well bit scared about posting this I'm afraid I might jinx it so I'll just whisper it lol
the man came and replaced the power supply unit ( glad he did it I wouldn't honestly have known where to start ) and fingers , toes and everything else crossed its all working now
one thing he did say and again you might be able to help is at the moment my sons computer is linked to ours I thought it was with a router but he said no its not its some usb thing ?? my son has something plugged into the back of his computer with a little ariel and we have a little box thing plugged into the back of our with a little ariel but the man said ( he was very computer minded and totally lost me with what he was saying !! ) that will only work with the two computer it won't work when we want to add my daughters laptop when we want to add it in the summer , so he suggested a router will that be easy for us to set up ??? we're not very techno minded but I know you are ( would add a smiley face here but can't work out how to ha ha ha )

What do you have now? Is it a USB wire going to a box with an ariel?

Is it a USB dongle? That is just like a flat stick in a USB port.

Is there any type of ID on the device?

Are both computers hooked up to modems?

In other words they are independently online but can just access each other?



If you want to run multiple computers through one modem you will need a router and or a modem / router.

Wireless modem / routers are the simplest providing you can find that your ISP supports.

Who is your ISP?

Most wireless modem / routers support up to 4 wired computers and any number of wireless.

The 'older' type setups add a router after the modem and require a bit more of a setup.

You already have a modem. That is the box between your DSL or cable line and the computers.

its a usb wire leading into a box
my son can press print on a document on his computer and it will print downstairs but in order for him to use the internet both computers have to be on ( I thought that was normal but apparantely not )
not sure what you mean about ID on both devices
he doesn't have a modem linked to his computer
we are with virgin media for our internet and would prefer wireless especially as my daughter wants a laptop and I plan on borrowing it to go online in the garden in the summer lol

Currently your son is just using your computer as a 'router'.

Virgin suggest adding a wireless router to your existing modem as seen here:

http://allyours.virginmedia.com/pdf/...abUG_AW09H.pdf

should it be something we can easily do ourselves and then I'm assuming all 3 computers will work independantly

Yes.

That link I posted is a kit straight from Virgin.

Just call them up and ask for their wireless router kit.

You could also use your own hardware but seeing as they have this setup it would probably be the easiest to go through them.