Setting up wireless broadband from NTL

[schueymcfee]

My girlfriend's brother has just bought a laptop with a netgear wireless router. He's had NTL installed.

Now, the NTL connection works fine with a USB connection direct from the modem into the laptop.

When I tried installing the Netgear software, all went fine. I plugged in the ethernet connections (while still having the USB connection). Then it said it was going to make my connection to the internet at which point it asks for my service provider IP address, default gateway, subnet mask etc.

Do I need these from NTL, or can I just set up a wirless network through XP?

[aldi]

The last time I saw an NTL box, it just had an ethernet port and a USB port. I'm assuming that you're connecting the NTL box to the router via a standard network cable.

I don't think you're average netgear wireless router will NAT an ethernet port (only the ADSL connection). NAT is what lets multiple machines share a connection so if you're ignoring the routers ADSL connection and just using it as an ethernet/wireless bridge then you'l only be able to use one thing with it. If you're OK with that then it might work.

One problem that springs to mind is that by default the router will be handing out IP's, and so will be NTL box so you'l need to disable the DHCP server on the netgear router. Then just use XP wireless wizzard to connect to the box, and it should pick up the IP from the NTL box. Then you might have to install the NTL software on the laptop to configure the NTL box with your details.

Basically with NTL I think it's going to be a bit of an arse if he's not conversant in these things. I'd get the model number of the Netgear router to find out 100% if it will party with NTL or not, if not and the person who sold it was told it was to work with NTL then take it back and get a small simple 1-port NTL compatable router. Get that working with the laptop via a network cable. Then get a small simple ethernet/wireless bridge, and get the laptop working with that via the XP wireless wizzard. That should be job done. In theory

[schueymcfee]

Erm - okay, will give that a go tonight.

Thanks

[pmanson]

I've got NTL at both home and at my house in Uni both using wireless. We use a Linksys WRT54G Router. (Use the ethernet cable from the NTL modem straight into the back of the Router)

Works fine! (i've just Netgear routers in the past with the same set up however the router expired so I tried the Linksys for a change with no problems!)

Phill

[Mikey G]

NTL and Linksys router here and no probs i just plugged it in and play, are you still trying to use the USB connection at the same time as the Ethernet? i think its one or the other and you cant plug both in at the same time.
I also selected 'automatically detect network settings' in the connections tab on the explorer properties settings.

[paulhol]

the ntl cd should configure it all through for you once you have got the router up and running, all you will need is a pin code ntl give you. getting it set up was the easy bit, and even that took us nearly a month. ntl - never again.

[Hanslow]

You may find (although I don't know if this is still true) that you need to ring NTL to release the MAC address on the account. They (at least used to) lock the account to the first MAC address that connects, which would have been the computer that connected via USB. When you then try and connect through the router, it has a different MAC address so you may have to ring them up to remove the existing MAC address they hold so that it can take the routers one. You should then be able to leave the settings at default with server assigned addresses.

[FunkyGibbon]

One thing to make sure is that the router is for cable modems and not ADSL, if it is the latter it simply won't work. (Been there, done that )

As others have said, it should be simple...

a) get NTL modem working with direct connection to laptop (USB or ethernet)
b) switch everything off
c) plug wireless router into modem where the laptop was (USB or ethernet)
d) turn everything back on
e) Bob should be your mother's brother

The router may come with some software for you to install on the laptop for admin tasks, but routers usually now have web interfaces.

When you do get it working make sure you modify the security settings of the router (should be explained in the manual) to stop all and sundry stealing your bandwidth.

Good luck

[schueymcfee]

Thanks everyone, got it working.

It was the fact that I had both the USB and Ethernet connections on at the same time.

Disconnected the USB and Robert was Fanny's mother's sister's newphew.