how do i set up external hard drive so all the computers can access/save to it it wirelessly for music/photos?

Question

it's at home and we can all surf the net wirelessly but if i buy a usb hard drive it'll need to be plugged in. the modem router has a ethernet socket. is there a usb/ethernet converter or is there a hard drive that'll plug into the wireless thing? approx cost? in the uk
thanks

Answer 1

There are routers made to do this. DLink's DI-624S has TWO usb ports just for storage devices
http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DI-624S-Wireless-802-11g-108Mbps/dp/B0007A6P4S
OR
you can attach a USB drive to a computer, share the drive, and create a "shortcut" to the drive within the network.
and even Better
You can also get external NAS (network attached storage) cases which allow direct eithernet connections.
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=NAS-806-EF&cpc=SCH
these allow connection directly to your existing router.

Answer 2

in a home situ you would have a router connected to the landline for internet.

the router would have 4 cat5 ethernet ports and could have awireless antanae.

I suggest to plug both the network printer and the external hard drive into the router using the ethernet cat5 cables.
(only because of cost)
the cable connections are much faster than wireless so it would be wise to have the busiest computer wired to the router as well.