THanks in advanced to anyone who is reading this post.

SO this is the problem:

2 computers (1 XP, 1 Win98Se) running Netgear RT314 router. We can only use the internet when one of the computers is either "off" or in "Standby" mode. if both computers are on, then NEITHER of us can use the internet. WHen both computers are on, the connection is intermittent. it goes on and off (within 1-2 minutes).

I have tried plugging the computer directly into the cable modem, and that seems to work fine, and so i know its not the connection.

THe only thing that has changed was that i reinstalled win98se, a new motherboard, and new ram on my machine. other than that, no changes have been made to the router/modem settings.

thanks again for reading this. i appreciate any and all of your suggestions and will try them all. thanks

If it used to work properly before, then most likely the problem is in Win98 settings. Try setting all IP addresses (machine, gateway and DNS) manually. When you have manually set the IP addresses, turn off DHCP in the router.
Turn off Microsoft Networking (it can be just temporary to see if it is interfering with internet connection).

Also, is the cable connection made by the router or do you have to initiate it from any of the computers?

Does your ISP limit internet access to only registered MAC addresses?

Nodsu: Thanks for replying to my post.

1) isp did not record any MAC addresses
2) internet connection is initiated by the cable modem which is connected to my router. There is no specific logon information that is supplied by my router or cable modem.

3)i tried manually inputting all the settings, but i got the same results. both computers cannot connect at the same time. this problem is exactly the same on the XP machine, so im not sure if its a system specific configuratin problem.
4) i disabled ms networking, but this did not seem to have a positive effect.

5) both systems will work if the other is off. i think this shows that the individual systems are cofiguered properly.

6) there is an option in the netgear setup called "single user accnt" currently it is set to "YES." i tried setting it to "NO" but had no luck. does this refer to the internet account? or does it refer to the number of users accessing the internet accnt through the router?

THANKS AGAIN!

A lot of this depends on the ISP's setup. What I mean is whether you connect automatically or are assigned a specific IP Address. You ISP may not have recorded your network card address, but software can allow only one network card address per IP # accessed.

Try looking up one of your NIC addresses and then writing it down. Then go to your router and look for something like MASQUREADING your NIC address. What it means is your router will change the NIC address of all computers to the same number/address. It will appear as if there is only one computer using the cable modem.

Sometimes the key that they do not tell you is after you change your settings you may need to reboot the Cable Modem. If you do not you can change your settings all day and it will do nothing!!! I have a separate surge protector just for my cable modem and router, so I can reboot them both at once without turning off my computer.

The settings for the Internet should be on the Router and not on your computer. It is the router that connects to the ISP. The Router then assigns you some local network addresses. Normally there is an IP address that all routers have, that lets you sign on to the router and change the setup program and the settings. You just enter this in a browser and sign on.

I use DHCP on my router at home. I also selected to assign an IP address from my ISP automatically. Then on each computer, I set up Microsoft networks. On XP, I just run the networking wizard and tell it I access the Network from my LAN and let it do what it wants. I think on Win98 there is a network wizard also. If not you may have to change some settings manually. BEIU or watever it is called will work on win98/95.

You need to use a utility to look up your NIC address. I think this is like winipcfg.exe in win98 or maybe winip or winipconfig. It is different in win98 and winxp. This is just to confuse people.

In XP I made a batch file to run a similar command and named it "IP.BAT".

In the file I put the following lines:

@echo.
@ipconfig /all
@echo.
@pause

Then I saved it in the C:\ directory.

Then I go to the Run Command and type IP and the <enter> key.

It will output everything connected to or about your IP connections including the physical addresses of your nic card.