hi, i currently have a laptop connected directly to my old blueyonder cable modem which is called a "surfboard" SB4100. the laptop is new and connects to the internet this way perfectly fine. i want to connect another pc to the internet, but its operating system is xp home whereas the laptop is vista. before the laptop came along i used to connect the second pc through the first via a cable so the 2nd pc could only connect when the first was on. i cannot get this to work now, the laptop recognises the other pc but i cannot connect this to the internet. i keep getting an error message from the 2nd pc saying "could not reset ip address". is there any other way i can do this? can i buy a router with 2 inputs for cables therefor both pc can access the interent independently that will work with this old blueyonder modem? if so how cheap and what model? any help will be a great bonus here as i am not that pc literate!
thanks

You should be able to attach a router to the modem and set up a home network as long as your modem has an ethernet socket on the back.

Is your modem this one?

yes it is. can u recommend the cheapest and best option?

This one should suit your needs, although you may want to browse the category in the store for an alternative - I've never used Netgear on my home network, preferring to choose Linksys instead.