If I'm understanding correctly, the Office Depot guy was suggesting a setup like this:
Internet Connection<---phone cable--->Bro's Comp.<---Cat.5--->Broadband Router<---Cat.5--->Sister's Comp
This is not much different than the direct crossover method you used earlier:
Internet Connection<---phone cable--->Bro's Comp.<---Cat.5 Crossover--->Sister's Comp
In fact all it is doing is adding an extra layer of complexity because you will have to configure the router properly. You would still have to share the first computer's connection and setup the two computers properly.
Instead I would try to troubleshoot the original problem, were the Ethernet connections on the two computers setup with static IPs on the same subnet? Could you ping one computer from the other or see shared network resources? This would help you determine if the problem was with the connection between the two or just the internet sharing...
Good luck either way, I hope you're at least getting a good dinner out of this ;-)
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by: alanhardistyPosted on 2009-06-05 at 05:52:44ID: 24555842
It all depends on the type of broadband conection your sister has. If it it across the phone, then an integrated router/modem will do just fine. If you get one with wireless on it too, then you cover all the bases for future expansion.
I personally use Netgear DG834PN routers - our experience of the D-Link boxes is that they die suddenly which is a pain. That's not to say they are all bad, just in our experience, more troublesome.
Any Netgear DG834.... router will have the modem / router capability and you can plug in up to four local PCs or add a switch / hub to increase the numbers, if your sister turns into a nerd!