Im PC illiterate - Want Live but dont know how!

[Marmite]

I know this has probably been asked a million times but i really need some tailor made answers for my situation as im v lost: im pretty much clueless as to how to get myself hooked up. Ive read all the guides etc but there seem to be so many permeatations that i thought i would ask you guys to hopefully provide me with a clear step by step guide as to what i need, where to get it from and how to use it. Here's my scenario:

We have a PC in our house. Its connected to Blueyonder Broadband. I want to get on Live via a Router connection. My room is located in the loft and the PC is downstairs in a bedroom below (im thinking i will need some long cables in at least one part of the set up?). And thats about all the info i have! Ive read loads of stuff about routers, RJ45 cables, Mac addresses, NIC cards etc but to be honest im feeling pretty hopeless as i dont know very much at all about PC's (where's the embarassed emoticon?!).

Im guessing that i will need a router, 3 RJ45 cables (one very long one to reach the xbox in my room) and the starter pack, but beyond this i know very little (eg:does my computer have a NIC? is my modem an Ethernet one? and do you have to install routers?)

So, in a word: help! (please)

Cheers

[fragmast3r]

Im guessing that i will need a router, 3 RJ45 cables (one very long one to reach the xbox in my room)

Correct

and the starter pack

Correct

does my computer have a NIC?

what does the cable look like that goes from the modem to the computer? is it like an oversized telephone connector at both ends, and does it say cat5e on the cable? if it does it is rj45 network cable, if not its prolly usb.

is my modem an Ethernet one?

almost definately yes, if its a motorolla surfboard4200 then its is usb and ethernet (goes into network card nic)

and do you have to install routers?)

NO, unless u require the net at the same time as xbox live if u need both at same time then u need a router www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk or www.ebuyer.co.uk have some good ones at a good price, if u dont need both at once ie happy to swap cables all u have to do is have a network cable going from pc to modem, and another real long one that goes from xbox to modem, then when u want xbox use the long cable from modem to xbox and when u want to use pc use short one pc to modem

hope this makes sense

[Marmite]

Nice one mate - i think you have helped me to clear a few things up.

Ive just had a look at the modem and it is indeed the motorolla one you mentioned, and the grey wire coming out of it has Cat5 written on it (so im now assuming this means this PC has a nic?).

With regards to your last point though - i definitely need to get a router as i will almost definitely have to be able to use both PC and Live at the same time. Soooo....

Im right in thinking i only need to get 3 RJ45 cables (straight through or crossover??) if im going down the router, err, route! And when i get the router and connect everything up, is there an installation process i have to go through on the PC in order for it to work, or is it all automatic?

Thanks again for the help so far.

[Sarkster]

There will be things you need to do.

The Blueyonder modem will plug straight into your router (the port marked WAN) and obviously the XB and PC will plug into one of the router LAN sockets.

Blueyonder is always on, so you shouldnt have a problem with having to enter usernames/passwords into the router gui (like you might with ADSL) but one thing you maye have to do is clone your PC's mac address to the router.

The blueyonder modem will likely only work with the PC the engineer set it up on, this is because he gave the mac address for your PC to the office and they allowed net access from that machine, so, once you have the modem connected to the router, and the PC connected, open IE (or equiv) go into the router setup (usually 192.168.1.1 or similar, it will say in the manual) and have a scout through the options. somewhere you will find a button that says somethig like "clone Mac address" hit that. if you then go back to your pc and try browsing to yahoo, it should work fine.

Just plug your XB in too now, and youre away.

hth

[Dave SS]

its a shame you need a router, I have blueyonder and a NIC, and all I do is unplug the cable from the PC and hook it into the back of the Xbox to play via Live (once I registered the Xbox's MAC address with blueyonder).

[Marmite]

Hmm, maybe i will try a direct connection to start with. Only thing is, dont i need a different type of RJ45 cable if use a direct connection as opposed to a router one?

Oh, and am i right in thinking i only need to register the mac address if i use a direct connection?

Edit: ok scrap the bit about the wires - ive realised now that its only a different lead if i go via an ICS connection. What i need to know is: will this do the trick for a direct/router connection?:

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/product/product.jsp?CATID=92648&PRODID=92670&textLocation=top

Need to know soon as im planning on heading down to B&Q tonight. My starter pack is in the post as well