I have a desktop PC and a laptop, I want to get a wireless internet connection?

Question

I jus bought a new laptop, iv had my desktop PC for ages and its connected to the net with wires (virgin.net broadband).

I want to use the net on my new laptop too, which has got wireless capabilities...how do i go about setting up a wireless internet connection for both my laptop and desktop PC?

I dont think my PC has wireless capabilities....

Please help!

Thanks!

Answer 1

Easy!! Just buy a wireless USB adaptor for your PC and it should be able to pick up your home wireless network. I only have a wireless system at home so cannot comment from daily usage, but my parents have several laptops and several desktops and all seem to work fine utilising variously the adaptors and inbuilt systems. Even my own laptops work fine when I visit them (some with USB and some inbuilt wireless).

Answer 2

Hi you got a few answers here but ignore the rest and go with the first answer.

Buy a modem router, Netgear DG834G, its a 54mbps wireless router and I like you I didn't know what to buy so I looked at www.reviewcenter.com and the netgear came out the best.

Cheapest place to buy one is www.ebuyer.co.uk altough I was lucky and got a brand new one off ebay for £35.

With the netgear all you do is plug it in, load the installation cd on your main pc and follow the onscreen instructions.

All you need to do is set up a home network in network under network and internet connections, let the wizar do the work and copy the set up onto a usb flash drive. Windows does all the work for you. Do the same on your laptop, plug the flash drive in which copies the setting to your laptop, then you plug it back in to your main pc and its done. Simple. You don't need to have your main pc switched on after you have done this to connect to the internet.

The info about wireless being 54mbps compared to wired is true but this won't affect you surfing as most broadbands in uk are offering at best 16mbps

Answer 3

To go wireless on your home network, the first thing you need to get is a wireless router. There are many manufacturers out there, with the popular ones being Netgear, SMC and Linksys. Their products are very user friendly and relatively easy to set up if you have some basic knowledge on networks.

You mentioned that you have had your desktop for a long time. Most desktops do not come with native wireless capabilities and users usually go and purchase a wireless adapter. They come in many forms, with the most common ones being USB based but there are adapters which are meant to be installed internally i.e. on your motherboard.

One thing to note that for wireless connections, the speed between your router and your computer (and therefore your modem) is limited to an average of 54 Mbps, compared to 100 Mbps if you use an Ethernet connection (i.e. wires). Most home users would hook up their desktops to the wireless router via an Ethernet cable and use the wireless connection for their laptops, for obvious mobility reasons, unless they are sharing the connection between several desktops all over the house.

The following are articles that can provide more help:

1) http://www.digitalhomemag.com/wireless/

2) http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1428

Answer 4

you have two options:

1) to buy a wireless router, so that it just plugs into your PC and sends wireless signals to the laptop for internet connection, its very simple to use and cheap, but the down side is that you have to always have the PC on to use the internet on the laptop, if the PC is off, there will be no internet on the laptop as there is no connection from PC to internet.

2) to solve the matter of having a constant connection to the internet, regardless if the PC is on or off, is to by a Ethernet/Router Modem, which is programmed and left connected to the interent all the time, the PC will connect to it VIA cable (as the one you have already) and it also sends wireless signals. you have more freedom in whenever you want to use the internet, on the pc or laptop. but it is sometimes hard to set up and can be abit more costly them the 1st option.

i would choose the second option, simply because you don't have to have the PC on constantly to use the internet on the laptop. both options have security build into the hardware and you can also have a firewall software, if you want. to have some solid advice, visit a PC retailer and they'll tell you more, eg PC World.

good luck

Answer 5

Get a Net Gear wireless router, easy to do.

Answer 6

i actually got a belkin router and it came with a CD and it was step by step and stuff