I have been trying to set up SHOUTcast on my pc for sometime now... i have been reading other posts on other sites http://www.portforward.com as this is the stage i have got to!!!

So i was reading a post on the winamp forums about port forwarding... all new to me... not really that advanced in networking! I read what it was etc and i think its what i need to do to allow me to make shoutcast work but the steps on the site have confused me!

I have a Belkin F5D5231-4 router http://www.portforward.com/belkin/f5d5231-4.htm and i am stuck on how to set up a static IP address i have read through the stages and am stuck on "IP Pool Starting Address and the IP Pool Ending Address" STEP 4! It says set the Ending Address to 249 which gives a range of 5 IP addresses 192.168.2.250 to 192.168.2.254... this is the concept i am stuck on as what is it comparing it to if the starting IP Pool address is 192.168.2.2?

So you click next to configure the Static IP all of the tasks i have seen before but somewhere along the lines it says that if it messes up you can't connect to the net etc.. and other pc's on the network can latch onto the static IP etc etc... i don't want to mess up my network basically lol!!!

I would be very greatful if someone could break this down into some easier steps for me... Some useful info if it helps: I'm on a ntl 750k connection with a Belkin F5D5231-4 router! Don't really want to dish out my IP address lol!! But please someone help

OK, I think that the article was more complicated than what you needed (I haven't read it). It sounds like it was meant for corporate networks.

The reason that it says to set the IP range starting at 192.168.2.2 and ending in 192.168.2.249 so that you have 5 spare addresses before you get to the highest permittable number (192.168.2.255) is because most corporate networks have a server that assigns an IP address to each computer that logs onto the network. It assigns the next available number from the "IP pool" (192.168.2.2 up to 192.168.2.249). Therefore, every computer on the network will have an address within this IP pool, theoretically counting up from the bottom: 192.168.2.2 for the first, .3 for the next, .4 for the next, etc. This is called a "dynamic IP address" because it dynamically changes (potentially) each time you log onto the network. If you need a "static IP address" that is the same every time you switch on your PC, then you can force an address into the PC that is outside of the IP pool (e.g. 192.168.2.250) and you can guarantee that no other PC will accidentally "steal" your address when they log on.

OK, that's the explanation. You can now ignore all of that as you don't need it for a home network! And you definitely don't need it if it's just your PC connecting to the router (I don't think you actually told us if you're sharing your NTL connection with other PCs or not).

All you need to do is go into the TCP/IP properties on your PC (right-click My Network Places and choose the Properties item from the menu) and then type in any IP address within the range between 192.168.2.2 and 192.168.2.255. Make sure that you type in a DIFFERENT address within the same IP range on any other computer that you connect to your network / router. That's it, you'll have no IP address problems.

If any of that still needs clarification (bearing in mind you don't need most of what I said!) or you still aren't sure how to do it, come back to us and let us know

P.S. I've no idea what SHOUTcast is so perhaps I'd better tell you that what you've asked about and what I've explained is NOT what port forwarding is, in case you need to be asking us a completely different question!

looking back i didnt really make myself clear...

SHOUTcast is a plugin for music programs like winamp etc so you can make you own mini radio station! I'm a home DJ so i thought it would be good so friends at uni and stuff could tune in listen what i was up to! http://www.shoutcast.com if you want to look at it in more detail!!

With the NTL connection i have 2 PC's running off the router... i suppose this causes a problem as i don't really want the family's internet connection to disappear whilst i get off scott free in my room!!

Well from what i can understand... For me to set up port forwarding on a PC, first i need to make a static IP for that PC... The port forwarding is ok as all i have to do is go onto the router settings and allow port 8000 to get past the firewall!

I have asked a few friends about the static IP's and they seem to think i don't need to edit the IP Pool's... They seem to think that on each PC, I go onto the TCP/IP properties and select Use following IP Address... They then said i should type in the IP address the PC's already uses, with the same Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and the same DNS servers!! Does this sound correct??

Sorry for the poor explanation before hand!!

What your friends have told you does sound correct. You also need to make sure that your router doesn't have DHCP capabilities though. DHCP is the technology that servers (or routers, in your case) use to assign dynamic IP addresses to PCs that connect to them. Make sure DHCP is disabled on your router if it has that feature, in order to avoid conflicts between the static IPs on the PCs and the dynamic IPs that the router might try to dish out.

Right so if i do that!! And disable the DHCP (which i have found) everything should work as normal??

If there is a problem can i reverse all the settings and recieve a normal service?