How do I share my ethernet link with another pc through a router?

eleve · 05-25-2006, 10:43 AM

Ok, I recently moved into an apartment with an ethernet link all ready to go. I was told that I could use my Linksys BEFSR41 wired router to share this connection with my other pc (before I moved in). Now that I am here, and trying to set everything up, I am having problems.

I have the cables right.. ethernet cable to the WAN port on the router, separate cables from 1 and 2 slots on the router to the pcs.. and in network connections on the pcs, I am getting LAN connected. On the host pc, I also have a Internet Connection gateway above the LAN connection.. it says "Disabled". I tried right clicking it and selecting Enable, and it tells me that it is connected but it still reads Disabled. And of course, neither pc can access the internet.

I have tried contacting the apartment manager for more details about the ethernet, but I was told rather brusquely that the management only supports direct links and not routers. At this point I feel I am being given the brush off in this matter and am unlikely to get further, useful information from the office. That is why I have turned to this community to help me resolve the problem.

Things I have tried:
Powered down pcs and router for several minutes, and then powered up router, waited a couple minutes, and powered up pcs.
Checked settings on both pcs; verified that they will never try to dial a connection and LAN settings have no options checked.

Other facts:

Ethernet link is working, as when I have just a direct connection without the router, I can get one pc on the internet.
Both pcs are running Windows XP Home.
Both pcs set to obtain IP automatically; router has DHCP enabled.
Both pcs are part of the same workgroup.
I don't have a modem for this connection. The ethernet cable runs from the ethernet outlet directly to my external router.
I'm not trying to share files with both pcs, I just want them both to share the ethernet connection.
The router I believe to be in good working condition, since I just moved from a different apartment where I used it to route a cable connection to both pcs.

I have wracked my brain on this subject, as well as searched the router user manual and done hours of online research. I am thoroughly and completely stumped. Thank you in advance for all the help.

mgmcc · 05-25-2006, 12:56 PM

Try this - connect the PC directly to the ethernet connection and make sure that you have managed to get online. See what IP address the PC has. Depending whether you are connecting via an existing router or connecting directly to an ISP will determine whether you have a WAN (Wide Area Network or Internet) IP address or a Local Area Network address. The latter would probably be in a 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x range.

Now connect the router's WAN port to the ethernet connection and a PC to one of the router's LAN ports. By entering the router's IP address into a web browser you should be able to access its Setup pages. See what IP address the PC is getting from your router and what IP address the router is getting from the ethernet connection. It is important that they are not both operating in the same IP address range. If they are, you need to change the range of your router's IP address and the DHCP pool from which it allocates addresses.

If this is all OK, you might need to clone the MAC address of your PC's network adapter in the router's WAN settings, so that the ethernet connection still thinks it is the PC which is connected to it.

See if that gets you any further forward

eleve · 05-25-2006, 01:52 PM

I found that my LAN IP and WAN Default Gateway were the same, which suggested that the apartment router was the same IP as my router. I changed my router IP by one number and it solved the problem! Thank you very much for your suggestions :)

05-25-2006, 10:43 AM	#1 (permalink)
eleve Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP Home	How do I share my ethernet link with another pc through a router? Ok, I recently moved into an apartment with an ethernet link all ready to go. I was told that I could use my Linksys BEFSR41 wired router to share this connection with my other pc (before I moved in). Now that I am here, and trying to set everything up, I am having problems. I have the cables right.. ethernet cable to the WAN port on the router, separate cables from 1 and 2 slots on the router to the pcs.. and in network connections on the pcs, I am getting LAN connected. On the host pc, I also have a Internet Connection gateway above the LAN connection.. it says "Disabled". I tried right clicking it and selecting Enable, and it tells me that it is connected but it still reads Disabled. And of course, neither pc can access the internet. I have tried contacting the apartment manager for more details about the ethernet, but I was told rather brusquely that the management only supports direct links and not routers. At this point I feel I am being given the brush off in this matter and am unlikely to get further, useful information from the office. That is why I have turned to this community to help me resolve the problem. Things I have tried: Powered down pcs and router for several minutes, and then powered up router, waited a couple minutes, and powered up pcs. Checked settings on both pcs; verified that they will never try to dial a connection and LAN settings have no options checked. Other facts: Ethernet link is working, as when I have just a direct connection without the router, I can get one pc on the internet. Both pcs are running Windows XP Home. Both pcs set to obtain IP automatically; router has DHCP enabled. Both pcs are part of the same workgroup. I don't have a modem for this connection. The ethernet cable runs from the ethernet outlet directly to my external router. I'm not trying to share files with both pcs, I just want them both to share the ethernet connection. The router I believe to be in good working condition, since I just moved from a different apartment where I used it to route a cable connection to both pcs. I have wracked my brain on this subject, as well as searched the router user manual and done hours of online research. I am thoroughly and completely stumped. Thank you in advance for all the help.

05-25-2006, 12:56 PM	#2 (permalink)
mgmcc Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Location: Dundee, Scotland Posts: 244 OS: XP, Vista, Mac OS X	Try this - connect the PC directly to the ethernet connection and make sure that you have managed to get online. See what IP address the PC has. Depending whether you are connecting via an existing router or connecting directly to an ISP will determine whether you have a WAN (Wide Area Network or Internet) IP address or a Local Area Network address. The latter would probably be in a 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x range. Now connect the router's WAN port to the ethernet connection and a PC to one of the router's LAN ports. By entering the router's IP address into a web browser you should be able to access its Setup pages. See what IP address the PC is getting from your router and what IP address the router is getting from the ethernet connection. It is important that they are not both operating in the same IP address range. If they are, you need to change the range of your router's IP address and the DHCP pool from which it allocates addresses. If this is all OK, you might need to clone the MAC address of your PC's network adapter in the router's WAN settings, so that the ethernet connection still thinks it is the PC which is connected to it. See if that gets you any further forward

05-25-2006, 01:52 PM	#3 (permalink)
eleve Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 2 OS: Windows XP Home	I found that my LAN IP and WAN Default Gateway were the same, which suggested that the apartment router was the same IP as my router. I changed my router IP by one number and it solved the problem! Thank you very much for your suggestions :)