How to network 3 computers and 2 playstations.?

Question

I am using a Linksys 4 port router to connect 2 laptops through wireless for internet, one desktop which uses an ethernet cord and one playstation 3 which connects through wireless. My problems is networking the 3 computers together which I have been able to accomplish but when one of my laptops connects to the desktop to either print or obtain files, the playstation is kicked off of the router and loses its internet connection. I cannot figure out how to fix this. To add to the mix, my son wants to connect his playstation to the internet which would be done using an ethernet cable.

I am basically wondering if:

1. The 4 point router can only support 3 computers/playstation or if I can hook up an additional playstation. would be 3 wireless and 2 ethernet cable

2. What I can do so that the playstation is not kicked off when one of the laptops connects to the desktop. What am I doing wrong?

FYI...the playstation 3 has been hooked up with an ethernet cable and wireless and was still kicking him off. Playstation 2 is hooked up by ethernet cable and I kicked that off also when I connected to the desktop from the laptop.

Answer 1

Theoretically, you can have up to four wired devices and another six wireless with this router in a workgroup network. Any additional devices would need a Server OS to handle the network.

I can not see any reason why the playstation would be kicked off the network simply because the other machines (nodes) are all turned on. They should all tull along together very well.

Are you sure you are using the correct cable type to hook up the computers to the router? You can't use a cable which is meant for hooking two computers together, such as in an adhoc network, which does not use an Internet connection, but can transfer files between devices. If you have the wrong cable, then trouble can occur.

What type of security are you using? WEP, WPA, WPA2, MAC address Enable List, etc. If you are using a MAC address Enable List only those devices which have their MAC address in the Enabled List can access the network wirelessly. The MAC address Enable List has nothing to do with the wired connections. They receive a direct connection via the port in the router they are plugged into.

Here is a page where you can look up troubleshooting information:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/maintain/troubleshoot.mspx

From this page you can browse backwards to the Home page for Networking and find more information. Use the blue wording at the top of the page which identifies what page you are on, and click one back until you arrive at the Home page is needed.

Good luck and I hope you find out what was causing this really soon. Hey, would you post back and say what the issue was when you find it? Thanks

*Note* It is possible that your router's DHCP is not giving out enough Private IP addresses. If it is limited on how many IP addresses it can give out then when one accesses the network and the limit is reached, one would either lose connectivity, may be kicked off, or not work in some other manner.

Go into your router and then click on the page which shows your IP addresses, and see what the range is for the IP addresses. It should be 198.168.1.2----192.168.1.255

Theoretically, you should be able to have up to 255 nodes on the one router, (You would need a Server to have more than ten). If your DHCP is set for only a very small range, this could be what is messing up. If it is, and you are unable to reset the number of IP addresses the router's DHCP can assign, contact the hardware manufacturers technical department. You may need to do so anyway, if you are unable to fix this issue on your own. Your best bet is to not break your brain trying to find the solution for too long on your own anyway, if you are not very experianced, and just contact the Linksys technical department, you can find the phone number in your manual, or at the support website.

Answer 2

It's a matter of opinion, as there is no straight answer. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection is pretty awful at this point in time (and this is coming from a Nintendo fan). Playstation Network is free, which is definitely a good perk. Xbox Live is more secure, as Playstation has made some bad choices in the server security. Really, though, the details are too numerous to compare and come up with a better service. In my opinion, Xbox Live is better, but others will say Playstation Network.

Answer 3

Try connecting PS3 through Ethernet.

Answer 4

There is a program called networkmagic it migth help you