Ethernet/Wireless router confusion...

Hello,

I have a hopefully simple problem to solve!
I'm in a shared house and the wireless router lives just outside my room. However, the wireless has been playing up a lot lately and keeps dropping out.

I have an ethernet cable connected from my PC to my PS3.

Can I remove this from the pS3 and connect it to the ethernet port on the router to get a wired connection?
I tried it but it would only pick up the wireless and, when I disabled the wireless dongle, nothing at all!

Is there some setting I need to make to 'active' the ethernet connection?

The Router is an O2 Wireless II box. I have Windows 7 Ultimate.

What the lights on the O2 wireless box mean - Support - O2

I may end up getting a separate service put in, because the dropping out is really annoying, but I thought this would be a relatively simple stopgap solution!

Thanks
Mark

For the wireless dropping out problem, have you tried using a different channel in the router's wireless connection settings?

You can scan the area around your house using this Xirrus wi-fi inspector which will help you find an unused channel in your area.

Xirrus: The Leader in High Performance Wi-Fi - Advanced IT Wi-Fi Networking Tools

As for the wired connection, assuming the DHCP is enabled, it should work as soon as you plug in the eithernet cable. If not, then you might need to download some drivers for your wired eithernet adaptor.

Hi,
I'm not terribly technical so I don't know how to get into the router's settings or try a different channel. Though I'm keen to learn!

I had assumed that, as the ethernet cable works fine with the PS3, then it means that it's functioning okay? The PC didn't show any sign of having a new cable attached when I plugged it into the router, although the green connection light came on the router itself.

I think the problem may be the router itself as it seems to drop out and the indication lights will go out while it comes back to life.

It's very frustrating whatever it is...