Emac and pc not cooperating with ethernet switch

Question

Hi folks,
I'm a new guy here. I've searched the forums for this topic, but can't seem to find one that answers my question, so here goes.
I own a Dell Dimension PC (Win XP home edition), and an eMac (OSX 10.4.x Tiger). I have DSL at home. I just purchased a Linksys 5-port switch so I could have both computers internet capable at the same time. Originally my Mac was hooked up to the DSL and the PC did not exist. Then for a while I had the PC hooked up to the DSL. My new setup is this: DSL runs from the modem to the switch, and it runs from the switch to the PC and to the Mac.
I have run into the following issues:
If I turn on the Mac first it can access the internet. If I then turn on the PC, the Mac loses internet capability and an error message appears saying the IP address is already in use. The PC is not able to access the internet. If I shut down the Mac and reboot the PC, then the PC can access the internet. The Mac is obviously shut down.
Can anybody offer some insight as to how I can fix this? I would like to have a functioning network, even minimalist is fine by me. Thanks in advance for all your help.
french dip
emac    

Answer 1

Your DSL modem is designed to only hand out one IP address. Only one of your machines can use this IP address at a time.
You need a small home router to assume the IP address and then share it among your machines. This model on the Linksys website is an example of a common and well supported router.
Hope this helps! bill
1 GHz Powerbook G4   Mac OS X (10.4.8)