Xbox live and laptops

both my lads have got laptops, and both got xbox 360 too. pc gets internet from virgin cable modem, which goes through wireless router. xboxes are other end of the house.

what ive been trying to find out is if you can use a laptop as a sort of router/hub type thing and then connect the xbox to the laptop with the cable that came with it. so……..router sends wireless internet signal to laptop. laptop picks it up and feeds xbox from the cable.

ive googled it and seen that it seems to be possible, but ebay wants to charge for the method, and other forums/sites arent particularly clear.

my lad played around with his xbox and ip addresses he seems to have got from google, and it asked him to make profile etc, so it looks like somehow he wangled it. altho he hasnt paid for subscription so couldnt go any further.

also, im a bit loathe to let kids chuck money at subs, if the internet connection or laptop signal is that crap that it makes gaming useless. so is there a way of trying it out first?

i did a speed test on my pc and got the results 2078 download, 246 upload, ping 18ms, dist 100 miles, whatever that means. i assume its quite low so could make things difficult without upgrading internet speed.

any help is much appreciated

cheers

Can’t help you with using the laptop as a wireless router but my instincts say it won’t work. However you internet connection is a bit slow (bandwidth) and may make online gaming painful. However your ping time is pretty good and that is the most important metric for online gaming so could be ok.

Have a look at internet connection sharing (ICS), you will also need a “crossover” network cable between the laptop and theb 360. I had this arrangement when I had the first generation xbox and it worked fine.

You can always get a free 48 hour trial sub card for xbox live to try it out, I’m sure I will have a few kicking about if you want to use them.

been reading up on ICS and set the laptop up to allow other users etc.

here and here[/url]

but im just confused with all the setting ip addresses and subnet masks etc etc 🙁

yep, i wouldnt mid a trial card or 2 for kids please. thanks a lot 🙂

you do get a free month gold live trial anyhow (one month per user – max 4, I think)…should be option on the xbox for this

I have my xbox 360 connected to my lap top, using a wireless router,it cost only £2:50 to set up.
You use the yellow ethernet cable that came with the 360 as well.

Go to http://www.XboxLiveTheGuide.co.uk – pay £2:50 for their guide to setting it all up… piece of cake

Maybe I’m being a bit thick here, but I don’t get what you’re trying to acheive…

If you have a wireless router connected to Virgin, via a cable modem, then all you should have to do is connect the 360’s with the supplied ethernet cables to the router, and then connect the laptops wirelessly to the same router. Assuming the router is good enough to sort out all those connections, I don’t see why you need to be faffing about trying to connect through the laptops… Maybe I’m missing something!

However you internet connection is a bit slow (bandwidth) and may make online gaming painful

Depends whether both sons are trying to get online at the same time. My Virgin connection is 2MB (same as OP) and have never had any lag issues when playing on xbox live, but if you have another user downloading/using the net on a seperate device then that might give you some problems.

kit, the problem is the xbox is waaaaay away from the router. too far for a cable. so im trying to bypass buying the xbox adaptors at £40ish each box, and using a laptop instead of an adaptor.

Sadexpunk
Where on earth are you finding XBox network adaptors at £40 ish ?
Try the link on my earlier post – it WILL sort you out.. honestly

neverfastenuff, thanks for that link by the way. id actually been on that site, but moved on as soon as it mentioned money 🙂

its not that im to tight to pay £2.50, its just i dont agree in paying for something that is basically free if you know pc settings. its not like the bloke invented something himself >-(
id have thought plenty of people would have known how to do it, and itd be on the net somewhere, but its proving trickier than i thought 🙂

cheers

whoops. was typing this as you posted. i havent found any for that money, i was told by people ive asked. is this wrong? how much are the adaptors?

and yes, i may have to pay for the info in the end :-/

thanks dood 🙂

It is not freely available – I tried before I used this link..

£59.99 at Game….

🙁

Aha, I see now! And got a big house have you? I have a 50m cable somewhere which is more than long enough for most houses, if you’re prepared to drill some holes…

Hi Sadexpunk

I done exactly as your trying to do when I first got xbox live. I’m not sure on the speeds but my mate has 700k connection (long distance from exchange) and he plays non stop with no noticeable problems.

One thing I found when I done this was that bridging the connections was the answer and when I done this I would lose internet connection on the laptop whilst the xbox was live. This wasn’t a problem for me as I can’t surf while xboxing anyway.

Finally here are a handful of tutorials explaining exactly how to do this.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=uAw6xVN9vsg
http://www.infobarrel.com/How_to_Use_a_Laptop_to_Connect_Xbox_360_to_Xbox_Live
http://www.instructables.com/id/Use-your-laptop-as-an-XboxXbox-360-wireless-adap/%5B/url%5D

These all describe the method I used before I bought an Apple Airport express http://www.apple.com/uk/airportexpress/%5B/url%5D which i now have plugged in with an ethernet cable linking it to the Xbox. It also lets you stream music round your house and plugin a printer for wifi printing.

Good luck.

thanks a lot for that 🙂

ill have a play tomorrow

cheers

sadexpunk – I have 2 spare trial codes if you want them?

You can use internet connection sharing through the laptop, you just need a crossover cable.

I suggest you buy three ethernet plugs. These work by using your electrical wiring to transfer the broadband signal.

You plug one in next to your Virgin modem or router and connect it by ethernet cable. Then plug one in next to each xbox and connect the xbox to the plug also by ethernet cable.

No configuration needed, it really is simple.

Ethernet Plugs

I bought mine off ebay for a lot less, if you can afford it then I’d go for the 200mbps model.

My son plugs the Xbox into a laptop (ethernet cable) and uses the laptop to connect to our Wi-Fi network, seems to work OK.

Try googling “using a laptop as a xbox router”

wacko, yes id like them please. when and how do i input them?

ill go and do a bit of googling on ethernet plugs now and follow up those links 🙂

thanks chaps

wacko, if you want to mail me direct, im at my username at gmail dot com.

thanks a lot 🙂

ygm