Networking DSL/Cabling Issues

[Adam Davis]

G'morning all.

I'm trying to set up a home network so that several computers can share a
DSL line.

The setup is such: DSL modem is on the second floor and the router must
also be there.  Computers are on the first floor and in the basement.
Each computer currently has cable running to it from the 2nd floor.

Included with the router was a short bit of patch cable.  The instructions
specifically say to use the patch cable to connect the router to the
computer, and use the cable currently hooked into the DSL modem to connect
the modem and router.

Using that setup requires me to put the router right next to one of the
two computers and it works.  The problem is that the router needs to be
with the cable modem on the second floor, so I can connect both
computers to it.

But when attempting to do this, I have to use the patch cable to connect
the modem and the router (and leave the line that runs from 2nd floor to 1st floor
connecting the router and the computer).  With this setup, nothing nothing
happens.  The computer doesn't even recognize the router.

The DSL modem needs a 10BASE-T connection, but I'm not precisely sure what
that means.  Do I need to get a different type of networking cable?  Is
there somethinge else I'm completely missing?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

~Adam Davis