USB Cable Modem

[Lukecarbis]

Hi,

I have:
a) A Motorola SurfBoard 5101 Cable Modem (has network cable and USB)
b) An Airport Express
c) An old coloured iMac (tray loading) (no wireless support)
d) A MacBook

I require:
a) The iMac to be online always.
b) The MacBook to be online always, wirelessly.

At the moment, the only way I can figure out of doing this is plugging the network cable from the Modem into the Airport - and the USB from the Modem into the iMac.

However, the iMac doesn't recognise the USB (doesn't pick it up as an internet connection - yellow dot in Network Preferences) and I'm fairly sure the reason is because it doesn't have the drivers.

My question is:
Is there a way I can get everything online without using the USB from the modem into the iMac, or is there a way I can get the iMac to pick up the USB from the modem, OR is there something I can buy that will help me out!

 

[Sun Baked]

Get and ethernet modem, and stop playing with the USB modem.

Probably not too much at CompUSA -- which should have a ethernet cable modem on your provider's list of approved modems.

 

[Lukecarbis]

Sorry, if I didn't explain properly.

By Network Cable, I meant ethernet.

It does have ethernet, but that only goes into the airport, there's no other way of getting the airport online.

 

[Sun Baked]

If modem works, plugged into 1 machine using ethernet...

Get a 4 port Cable/DSL Broadband Router -- wired or wireless.

All this does is allow 1 cable connection to be shared among several machine using NAT.

Basically a 3rd party version of an Airport Base Station.

---

USB is pointless and futile on the machines, since it REQUIRES a driver -- which cause more problems than they solve.

OOPS missed the Airport Express .... if you have a base station a simple hub will do, the simple little Airtunes one ... don't remember the specifics.

Check out the setting up network with Airport Manuals...

http://www.apple.com/support/manuals/airport/

 

[Lukecarbis]

Thanks for the help, I'll look into it. Should I have got an airport base station instead of an airport express?

Also, does anyone know of any drivers? I'd prefer to install drivers than spend money, you know?

Appreciate your help so far.

 

[FullmetalZ26]

What's more, not all cable modems will let you use USB and ethernet at the same time, and if it does support it, you'd have to pay for multiple IP's from your provider. If you don't want to get rid of the AirPort, buy a plain wired 4-port router, and hang the airport and your computers off of that with the SurfBoard connected to the WAN port.

 

[ITASOR]

What's more, not all cable modems will let you use USB and ethernet at the same time, and if it does support it, you'd have to pay for multiple IP's from your provider.

It wouldn't pull 2 IP's. It would pretty much damage or fry the cable modem. The only way it pulls 2 IP's is if you use an ethernet splitter (like a hub) instead of a router, which assigns internal IP's.

To the OP, yeah, a Airport base station would have been a better buy.