# Dial-up w/wirelas router?



## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

I just purchased a USRobotics USR8054 811g wireless router and a wireless adapter for a laptop. I have my PC connected by Cat 5e to router and I have laptop connected to network via a wireless adapter. My problem is that at this time I connect to the internet by dial-up from the laptop because I am having modem driver issues at this time on the PC and do not have a cable or dsl modem to connect directly to router as instruction shows. I want to connect to internet by the laptops modem, how do I set this up?


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

I do not think that you can. THe device you bought usually allows you to share a broadband connection.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

Are these the only 2 computers on the network, or are they part of a larger network? If you can see both computers on the network, try Internet Connection Sharing. I know ICS is considered a lousy option by many, but if its on your computer and it works for the time being...
I have no idea if this will work or not, but if you can see both computers on the network it seems the router will work as a hub and you should be able to share resources, including a modem.


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

Why don't you just use to two modems in the computers to dial into the internet? cheaper and easier. The router is made for DSL or cable only, and possibly something like starband or directway.


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## n0qcu (Mar 23, 2002)

You could try this modem to share your connection. http://www.radioshack.com/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=CTLG&product%5Fid=25-3211


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Bogy said:


> Are these the only 2 computers on the network, or are they part of a larger network? If you can see both computers on the network, try Internet Connection Sharing. I know ICS is considered a lousy option by many, but if its on your computer and it works for the time being...
> I have no idea if this will work or not, but if you can see both computers on the network it seems the router will work as a hub and you should be able to share resources, including a modem.


Currently only 2, however I plan on adding a 3rd once a 2nd laptop is repaired and a card added. I did have the 2 computers connected pear to pear via cat 5 e crossover cable and were seeing each other fine and sharing internet, printer and files until a cable connector broke on one end, we were already planning on going wireless and adding the 3rd computer. I agree with you on using ICS, and as long as the two and eventually three computers could see each other their should be no problem sharing a single dial-up. We purchased this set up last night and I am currently trying to figure out how to set the adapter-card to enterprise mode so it can communicate with the router and hopefully see the desktop. Any tips or suggestions on setting this up.



mini1 said:


> Why don't you just use to two modems in the computers to dial into the internet? cheaper and easier. The router is made for DSL or cable only, and possibly something like starband or directway.


Because I only have 1 phone line and I want to be able to get on-line at the same time as my daughter and or wife.


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

I would be intersted in hearing if you get this to work. I did nott hink that most routers support this. Sharing dialup is always a bit dicey. Given the us of ICS though why not try a phone line or power line network. That will work as no router is required.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

The biggest problem with sharing dialup is that it is slow as molasses. Especially when you get beyond 2 computers. Whatever speed you get with your dialup you can divide by the number of computers accessing it. 

My own experience with routers and wireless is all Linksys, so as far as exact advice on the USR equipment, I can't do that. My laptop's wireless card first establishes the link with the network, then the link with the internet. If it cannot establish a link to the internet through the router I still have access to the network. If I disconnect my cable modem I can still see the other computers on my network. Of course a router is meant to route the internet connection, but the router also is acting as a hub. I haven't set up ICS for a couple of years now, but if you can get the network up through the router you should be able to access a modem on whatever computer you decide to make the primary computer.

Of course if you want to go the route of most of the suggestions here, if you want to go out and buy more equipment it should be easy to do. If you are cheap like me and want to try and make what you have work its fun to see if you can make what you have do what you want. Some guys just need to think outside of the box. I spent a couple of hours last night figuring out how to make my home theatre do what the receiver manual said it couldn't.


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## MarkA (Mar 23, 2002)

Some routers do have a serial port to connect a dial up modem...


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

I looked at the specsa and saw no serial port. I too have tried to tweak products etc. (I got Windows 286 to run on my PC XT clone) but I think this one might be hard to get working. If you use ICS through one machine it will have to stay on. I think that the phone and power line solutions are more practical. But to each their own.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

True, if the internet connection is going to be through the laptop, it will have to be on whenever the desktop wants to access the internet. However, this seems to be Chris's daughter's computer, so I would think that is probably somewhat limited. Depending on how old she is, its probably only the 10 or 12 hours after school when she wants to IM all her friends. 

Obviously, using the router, and with multiple computers on the network, a broadband solution would be the best, but then again I don't have all the details. That wasn't an option for me either in St. Louis, with no cable or DSL provider available.


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Bogy said:


> True, if the internet connection is going to be through the laptop, it will have to be on whenever the desktop wants to access the internet. However, this seems to be Chris's daughter's computer, so I would think that is probably somewhat limited. Depending on how old she is, its probably only the 10 or 12 hours after school when she wants to IM all her friends.
> 
> Obviously, using the router, and with multiple computers on the network, a broadband solution would be the best, but then again I don't have all the details. That wasn't an option for me either in St. Louis, with no cable or DSL provider available.


Yes it is my daughters laptop that currently has the only working modem in the house and yes she is 15 and when she gets home you are correct she does want to IM all her friends  .

The modem problem in the desktop is another issue all together that I was not going to get into yet, was hoping to re-establish an internet connection to it to directly download some updates to hopefully fix that problem. I would get cable internet (not to be confused with cable tv  ) except money is tight right now and I get my dial-up for Free from my wife's work.

Last night my daughter came home just when I was trying to set the network up and insisted on helping me even though I would have preferred to work alone  so this morning I un-installed and then re-instaled the drivers for the card in the laptop and re-set all my shares, print and file share now work but not the internet share :shrug:, it is showing that the internet connection is active on the desktop but my browsers refuses to load a new web page, could this be because of the slowness of g wireless? I guess it may be time for me to call customer support.


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

What OS es are involved? Does the client machine know its intenet connection is through ICS?


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Geronimo said:


> What OS es are involved? Does the client machine know its intenet connection is through ICS?


Windows XP Home on all my computers.

It appears that I should have done more homework before purchasing this router/switch, I have since discovered that their are wireless routers available with a built in dial-up modem. I have had some IT training in networking and thought since I was actually using only the switch portion and not actually using the router function of this device that their would be no problem with sharing the dial-up from the laptop, in theory this should have worked, especially since the other shares work and the laptop and the desktop will successfully ping each other so they are communicating but evidently for some reason not enough of the internet packets are getting through to the desktop. When talking to USR support I was told that officially that this router/switch device does not support dial-up, however the tech agreed with me that in theory it should work. I suspect that if I connected the laptop directly to the switch by cable that it might work, but then I just paid a big price for a traditional switch  , . I guess I can still go still wireless when all we want to do is print or share files on the 2 computers and if we have the laptop at a restaurant or a park where wireless access points are available  .


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## mini1 (Jan 25, 2004)

Chris freeland, why don't you just give up and get at least DSL? Wouldn't your speed drop to something like 28mbps per computer on the router, if you had full 56k on the line to start with?


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

mini1 said:


> Chris freeland, why don't you just give up and get at least DSL? Wouldn't your speed drop to something like 28mbps per computer on the router, if you had full 56k on the line to start with?


$$$$$  I am still not working full time, just temp jobs when they become available, and we currently get are dial-up service FREE from my wife's work, which is are ISP. Once I can find permanent and steady work I hope to get some kind of broadband at that time.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Unless I missed something, you'd do it this way:

1) On your desktop PC, either get your modem drivers fixed or get another cheap-as-dirt modem card.

2) Connect your desktop to the wireless router. If necessary, get a cheap-as-dirt Ethernet card to make the connection.

3) Turn on Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) on your desktop.

Now whenever anyone tries to connect to the Internet wirelessly through the router, it should make the desktop dial in to the ISP and eventually make the connection.


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## HappyGoLucky (Jan 11, 2004)

Chris Freeland said:


> Windows XP Home on all my computers.
> 
> It appears that I should have done more homework before purchasing this router/switch, I have since discovered that their are wireless routers available with a built in dial-up modem. I have had some IT training in networking and thought since I was actually using only the switch portion and not actually using the router function of this device that their would be no problem with sharing the dial-up from the laptop, in theory this should have worked, especially since the other shares work and the laptop and the desktop will successfully ping each other so they are communicating but evidently for some reason not enough of the internet packets are getting through to the desktop. When talking to USR support I was told that officially that this router/switch device does not support dial-up, however the tech agreed with me that in theory it should work. I suspect that if I connected the laptop directly to the switch by cable that it might work, but then I just paid a big price for a traditional switch  , . I guess I can still go still wireless when all we want to do is print or share files on the 2 computers and if we have the laptop at a restaurant or a park where wireless access points are available  .


Simply using the switch function of the router you have, IF you have Windows XP Pro on the main computer you could very easily do what you want, though that computer would have to be on all the time and it would have to have the modem. The other computers could have XP Home or any other OS really. But XP Pro on the main computer would be a necessity. Or Windows 2000 Pro would work, also.


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Good News Update: ICS is now working, it was slow loading the desktop home page but now that it is up and running it doing good for a dial-up connection on both computers. Last night and this morning, multiple browsers were left open on both my screen and my daughters, at lunch to day I did a re-start of the laptop to clear up this junk and others on the computer and this seamed to open the way for the internet packets to get through to the desktop, hurray I am so happy!!! Now to tackle the modem problem on the desktop, more on that latter.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

Glad to hear it Chris. Especially since it proves I was right.  :sure: :lol: :grin:


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Bogy said:


> Glad to hear it Chris. Especially since it proves I was right.  :sure: :lol: :grin:


Yes you and me both  .


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

carload said:


> Unless I missed something, you'd do it this way:
> 
> 1) On your desktop PC, either get your modem drivers fixed or get another cheap-as-dirt modem card.
> 
> ...


Now that I got the IS working on the laptop to share with the desk top I will tackle the modem problem on my desktop. The problem is not the modem, the computer is not seeing the driver. A couple of weeks ago my usr modem stopped working and when I checked the device manager it showed the driver disabled and when I tried re-activate it I could not so I attempted to do a re-install and the driver disappeared all together and left me with a choice of some generic drivers that are useless, I then went out and bought a new cheap modem and tried to install it and it does the same, someone suggested that a Windows update may have done this and go to the Dell website since it is a Dell desk top and I coule probably find the drivers that I need their, so tonight I will probably do this and see what happens.


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## Bogy (Mar 23, 2002)

Good luck. Ain't computers fun?


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

Bogy said:


> Good luck. Ain't computers fun?


Yea, so much fun I am trying to make a living working with computers, I guess my problems are good practice or maybe I am just a gluten for punishment.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

Chris Freeland said:


> A couple of weeks ago my usr modem stopped working and when I checked the device manager it showed the driver disabled ...


Have you tried a System Restore to a date when the modem was still working? For me, System Restore solves a lot of mysterious problems, which I would otherwise have to figure out.


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

Great! I ssupected that it would not be practical but I guess Iw as wrong.


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

carload said:


> Have you tried a System Restore to a date when the modem was still working? For me, System Restore solves a lot of mysterious problems, which I would otherwise have to figure out.


No I have not, good idea! If I did this would I not need to take out my new modem and pute the old one back in for this to work?


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## Geronimo (Mar 23, 2002)

Chris Freeland said:


> No I have not, good idea! If I did this would I not need to take out my new modem and pute the old one back in for this to work?


Probably. But then again the problem may be a conflict with the driver etc. It might be worth a shot.


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## FTA Michael (Jul 21, 2002)

First check System Restore to make sure a sufficiently old restore date is available. If so...

1) Swap the modems so the original is back in.

2) Run the System Restore. If the system recognizes the modem again, you can decide whether you want to install the new modem.

But if your System Restore dates don't go back far enough, never mind.


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## Chris Freeland (Mar 24, 2002)

carload said:


> First check System Restore to make sure a sufficiently old restore date is available. If so...
> 
> 1) Swap the modems so the original is back in.
> 
> ...


I tried this today, I went all the way back to February 27 and unfortunately it still will not see modem so I went back to new one which also does not see the drivers.


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