Wireless Laptop and Router

[maascj]

I am trying to connect an old Linksys BEFSR41 router to my laptop so it can utilize my laptops wireless internet connection it already has via USB. I ultimately want to connect my xbox360, directv receiver and slingbox to the router. I have tried every possible connection I can think of, but no luck. Any ideas. Not sure if I need a cross-over between my laptop and the router. Do I need to use the WAN port of the router? Help.

[lenwest]

I am trying to connect an old Linksys BEFSR41 router to my laptop so it can utilize my laptops wireless internet connection it already has via USB. I ultimately want to connect my xbox360, directv receiver and slingbox to the router. I have tried every possible connection I can think of, but no luck. Any ideas. Not sure if I need a cross-over between my laptop and the router. Do I need to use the WAN port of the router? Help.

Connect the WAN port of your router to the modem. Do not use cross over from laptop to router.
It would be preferable to buy a newer generation wireless router (N)
Use network wizard in XP to set up network and configure wireless

[maascj]

Thanks for the reply. But I am trying to use a laptop that already has a wireless conection and internet. What I want to do is share that internet conection on the laptop to the router so I can connect other devices to it. I just need to know how to hook up the router to the laptop so I can pass the internet downstream.

[YoshiMon]

It seems like your trying to do this:

Internet -> Laptop -> Router -> Other devices

Which is going to be annoying to implement.

The better solution as len pointed out is:

Internet -> Router -> Laptop/Other devices

Now what is confusing to me is you threw out the fact that your laptop has a wireless connection. Where in the topology are you getting your wireless from?