XP Network Setup Wizard Problems

[Lawmanxxx]

Hello All! I'm new to this forum, so I'll try to be brief...
I recently bought a new computer and have attempted to network it with my old one in my daughter's room. I ran the ADSL modem to the top NIC on my new computer, from the bottom NIC to a 5 port ethernet hub, and from the hub to the network card on my old 'puter. At this point, I ran the Xp Network Setup Wizard. I have been told that this is not the ideal way to set up a home network, but it works. Problem is, everytime I reboot my new computer, I lose my internet signal and have to release and renew my IP using Command Prompt. Every time. A royal pain in the butt, since if I have no internet signal, neither does my daughter. Also, I cannot run any third party Firewall programs since, as soon as I install and activate one, it goes crazy detecting my old computer as a hijacking attempt. I do, however, use the XP firewall (for what it's worth) and have eliminated it as a source of the interruption.
A friend informed me that my network should be cabled like this: ADSL modem to hub, hub to each computer's NIC. So, I re-cabled the set up and ran the XP Wizard again but could not get it to work. I tried uninstalling and reinstalling all the network cards, borrowed a D-Link DI-704P Router (wouldn't work in ANY configuration), and even did a System Restore, all without any results. It will only work in the original set up. It's as if once you've run the Wizard, all settings are set it stone.

Has anyone else had a similar problem like this?
Can anyone suggest a way to fix this problem?
I don't really want to reformat both computers if i don't have to.
Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Here are my new rig's stats:
AMD Athlon XP2800+ Barton (2083Mhz) CPU
Asus A7N8X2.0 Deluxe MoBo
512 Mb DDR RAM
Maxtor 80 Gb HD
NVIDIA GeForce4 FX5200 Vid Card

 

[office politics]

1) in your first senario, with the modem connected to your new machine, it makes sense that your inet connection drops when you reboot your new pc because the pc is acting as the network's gateway for inet access. Your pc is the host and the others connected are the clients, if the host drops the connection then so do the clients

2) in the second senario with the modem connected to the hub, did you have it connected to the uplink port with the uplink button activated? Seems to me that that is the problem.

 

[bla!!]

Ok, you're friend is partially right, but coming from your ADSL Modem, you're going to want to run it to a Router instead of a hub.

You can pick a cheap one up at target for between $50-75 or get a decent one for about $100. That would be your choice. Also, most routers come with built in firewall support which would help keep you secure.

From there, most routers have at least 4 open ports for computers so you can hook yours and your daughter's computer into it.

 

[Lawmanxxx]

Thanks for the replies. I love to be able to use a router! As I indicated in my original post, I tried one and got absolutely nowhere. The only way I can get both computers to share files AND both have internet access is to run the hub in the above way. At one point, I had a techie friend, with years of experience, attempt to instal the router. After 2 hours of frustration, he stood up, scratched his head, said "Reformat and start over" and then left. Needless to say, that was a bit of a p*ss-cutter. I'll be the first to admit that when it comes to Networking, I'm a babe in the woods. The learning curve is kinda like Electro-Shock Therapy: Effective perhaps, but very painful!
As for csamuels' repy, I am going to try it one more time, paying special attention to the Hub Uplink Port.
Do you think I should deleted all of my Network Connections and Run the Wizard again?

 

[bla!!]

Are you meaning that the hub is the router?? Because a hub is something very different than a router.

 

[Lawmanxxx]

I do understand the basic difference between the two, but one of my problems has been finding out what the correct way to hook both computers up IS. Can you suggest a configuration using two computers, an ADSL modem, and a hub that provides an internet connection to both computers, the ability to use a software firewall, that won't lose the IP every time I reboot?
That is the question I need answered.
Some more questions that I need answered:
Do you necessarily need to run the XP Network Wizard to connect two computers via a hub, or did I complicate things by doing so?
If so, how do I reverse the damage?
If there is absolutely NO way to run a two computer Network with an Ethernet Hub, then I will go out and buy a damn router and reformat both of my computers and try again, but what I really need is a simple explanation of what I did wrong.

I'm sorry if this missive sounds harsh but I have spent 3 days in 7 different forums looking for answers and have gotten nowhere.

If anyone could answer any of these questions, I would be most greatful.

 

[bla!!]

I can feel the frustration, I've been there many times.

The "correct" or most efficient way to connect the computers to the modem would be the configuration I had above or #2 in csamuels list. If you're worried taht you've somehow messed things up, you can just delete the Local Network Connection you've been configuring for the setup you have and run the network connection wizard to set up a new one.

Also, for file sharing it makes it much much easier if both computers are in the same Workgroup, but that shouldn't matter for the internet connection.