I have a new laptop and i have highspeed dsl how do i get my laptop to be wireless w/o a desktop?

Answer 1

Your going need to get router a wireless one. You don't need a desktop. Just a router and a dsl modem. Connect the modem to router and read the quick start guide buy a new router.

Answer 2

All you need to buy now is a wireless router. Linksys seems to be the most popular brand. Watch out though, because there are routers that don't do wireless. Look for 802.11b or 802.11g, or some other letter there. Any of the 802.11 protocols are faster than any DSL (unless you have the new ADSL2+.)
Check the documentation that came with your laptop to determine exactly which protocol variant it uses, and then look for a router that has the same variant. When you get home with your new router, hook up the "WAN" Ethernet port of the router to the Ethernet port of the DSL modem. (Typically, the DSL modem will only have one 8-pin connector, which looks like an overgrown phone jack. It's referred to as RJ-45. The phone line side of the modem uses an RJ-11. It utilizes only 2 pins, although there may be 4.)
Temporarily, at least, you will have to connect the RJ-45 on your laptop to one of the "LAN" RJ-45's on the router, unless you are going to set up the router using a desktop, which will be permanently connected to the LAN side of the router anyway. Well, that takes care of the hardware setup. Software setup can be a little tricky, but the documentation that comes with the router should be enough to get you going. Once you get everything working, don't leave what SEEMS to be well enough alone. If you do, you will have what is referred to as an "open Wi-Fi." This will allow anyone within range of your router to use your DSL connection to surf the Internet and steal the bandwidth you are paying for. Fortunately, it's EASY to lock them out. All you have to do is go into the Wireless Settings page of your router, and set a security key. You'll feed that same security key into your laptop when you set it up to access the router. Once that's done, you might even disable "SSID broadcast" in the Advanced Wireless Settings. SSID is tech talk for the name of your wireless network. New routers will have a default name, which advanced users can use to identify the brand of router you have. So you will definitely want to change that. You can call it whatever you want to call it. I've even accidentally run across one called "Goverment" and yes, it was misspelled like that. If you want to go all out with security, you can pull up the command prompt on your laptop and type "ipconfig /all" (without the quotes, of course) and it will list your Ethernet adapters. Look for the physical address, not the IP address of your wireless adapter. This is referred to as the MAC address. You can feed this string of numbers and letters into one entry of the access list of your router in the Advanced Wireless Setup. Or even better, some routers will tell you the MAC address of any wireless device that is connected, or has connected recently, which makes it even easier to set up the access list.

Answer 3

Assuming that your laptop is already wireless-enabled you need to buy a wireless router that is compatible with the wireless protocol built into your laptop - IEEE 802.11a, -b, or -g. Find out what level of WiFi your laptop supports and buy the wireless router that best matches it. Connect the router to the DSL modem and follow all of the installation instructions for the router.

The IEEE 802.11 family of standards known collectively as Wi-Fi was introduced to establish a common, secure set of standards for device-to-device data communication over wireless in much the same way that Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) connects computers on a wired LAN. On a wired network, computers are connected to the network by cables plugged into Ethernet hubs and switches. In a wireless LAN, computers connect to the network by sending radio signals to an access point. Each access point is connected to a wired network and it relays traffic between wireless devices and the wired network. Today, most wireless LAN products support 802.11b (also called Wi-Fi), a standard that operates in the 2.4 GHz band at speeds up to 11 Mbps. However, a growing number of products are beginning to support two newer standards: 802.11a (operating in the 5 GHz band at speeds up to 54 Mbps) and 802.11g (sharing the same 2.4 GHz band at speeds up to 54 Mbps). Because its range is greater than either IR or Bluetooth, Wi-Fi is the more practical choice for wireless LAN printing. You can use it to not only extend printing services to users in a small work center, but to serve telecommuters or other laptop users.

Answer 4

Ok you need a wireless router....

wireless G is being replaced by wireless N.

N is much faster.....

SO if you use G you can save a few bucks. (G is still quite respectable for home use.)

"N" routers are going for $100 and up....

AND, IF your laptop came with wireless networking built in... (Most do nowadays...) you're set to go for "G" wireless. It's doubtful it came with the "N" built in... just check your documentation.

But most likely you're shelling our another $70 and up for a "N" networking connection (USB or PC-card)

PC card -- http://www.superwarehouse.com/images/products/Belkin_F5D7010_prd.jpg

USB -- http://www.superwarehouse.com/images/products/belkin_f5d7050_thn.jpg

I just helped out my in-laws with a "Belkin" system from Staples... $35 for the wireless router... and $35 more for a PC card for their older laptop. For less than the cost of the "N" router they're up and running with both laptops...(One had "G" built in...)

Router -- > http://www.superwarehouse.com/Belkin_802.11g_Wireless_DSL_Cable_Gateway_Router/F5D7230-4/p/467848

The router handles the communications to and from the laptop and if you wire in a desktop unit you can network them too!

The Belkin comes with a handy configuration CD ROM that made setting up the router a breeze just answer a few setup questions and the config is done for you...no techno-dweeb needed..

Well almost no techno... you DO have to know your DSL password and user info... I suggest that when you go to setup the router....call your DSL help line and have them help you enter that data.....unless you know it :)

hope I helped....ENJOY the wireless!

-dawgy

Answer 5

You'll need to purchase a WIRELESS ROUTER.
Look at your favorite electronics/computer store.

Also, make sure that your laptop has wireless or buy a wireless card/adapter.

Answer 6

you can get a dsl that has built in router like the ATT 2 wire 2700 model