Help please....?

Question

My knowledge of computers is very limited so please excuse any mistakes i make explaining this.. I have a main PC which is connected to internet via a cable modem,ive just brought a laptop and would like to have a wireless connection.The laptop alredy has a D-Link wireless card and i know i needed a cable/dsl router.I got confused with different products available and ive ordered a Linskys WAP11 Access Point as the listing said "make your network wireless" I know this isnt a cable router and now im not sure what ive brought. Do i still need a cable router and whats this other thing for,do i use it in conjunction with a router im just totolly confused, please help explain to me in laymens terms nothing technical.

Answer 1

You have not got the right kit. The WAP11 is an access point and not a router. Get something like the Addon Wireless 54Mbps Cable / DSL Router (www.microdirect.co.uk, £29) and return the WAP11 as you don't need it. Connect the router to the cable network and make sure you configure it securely (WPA or WEP, change password, etc.) and you should be fine.

Answer 2

From what you say, the WAP11 AP isn't going to do what you need if you wish to use both PCs at the same time.

The WAP11 would work if you had a wired router and wanted to add wireless capability to it. You'll need to return it and get a Wireless Router like a Linksys WRT54G.

Answer 3

OK, I'm not a hardcore Pro or anything, but I think i can help.

You can use the linksys thing you bought to connect your laptop to a network, and you can connect your pc to the same network with a wire that goes from the PC to the linksys thing.

You have what you need to do what you are trying to do. The only thing that might not work - the card in your laptop might not have the same frequencies as the linksys, but I think it will work.
I read the reviews of the linksys thing you are buying, and its not a bad deal for under 30 bucks at amazon, but you might have to ask a few more questions on here to get it set up right, since the manual is kinda slim on help, and the linksys support line is useless.

Oh yeah, and for future questions, make sure you put more of the question in the top line. Saying "Help please" dosent give people much to go on as to whether or not they can answer your question; "Wireless internet help please" would be more informative, and that'll get you more answers!

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Let's cover what you need to get Internet access to more than one computer at home, via a wireless LAN.

1. You order or use your existing Cable or DSL Internet access.

2. Your Cable or DSL company sets up your Internet access and typically either rents or sells you a Cable or DSL "modem".

Prices for Cable or DSL Internet access vary from approximately $19 per month to $80 per month in the United States. This varies based on bandwidth, location, and provider.

At this point you have what is commonly called Broad Band Internet access.

Now you want to share that high speed connection with more than one system or you want to be able to cart your laptop all over the house and stay connected to the internet.

1. Confirm that your system has a wireless adapter or get one and install it. You need one of these for each computer.

2. Get a wireless router. I recommend the D-Link Dir-655. If you need additional adapters, get D-Link n series Adapters if you get the D-Link wireless router. If you get a Linksys wireless router, buy Linksys wireless adapters.

3. Plug the wireless router directly into the Cable or DSL "modem" via an Ethernet cable.

4. Unplug the electrical cord from your Cable or DSL "modem" for 30-45 seconds.

5. Plug the power cable back in.

6. Check the Cable or DSL "modem" for green lights.

7. Make sure that the properties of TCP/IP are set to Obtain IP address automatically, and obtain DNS automatically on ALL of your computers.

8. Turn on or reboot your system(s).

Now you should be able to stay connected to the Internet with all of your computers.

If you can not access the Internet from every computer:

Attempt to log in to your wireless router via your web browser (internet exploder or Firefox) by typing in http://192.168.1.1/
Then log in using admin and admin typically. Be sure to change the password to something of your own choosing.
Enable DHCP by following the instructions in the manual for your wireless router.

You only need one wireless router for you wireless LAN. One wireless router can potentially accomodate up to 253 wireless computers. My wireless router only has MAC tables for up to 32 devices.

For extra security:

1. Don't announce the SSID of your wireless router.
2. Use WPA2 if you can. WPA-PSK if not, or WEP at the least.
3. Put the MAC addresses of all of your computers into the MAC routing table of your wireless router and ONLY ALLOW from the addresses in the table of the wireless router.
4. Turn the SPI firewall of the wireless router ON.
5. Filter anonymous or incomplete packets.

Answer 5

your laptop should pick up a signal from a wireless router(i pick up next doors signal as well as my own lol). you will need to set up to your pc though but is easy enough with the instructions provided. i have a d-link adsl wireless router. took 15 mins to set up on pc, didnt have to set-up laptop. hope this helps

Answer 6

just use a network cable to connect the modem to the linsys device .
plug it in and connect.

Answer 7

nope you do not need a cabe router and yes you do need to make your network wireless