Mac, PC, and the Internet

You need a network. For 2 Pcs a simple crossver RJ-45 cable would be enough. No hub needed.

With windows 98 you can share a modem for a LAN. Install this feature and build a local LAN with IP 192.168.0.x. On your I-MAC the only think you have to do is to setup the Router ip to the IP of your Windows 98. The Lan Server is not very good on Windows 98 better you should use Linux.

Thanks for the lack of detail.
anyone else?

Be gentle and I can help you! :)

You may not need the network, but the computers  need to be networked in order to share the modem
I have no use for a crossover cable, so you're on your own on that one.They're more trouble than not.

I can give you directions with a hub, if you want to proceed, and you modify from there, if you wish.

The mac already has a NIC, so you dont need anything there.

The pc needs 2 NICs.  you can install them, or the cable co. will install one for the modem, generally. They will charge you for it.
You install the other.

I'm assuming that you'll use the PC as the gateway.  Win98sr2 has the software as part of the package.

TCP/IP is the universal protocol of the internet, built in on both systems.

If you're with me so far, give me the specs of your pc hardware and I can tell you what you need.

Also give me some idea of your capabilities and familiarity with both systems,
and what system you're running on the mac.

and don't tell me mac!
what number?   :)

I'd stay away from the hassle of setting up the PC as a gateway. Just get a little 4-port hub from Best Buy or Circuit City for about $40 bucks, and connect everything that way. Cable modem, PC and Mac all plugged into it with standard ethernet cable, then just configure both the Mac and the PC the way your cable provider tells you to, and it should work.

no offence andy, but it doesnt work that way.
Modem goes to NIC keyed by MAC address to cable co. line.
any other way, you get shut off.
that is unless you want to invest in a $300+ Hub/router,
then it will work your way, and you still need the rest of the hardware.

Well, I've got no experience with cable modems, I was assuming the network setup of it was similar to ADSL, this is how it's done for ADSL.

ADSL usually follows the same guidelines.
For it to work that way, your ISP must be assigning you permanent addresse or multiple ones?

When cable assigns a dynamic address they keep track of it thru the card address.
They dont like their connection being moved around.
Thats the reason for the other NIC and sharing software.
ISP never see private addresses, no matter how many.

Router/hub/switch  has the capabilities of doing same.

Not sure what the IMAC is running.  I was a bit misleading in my original question.  This is for my brother and his wife.  The PC is Win98 SE, I am familiar with connecting several PCs with a cable modem. I know the settings in PC, TCP/IP, NIC settings, PROTOCOLs, and so forth. I know how to connect everything, it's just the setup on the IMAC I am unfamiliar with. The IMAC is only 4 months old, so whatever is more recent.... ummm OS9 or 8.(something high) perhaps. What are the settings in the MAC OS, is all I need.

Unlike most xDSL providers, many cable providers tie their service to a single unique hardware (the MAC address in the Ethernet adapter). This means that if you set up your cable account to work on one computer and then upgrade to a new computer (or a new NIC), your cable account may need to be reconfigured. Of course, this means that you can't switch back and forth between 2 or more computers on the same cable account without setting up a router that appears to your cable provider to be a single end client while allowing multiple computers to simultaneously use the cable internet.

One such option has already been described: use a single PC with 2 NICs, and use software routing. This is complex to set up, and requires that the PC be on whenever you want to go online, even if you just want to use the Mac that day.

The other option is a hardware router. Macintouch has a great page of user reports on different hardware routers: http://www.macintouch.com/accessrouters.html
These start at below $200 and go to $400 and up. They also typically provide a 2- to 6-port Ethernet hub -- I know you said you don't need networking now, but perhaps in the future if you want the computers to share a printer or hard drive or other resources, then it'd be convenient to already have the hub in place.

Hardware routers also typically have some sort of firewall/security in the box. Typically, you just plug the cable/xDSL modem into the router, then plug your computers into the router. You use Telnet or a Web browser to configure the router, which then pretty much just runs itself.

From what I've heard, hardware routers are by far the best solution for sharing a high-speed internet connection, especially in a mixed-platform environment.

I don't mind leaving my PC on all the time. Using ICS for Win98 what is the setting on the IMAC?

As you know your way around, once you have the hardware set up as in all windows,

in the mac control panels, appletalk is set to ethernet

TCP/IP   If win NIC 2 is set to 192.168.0.1  than set mac 192.1268.0.2

subnet same 255.255.255.0

Name serv     your isp  dns
connect via   ethernet
configure     manually
router        192.168.0.1


Under options check active

go to apple menu/system profiler/select/network

will give you all network info for mac(winipcfg)

3 notes:

First, century made a typo; the Mac's IP address should be set to 192.168.0.2, not 192.1268.0.2.

Second, I think that the Mac's subnet should actually be set to 255.255.255.192 -- someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Third, I still think that a hardware router would be a superior (faster, more flexible, more scalable, easier to set up and manage) solution. The Linksys broadband router, for instance, is available at Outpost.com and Buy.com, among other places, at around $160 -- with a built-in firewall, DHCP server, and 4-port 10/100BT switch (not hub). A heckuva deal.

But if you're comfortable with doing the expansion work to your PC and leaving the PC on 24 hours a day, and will never need more than those 2 computers hooked up to the Net, then the 2-NIC approach should work fine.

thank you

you're welcome