Ok, i've an Xbox 360 arcade and a linksys wireless router that is a hallway and living room away from the 360. Do i NEED a long ethernet cable or that 100$ dongle, or can i cheat my way for an xbox live connection? Any help in any way will be appreciated.
Well, if you have a laptop, and wireless router, you're set! Bring your laptop into the same room your 360 is in, and connect the 360 and laptop together, then bridge the connections! (Below is how to do it!)
On Vista, click 'start' and then click 'connect to' on the right.
Then click the link that says 'Open Network and Sharing center'
then click the link on the left that says 'Manage network Connections'
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On XP, go to 'Network Connections'.
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From this step on, the instructions are the same for both XP and vista, just follow the steps below.
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Highlight both your wireless and local area connection by dragging a box over them or holding ctrl and clicking on each one.
Now Right click on one of the two highlighted connections and click the option that says 'Bridge Connections'.
a few seconds later a new connection called 'network bridge will appear'
Hook your Xbox 360 to the ethernet port on the laptop if you haven't already, and reboot the Xbox.
Done.
You never have to make the connection again as it stays there until you delete it, and you don't have to enter an encryption key either.