# DSL and cable modem for 2 people - what does one need? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 24, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885 "2003-03-24T22:03:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/1 "2003-03-24T22:03:55Z")
No, I’m not asking which is better. I do need to know, though a couple of things to figure out which service I’m gonna go with… one of the wrinkles is that we need it for two people. So here are the questions I’ve got left after what research I’ve done. 1. Is a second modem required for DSL? All you need for the second computer is to make sure there’s a network card, right? 2. On the cable modem side… Roadrunner says that their QA department has not yet verified that they can support Windows XP. Since I work for a company that is blessed(?) with a QA department, I know this can mean a very broad span of things. Anybody out there use Roadrunner on XP? 3. Is there a way to find out if a PC has a network card without looking at the back, taking it apart, &c? I _hate_ having to drag the computer out of the computer desk just to answer a frickin’ question… ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/2 "2003-03-24T22:13:02Z")
No, you can share one modem with an ethernet router. Some cable internet suppliers place limits on networking through routers, however, so you’ll want to check with your provider, first. ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/3 "2003-03-24T22:15:00Z")
No, you don’t need a second modem. To share your Internet connection, you’ll either need to buy a cheap router or install a second network card in one of your PCs and use Internet Connection sharing. A router would be the recommended way to go because you don’t have to put any strain on the resources of one computer for the other one to have access. To find out if your PC has a network card, go to the Device Manager and look for an entry under “Network Adapters.” Typing **ipconfig /all** at a command prompt will show you all of your network adapters and the IP addresses assigned to each. Also note that some companies like to charge you more if you’re going to share your DSL connection. No, it doesn’t make sense to me either (they’re still feeding you the same amount of bandwidth), but they do it. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/4 "2003-03-24T22:15:53Z")
Oh and to answer #3, you can check the device manager from the Control Panel or My Computer. Look under Network Adaptors. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/5 "2003-03-24T22:18:25Z")
You usually don’t even need a router. I have our 2 PCs sharing the same modem just via our home network hub. Works like a damn for what we need. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/6 "2003-03-24T22:28:14Z")
1. No, you need a hub or a router, and a network card for each computer you want to hook up. 2 Don’t know, I have DSL, but I would be **stunned** if roadrunner didn’t work with XP. 1. Try the device manager in the control panel. ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/7 "2003-03-24T22:41:47Z")
Me again. Thanks. As always, very helpful, insightful, and FAST answers. I had been thinking up to now that a second cable modem was definitely needed for a second user. Reading between the lines here, now I wouldn’t bet on it… anybody who could spare me a call to the cable company, well I’ll be toastin’ yer health in about half an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/8 "2003-03-24T22:46:07Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bernse \* > \*\*You usually don’t even need a router. I have our 2 PCs sharing the same modem just via our home network hub. Works like a damn for what we need. \*\* True, but a decent router gives you hardware firewall protection, which is immune to the ability of some viruses to shut down a software firewall. Dunno if your hub does that or not. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Conceivable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@In\_Conceivable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Conceivable)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/9 "2003-03-24T22:47:22Z")
I have Roadrunner with XP. In fact, I upgraded from 2000 to XP with out a problem. ---
**Author:** ![cstamets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@cstamets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cstamets)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/10 "2003-03-24T23:20:51Z")
I have had Roadrunner with Windows XP since XP was released. Had Roadrunner on OS/2 for that matter. As long you’ve got an ethernet connection to the cable modem and the OS supports TCP/IP, there shouldn’t be any issues, whatever OS you use. The install tech did look at me funny, though, when he came in to hook up Roadrunner. That’s what they get for not letting me install it myself. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/11 "2003-03-24T23:26:36Z")
Just so you know, even if you have 10 computers hooked to a router, your service provider will only see one computer. Once traffic goes to the ‘one computer’ (the router), the information will be forwarded to the appropriate computer. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/12 "2003-03-24T23:36:50Z")
**World Eater** , that’s true if your router has Network Address Translation (NAT) technology. I think most new ones do, these days. ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/13 "2003-03-25T00:25:08Z")
Yea, my ISP deigns to let you have a network on the DSL connection, but you _shouldn’t try it without their specially approved hardware and stuff, cause you won’t know what you’re doing and they won’t help you when it breaks._ Puh-leeze. I use an office gateway thingie I got from Toshiba that works just dandy for all the PCs and consoles I’ve got hooked in here. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/14 "2003-03-25T00:45:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Q.E.D. \* > \*\ ***World Eater** , that’s true if your router has Network Address Translation (NAT) technology. I think most new ones do, these days. \*\* Good point. ---
**Author:** ![TBone2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@TBone2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBone2)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/15 "2003-03-25T01:10:36Z")
We recently bought a D-Link DI-604 broadband-sharing router, and it’s the cat’s petootie – about $50. Quick and easy setup, lotsa bandwidth for all four PC’s! Hubs are OK, but you have to be users who don’t mind sorting through each other’s email and such. With a hub, every PC connected gets every bit of data on the network, simultaneously. A router is a much smarter device, capable of, um, “routing” info to the user that requested it. As for finding your NIC, I dunno about XP, but in Me, it works like this: Start/Settings/Control Panel/System/Device Manager/Network adapters. You’ll see some generic stuff like, “DialUp Adapter” and “Internet Connection Sharing” and “Microsoft Virtual Private Networking Adapter,” but if an NIC is installed you’ll see something more specific. Mine, f’rinstance, sez “Intel® PRO/100B PCI Adapter (TX).” THAT is my NIC. If something like that doesn’t show, it means either that you have no network card, or that you have one that has never been recognized by the system (no drivers installed). Hope this helps, and good luck! ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/16 "2003-03-25T01:21:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TBone2 \* > **Hubs are OK, but you have to be users who don’t mind sorting through each other’s email and such.** Well with our household DSL account, we are allowed multiple email aliases, so each computer has an email client with it’s own unique passwords and usernames. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dsl-and-cable-modem-for-2-people-what-does-one-need/163885/17 "2003-03-25T01:25:26Z")
Password and username. 😃