internet troubles

[fade2green514]

well i guess this doesnt effect me directly but both of our routers died recently and i plug my comp into the modem and it works fine, but if we try to plug my dads comp in it gives the "limited or no connectivity" signal...

now my two questions are...

-ill be doing LAN parties and ill want a switch with 8-16 ports on it including a WAN port for my high speed internet... id like suggestions on what to buy

-any suggestions on how to troubleshoot my dads computer? he kind of doesnt do a whole lot of maintenance on it, and its basically the family computer... so all the less computer-savvy individuals in my house use it too...

thanks in advance

 

[Motoxrdude]

For you dads problem:
Are you using DHCP or Static IP? Is it Wired or Wireless? What OS is he using too?

 

[fade2green514]

were both using windows XP and were both wired.
im not sure what DHCP or Static IP is... im not very experienced with networking, but were both using windows XP default... w/e it uses i guess..

for a switch, i was thinking this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833320404
think its good?
it'll be for LAN parties and such...

 

[Trizoy]

What will make the connection? Are you sure you wont want a router, then plug the switch into that?