Internet Problems (Please Help)

[Felizginato12]

As the thread's title may suggest I am having some very annoying problems with my internet connection. I was wondering if anyone can help me out and give me some advice on how to fix what is going on.

My Setup: I have Comcast internet services and cable. It works rather well and everything is fast and reliable. I just moved my room around and redid my entire internet set up and this is what I have now.

The cable cord is running from a jack in the wall up stairs (implying that my room is downstairs) and comes down into a splitter. Another cord stretches from this splitter to a second one and finally into a third one where it is fed into three things. I have one cord going into my television (cable) one going into my computer's modem and another cord going into a separate modem. Both of these modems are one port modems and connected to two different things.

One modem is connected to my computer and the other to my Xbox 360. One modem is rather old, a Linksys cable modem. The other modem is a Arris modem and was given to me when Comcast hooked up my internet. I did consider buying a router (and I did at one time but it ended up costing me 80 dollars, would not set up correctly, and slowed down my overall connection). and I have been trying to find modems with multiple ports but I cannot find one at a reasonable price (and besides that I have little time to look for one).

Now both modems work but the Linksys modem will often disconnect from the internet and take me over and hour to get working again. So while it is hooked up to my computer I often have to mess with my internet settings for a while to get it to work and while it is hooked up to my Xbox 360 I often lag and get disconnected easily.

Also, every time I try to diagnose the problem on my computer I am told my IP address is not valid for the computer or something like that. I end up having to repeatedly reset the modem, unhook all of the cords, sht down my computer and pray my internet works this time.

So if anyone can shed some light on my problem it will be greatly appreciated. Is it my internet settings? My modem? My set up? Anything that you think will help is appreciated.

[LightWraith]

I think personally that it is your setup... I've never heard of anyone using two separate cable modems on the same line.

This kind of setup really is what routers are designed for, and a high quality router shouldn't have a noticeable effect on your connection speed.

I'm not a network specialist of any sort though, so I'd wait for someone else to confirm/deny what I've said.

Good luck... internet problems are horrifically annoying.

[valadil]

Use a router. Your last router was probably a lemon. They aren't usually that dysfunctional.

Aside from sharing a connection, the router will also put your machines on a local area network. This means you can share files between computers and/or your 360. I get more use out of my XBOX as a media center playing downloaded movies and music on the TV than as a game box.

[Felizginato12]

Yeah, I don't know anyone either who has a set up like that, xD.

The strange thing is that I use to have both of my modems up stairs and at times I would use the Linksys modem (which was being used on a different computer) and run it downstairs to hook up to my Xbox and it worked fine.

And also, if anyone can show me some links to good deals on routers/good brands then that would be great. :D

[Felizginato12]

Ah, well it seems that I have found out a quick solution to my problems until I can get a router.

It turns out that while it is possible to run two modems at the same time your ISP can get in the way of that working.

Come to find out Comcast gives you one IP Address and each modem requires their own. I could pay a little extra to get a different IP but I might as well get the router (saves money in the long run). So every time I had both up and running I guess that one of them was just barley connected to the internet which explains it's random disconnections.

So I just put in an Alternate MAC address on my Xbox so now I can switch the hook up between computer and Xbox without having to reset the modem or test connections every time (since each time I use to do that I guess the IP address would have to reset or something, I don't know, i'm computer savvy but not too internet savvy. Sad, xD)

[LightWraith]

As far as routers go, I personally love my D-Link DGL-4100 Gamerlounge (http://games.dlink.com/products/?pid=371). It does everything I need it to, and has never given me any problems.

They have a wireless version as well if you need it.

[valadil]

I've had good luck with linksys, though they supposedly die out quicker than most. If you feel daring you can put dd-wrt on it, which is an alternative firmware with tons more features. I did that and love it.

Other reliable brands include netgear and d-link.

[FdL]

To OP: Get a router, it's precisely what you need. Get it set up right, shouldn't be difficult at all. Google is your friend.
In fact, you could get a modem/router too, the kind that comes with 4 ethernet ports and/or wifi. But I think it's better to have two separate devices, so in case of malfunction or swapping ISPs you just change one.

You can't have two modems for a single ISP account, unless they give you two accounts or 2 IPs per account. Which doesn't really make sense and I doubt it's what any home user gets anyway.