local connection has limited or no connectivity?

hey, I am a novice when it comes to computers and i have a high speed cable
modem connected with AOL. Recently my local area connection via fast
ethernet adapter has limited or no connectivity. it had done this ones but i
had turn off the computer and later it was replaced, but now its been down
for a few days. I would want to know what is the cause of the problem and
what should i do to solve it. I was also curious to know what networking
devices can do to my speed and signals, which do you recommend best.

Thankz

 

The place to start is probably the Microsoft site for home networking:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/default.mspx

As for speed. The slowest part of the system will always be the connection to the internet. So LAN network speed will not be a bottle neck. Any network switch will provide as fast a connection to the internet as any other. So just get a small 10/100 switch. If connection between computers inside your network is the issue, you could get a gigabit switch and matching network cards. However, I doubt you'll need this. 10/100 switches are fine for most home networks.

I'd recommend getting a network router rather than using internet connection sharing. Talk to your ISP about recommended routers. I don't know what works with AOL nowadays.

 

Thanks

Thanks for your help ReggieB