Comcast cable internet, which runs into my office computer through its modem and from the modem to a D-Link wireless router. The Kid has a laptop which is wireless capable, so he picks up the internet signal from the D-Link on his laptop.
The XBox 360 is in the living room, down a long hallway from the office. There is a television in there, with Comcast cable television fed into there, through a cable box, of course. It’s a DVR 2 channel box, if that makes any difference.
So how to best get his XBox onto Live? Is there any way to run it through the Comcast cable box by the television? Through his laptop’s internet access? Or do I have to buy the $100 wireless network adaptor?
I am NOT terribly computer/internet savvy, by the way. Answers in Captain Dummy Speak are greatly appreciated.
One reasonably simple option would be to move the modem + wireless router to the xbox, and put a USB wireless adaptor on your desktop PC. That should save you $60 or so - USB adaptors can be had pretty cheaply. I’m nearly certain you won’t be able to get internet connectivity through the Comcast DVR, and I don’t know if you’d be able to do it through the laptop. The downside is that you’ll probably get longer latency on your desktop internet connection.
I ended up going with the Xbox branded adapter, because I read a lot of reviews from people who had trouble getting other ones to work and I just didn’t feel like the hassle. The Xbox one worked beautifully right out of the box, snaps onto the back of the machine, etc. It’s nice.
Well, rather than run a wire down my hallway (although I never thought of moving the modem! Thanks for thinking outside the box, muldoonthief!), or pay Comcast to come out and rerun it through the living room wall, I did buy the adapter. We’re calling it an early Christmas present - his idea, after I suggested he work it off in babysitting!
Plug in was easy. I even figured out how to find my “key” for the wireless network on the computer, printed out the information and The Kid spent 10 minutes toggling his controller to input the 30some character key. (OK, it took him 2 minutes. Woulda taken me 20!)
He says now, “it’s online, but it doesn’t recognize the IP address.”
