Question about wireless setup

Newbie Forum
#1

my aunt and uncle just moved and need a hand setting themselves up. They have one ocmputer that will be wired and one wireless. the laptop already has a wireless card. they do not have a wireless router. I’ve never set up wireless internet before (call me old fashioned haha)

ok i know this is pretty basic, but i’ve read a bunch of tutorials and here’s what I’m still cloudy on.

1.) do all wireless routers support wired connections as well, or will i have to buy a specific “combo” type router?

2.) i know about the different stadnard .b, .g, etc. will i have to get a router based on the standard that the wireless card supports or are better routers backwards compatible with previous wireless cards. (for example, will a 802.11b card work if i buy a 802.11g router?)

i guess that’s about it for now. I’m going to try to bring my brother’s sidekick to their house tomorrow so i can post from his phone if i run into trouble haha.

if you guys can think of anything i run into that might be tricky, please warn me about it here!

i assume the wired connection will be a snap. plug a couple things in and BAM detected.

also, i assume that once the wireless is detected I should set up security for them. this can be done from teh router configuration IP i assume.

if these assumptions are wrong, let me know!

#2

just to start off:

1.) yes (they support wired connections - anyway you’ll see the LAN ports on the back when you buy one, usually 4 of them - use normal Patch cable between the PC and router, not Crossover-cable)

2.) yes (these standards are backwards compatible)

#3

thanks for the info. i wasn’t sure if i should get a router ahead of time or if I’d have to wait to see what kind of card he had before i bought the router.

other than that the steps seem pretty self explanatory, but like i said, if there’s anything potentially tricky you guys can think of feel free to post it here.

based on the tutorials I’ve read it’s basically plug stuff in, set up security from the wired computer, view recognized connections with wireless computer then connect using the security settings that you previously set.

#4

yeh i put wireless internet on my dads laptop… took me all of 10 mins… much easier than connecting a network :a

#5

@haveacigar awesome. haha i’m having networking problems at the moment too.

my brother and i used to be able to access each other’s files (just sharing music, videos, etc) but it suddenly stoped working. i can get his files, but he can’t get mine. this will be my next big issue to tackle haha.

hoefully my aunt and uncle aren’t expecting me to set up a home network with shared capabilities…i highly doubt they know what that is though.

#6

i think its just me expecting too much… i had this pc built for me from a computer shop and think they put in the cheapest lan card they could find…

#7

Just a small addition: the 802.11g router will work with 802.11b cards but I’m pretty sure ALL wireless network traffic will slow to that lower speed. It may matter if you want to add another computer with 802.11g card later on and expect it to work at the higher speed.

Also, definitely use the installation utilities that come with the card and router to set up. It’s a bit of a nightmare doing it through the various Windows networking dialogues.

#8

the card has been preinstalled. i’m not sure if they’re going to want me to even paly with the wireless stuff or if they want to go buy the router themselves. I’m going to hook up the desktop through the modem then let them know that they need a router to connect anything else.

after that i’ll follow the instructions that come with th erouter.

that’s a good tip about the wirless stuff slowing down to the speed of the “lowest common denominator” so to speak. I’ll make sure to mention that to them, but I doubt they’ll care since it doens’t affect them at the moment…they’re the type to worry about things when it becomes an issue haha.

I’ll definitely make sure to follow instructions that come with the router. i know that my home oruter and the one we used to have at my apartment were different and i didn’t read the directions ot set up the second one. turns out the one i had at home didn’t require any software installation, but the one at my apartment wanted software installed prior to connecting anything…what a pain haha.