Need Help with Network PLZ

Hi I just joined the forums and I need help installing a home network. It is between 2 computers in the same room both running Windows XP. I think I have everything hooked up right but I'm wondering if I need a hub. I have a cable modem, a Desktop, and Laptop that i'm trying to network I have to cables going from my desktop one going to my modem the other going to ther laptop (the desktop is the main ) but the network isnt working am i doing something wrong

someone told me to bride connections but when i try that i get this message]

to create a network bridge you must select at least two connections that are not being used by internet connection sharing or the internet coonection firewall

If you want both computers to share the cable modem, you need a router somewhere in the mix. I recommend an inexpensive cable/dsl router like a linksys to make life easy, recently a linksys with 4-port ethernet switch was $50.00 US new.

Your other alternative, assuming you have 2 network cards in one of the computers, is to set up Windows Internet Connection Sharing on the 2-NIC computer, where one NIC goes to the cable modem and the other NIC is connected to the other computer either via a hub/switch or a crossover cable.

I think there are some gotchas with the ICS configuration, do a google search on ICS and broadband.

ok I bought a router now im having trouble of getting it to work when i have to set it up offline can someone help

ok i got it working now but with the router i can share files between the computers right

If you are asking how to share files, there are a couple things you need to check. I'm assuming both computers can get to the Internet now and are connected to the switch in your router.

You need both computers to be in the same workgroup, and you need to assign the proper permissions to share things.

If you open the Help & Support Center and go to the Networking section, you'll find lots of help and tools to help you get things set up properly.

ok thankl you very much i have everything working