roughly 254 IP addresses to the computers directly plugged into it. By doing this.. it allows more then 1 computer to make requests to the router..and the router in turn, forwards these requests to the MODEM. The modem only knows about the router..so it thinks only 1 device is connected to it. It has no idea that on the other side of the router…sits 2 more computers. The technical term for this is “Network Address Translation” or NAT.
To make things even eaiser..the Router is usually configured to automatically give the internal computers fake IP addresses using what is called “Dynamic Host Control Protocol” or DHCP for short.
so here is a crued YAHOO Answers diagram of the setup
[MODEM]<-----{ROUTER}<--- Computer1 & Computer 2
Routers cost about $ 30 to $ 50 at your local computer retailer. If you happen to have a Fry's Electronics near by, just wait for the Newspaper ad to come out every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and pick up whichever router is on Special...usually an Airlink brand.
Office Depot, Staples, Best Buy, Radio Shack and Comp USA are generally overpriced, so I'd avoid them unless that's all you have in your town.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Computers
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The computer lab at Assumption College
