connecting to network w/o lan?

Is there anyway to connect to my home network (cable modem, linksys router, rj45 cables) to a laptop with no lan card?
I know it may not be possible, but it doesn't hurt to ask..gm

How about connecting to another computer which is on the network? Is that possible?...gary

If you're trying to connect to your home network from somewhere else on the Internet, the computer from which you're connecting doesn't need a LAN card - it just needs a connection to the Internet. This may be through a USB or internal PCI modem, for example.



What exactly do you mean? What do you want to connect to? Inside a local network, you can setup remote control software, so that you can control/view one computer from another.

I want to somehow hook a laptop (with no lan card) to either:
my home network consisting of a 3com cable modem and a linksys router or
to another computer on the home network(I have 4).

Anyway to link the comps together through the dialups or a cable? Possibly through the usb ports?
I am trying to get to the speed of the cable, so connecting through the internet doesn't help.
Thanks...gary

Well, if you don't want to connect the computers with a network cable, you could firewire, USB, serial or parallel cables. But I'd still suggest a proper network cable.

where do I plug in on the laptop if I do not have a lan card and for that matter, where do I hook up on the host computer and do it have to configure something in the computer to let it communicate?
Thanks for the help Edwin....gary

You should be able to directly connect computers with serial/parallel etc with most versions of Windows, from 98 upwards (I think). On XP, if you open up the Network Connections section from the Control Panel, select the link to Create a new connection. Then, select the option to Set up an advanced connection. On the first computer, then select the option to Accept incoming connections. Follow the rest of the wizard and this should be OK. Then, on the second computer, select the option to Connect directly to another computer.

Third-party software can also do this. Laplink should work fine.

some old school is to use null modem cable (this connects them through the serial ports )to connect the laptop to the computer on the lan, also PC anywhere with modems, or usb.