Well, man I said I wouldn't post here but you've went and done it..
You can set the speed of the NIC via the driver in the OS. 10baseT cards still exist although it is not clear which machine is the culprit in this post. He could have a 10baseT card or misconfigured 10/100 card.
The duplexing will only be 1/2 regardless of how you look at it with a hub.
With a router, how would one configure the router to allow file transfers through the other router without forwarding ports? Even if the ports were forwarded you are only going to be able to configure 1 machine on subnet2 to communicate both ways between subnet one and subnet two.
Therefore a switch is the cheapest and most compatible option.
Correct me if I"m wrong, how many cicsco classes have you taken? 2 ?
#1, A misconfigured 10/100 card?? Are you kidding me? This isn't 1989 when people are fighting to control old and newer machines to communicate with each other. 10/100 is 10/100 simply just in CASE one needs to use a 10bt... This goes for your duplexing argument too...
#2, "With a router, how would one configure the router to allow file transfers through the other router without forwarding ports?" What do you think a router is for man? To act like a hub? That's the routers PURPOSE. You will learn about this in Cisco III...
#3, "Even if the ports were forwarded you are only going to be able to configure 1 machine on subnet2 to communicate both ways between subnet one and subnet two.." if that was true, we would have 5000 routers for a 5000 computer network.
I'm not bashing you man, I'm simply tired of hearing someone post incorrect information on a board. Learn about the subject before going off.
Lastly, I want to make something very, very clear to you man. A router is a switch, but an intelligent switch. So, your "more compatiable" statement is mundane...
As I said, and will say, for the 3rd time, if you want to get away with something that will work for less money, get a switch. If you want something that will allow more control, at just a few bucks more, get a router.
Edit: BTW, you may want to look up what a switch's purose is before trying to use it's role as a router...