How can I connect my wireless router without having a wire still attached to the main computer?

Question

Im really confused. I recently joined Virgin Media and was sent the cable modem to connect to the internet. I also brought a Belkin wireless router so that me and the rest of my house mates can connect to the internet. The only problem is that they can all connect to the internet wirelessly except for me! because I have the cable modem and wireless modem in my room. So now I have an ethernet cable connected to the wireless modem and my computer. How can I connect to the internet wirelessly like everyone else without this ethernet cable??

yes..it is a laptop that i have. i just want to be able to use the laptop anywhere in the house rather than stay fixed in one place. also my laptop does pick wireless networks...and it is connected to it, its just that when i remove the ethernet cable to use the laptop wirelessly, the whole internet disconnects :s

YES!!! It works it works it works *dances around*
Thank you so much!! All of you!!!!!! :D

Answer 1

Hello -

The first question is, do you have a computer (laptop or desktop) with a wireless card built-in? Meaning, do you have any icons down in your taskbar that mentions a wireless network is available?

Sounds like you already have the wireless network setup if your housemates can already connect.

So, if I were working on your computer, I'd be looking down at the Startbar, close to where the time is displayed, and slowly move your mouse over each icon. What you're looking for is one of them to say "Wireless connection disconnected" or "Wireless networks available".

If you have an icon like that, then all you need to do is right-click that icon (assuming you have WinXP), choose "View Available Wireless Networks" and then connect to the wireless network that your housemates use.

If you don't have an icon like that in your start bar, then it means your computer doesn't have a wireless card. You can go to either Staples, or Office Max, or the like, and pick up a wireless adapter (internal card, USB key, etc.) for typically $50. It'll come with the Setup disk so that it'll step you through everything you need to do. One thing I'd definitely recommend is to check the settings of the wireless network and see if it is encrypted. You'll want to keep out prying eyes!!

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Answer 2

First of all what type of computer do u have. If it is a laptop than yes you can connect wireless. You just have to make sure that the wireless router and your computer are compatible. For example, you have A,B,G,N one of this in the router so your computer has to have one also. And if you do not have wireless in your computer, than you can get an adapter that will allow you to have wireless. another thing is that it is better to have a computer connected to the router and the cable modem in case you need to change the settings. Or a least have a cable to hook the computer if anything goes wrong and you need to change or reset something. If everything is on your room i suggest moving it to a more centralized location. So that way the everyone in the house can get a better signal. One last thing keep the router secure put an encryption on it.

Email me if you have more questions.

Answer 3

connect wireless router wire attached main computer

Answer 4

1st Make Your Wireless Secured..., So Itz Cant be Acess by him..., Unless he Knows the Password... & Even Other Intruders Even Cant Acess Your Network.... 2nd You Cant Block him Accessing his LAN Computer.., as itz connected to router...

Answer 5

You would need a wireless nic (network interface card) to do that. I am curious tho, why does it matter if you have a cable?

Answer 6

These are both great responses, giving you a great deal of excellent information to work with. I just want to add a few more things.

First, I also use a Belkin Wireless Router. When I setup our Wireless Network I had to keep the cable connected while I ran the Belkin Setup Disk. While running the Setup Disk it came to a point where it told me to unhook my cable. Once I had unhooked the cable my Wireless connection was up and running without issue.

So, my question is did you run the Belkin setup disk in your computer? If not, you need to do so. The Belkin router has a Wireless Access Point, a Router and a Switch all built into the one unit. Each is a seperate component which you could buy seperately if you wished, but these days they often come built in to one. Sometimes a Network configuration needs one or two of these items, but not all.

Now, it is true that the cable connection is going to be faster and more reliable than the wireless connection. While wireless is gaining in stability and speeds, it still is not up to the par of cable. With this in mind, is your cable hooked directly into your modem, or is it hooked into your Belkin router? I will get back to this in a moment.

If you have ran the Belkin Routers setup CD, and properly configured the Router as directed in your manual, and setup Security within the Router, usually WEP or WPA or WPA2, with the last the best and the first the worst security, and WPA still having some compatibility issues with other hardware and firewalls, then all you need to do is run the Wireless Adapters setup CD, then open your Network Connections folder, either via the connections icon in the Notification Area, via the Start Menu link, or via Control Panel, (for XP), or open Network and Sharing Center (for Vista). Each OS is just a bit different, but the basics are the same, regardless of which OS you are using.

Now, I want to tell you about a Wireless Network Connection technology which makes setting up a Wireless Network a snap. As easy as 1-2-3. It is called Connect Now technology.

All you do is setup the connection on the first computer, load the configuration settings into a USB drive, then take this and plug it into the Routers USB port, and then plug it into each computer you are hooking up to your Network. Vista has full Connect Now ability, and XP has a partial implementation of this technology if you have Service Pack 2.

In Vista you go into Network and Sharing Center, and in the Set up a Connection or Network Wizard select Set Up A Wireless Router. Click Create Wireless Network Settings And Save To USB Flash Drive. Enter a name for your Wireless Network. This is the SSID of your Wireless Network, not the Network Name you put in each system. You can use both Upper and Lower case letters, numbers and underscores. Vista suggests using the name of your computer with a "_Network" appended, but you really should use something more meaningful to you. Next, click Show Advanced Network Security Options. Select the best security method supported by ALL your wireless devices---WPA2-Personal (best), WPA-Personal (second best) WEP (better than none at all, but not so great) and No Security (not reccomended) If you do not display the advanced options Vista defaults to WPA-Personal. Allowing this to occur can have compatibility issues later and it can cause issues which make computers unable to connect to the Internet. It is best if you set this up yourself before hand here in this Wizard. Next, enter a Passphrase, which will be used for every computer which connects to your Wireless Network. This passphrase is meaningless for Wired computers because Wired computers simply do not need Wireless Security. They are mutually exclusive. Vista suggests a gobbedygook "phrase", but you should replace it with one of your own. Choose a phrase that's not easily guessed, but make it long and consider using letter substitution or misspellings to thwart attackers. Next select an option for File andn Printer Sharing over the network. YOu can change this setting at any time later via the Network and Sharing Center. Next, plug a USB flash drive into your computer, select it from the list, and click Next. You don't need to use a UFD dedicated for this purpose, all the files take only a few kilobytes of space, and don't interfere with other files on the UFD. But, do keep it in a safe location because anyone with access to this USB Flash Drive--UFD, has access to your Network. Now, remove the UFD from your computer and plug it in to your Router. Routers usually give some indication they have accepted the information, either with a blinking light or a beep, or a message in a LCD panel. Check your user manual to see which it is for this Belkin router. Next, simply plug the UFD into each computer you want to connect to your Wireless Network. When the AutoPlay dialog box appears, click Wireless Network Setup wizard. Click OK a couple of times and you're done! Save the UFD for use when other systems wish to connect to your Network, such as family or friends.

If you do not have full Connect Now technology in all of your hardware devices, you can still use this method to set up those which do support it and then manually configure those who do not. My Belkin Router does not support Connect Now. It does not possess a USB port. I bought my Belkin a year ago. Your Belkin router may have a USB port on it. If not, then you have to configure it manually. It is fairly simple. You always configure the Router before the computer adapters. The adapters must have something to connect too.

Belin uses the browser address 192.168.2.1, so type that into your browser to access your configuration pages. If you have not yet entered an Administrative Password, do so, as sit increases your security. If you forget this password you will not be able to access these pages and will be required to reset your Router to factory defaults, so don't forget your password. Once you have the configuration pages open, click on Security. If you need more information on any of these features and settings, click the link More Info, which is in blue after each descriptive phrases or after each setting. Select WPA PSK, then select TKIP for authentication, and then enter a passphrase. This is the exact same thing as written above. Change the SSID to one more decriptive and meaningful to you, Belkin uses Belkin and then the product code appended at the rear. like, Belkin-23VD78. Click Save Settings. Now, your and everyone elses connectivity will be lost, until you manually or with Connect Now technology enter the passphrase into each adapters configuration or use it to connect each time somebody wishes to join the network. I advice you to enter this passphrase when helping a visitor connect to your network. You can do so manually in Available Wireless Connections, or use the UFD stored configuration files. If you use the UFD for a visitor, they will permentally have all configuration for your network and will be able to connect at will.

Once you have configured the Router, you will next need to setup one computer on your network. Do so with the Wireless Network Setup Wizard (XP) or from within Network and Sharing Center (Vista) and then click Set Up A Connection or Wireless Network, which opens the Network Connection Wizard. Follow the Wizard entering the required information. The only thing you must be careful with in XP is ensuring each computer uses the exact same Workgroup Name. Don't accept the default MSHome in XP, create your own, such as your last name. We use our last name as our Workgroup Name, and our first names in all caps for our computer names. These names help the Network to "discover" each device on the same network. In Vista it no longer matters that each computer be on the same Workgrouup. Vista allows computers with different Workgroup Names to connect and discovers them easily.

Once you have setup your Wireless Network with the Wizard, you will come to a page which offers you the choice of using a USB Flash Drive to store the configuration files. Do that. Then, for each computer you wish to connect to your Network, you simply plug the UDF into the USB port of each computer, select Wireless Network Wizard from the AutoPlay dialog box, and finish up quickly. You won't have to manually enter the information for each successive computer.

If all of this means nothing to you, or if you have done all these things and are still unable to unplug your computer from the Router and connect Wirelessly, you will need to contact Belkin Technical Support. There is a toll free number on your Routers user manual, usually at the back. You can call Monday through Friday, I think from 6am to 6pm, if I remember correctly. There are three technician levels, and if one does not fix your issue it will be sent to the second, and so on and so forth. I have found Belkin support very helpfull and usefull.

It actually sounds like you simply missed a step in this setup. You have a Wireless Adapter, and a Ethernet adapter. You have to configure the Wireless Adapter, unplug the ethernet adapter cable, and then select your Wireless Network from the Available Wireless Networks, enter your passphrase if neccasary, and then click Connect. If you configured your Wireless Adapter properly you shouldn't have to manually enter your passphrase, it should be stored within the Wireless Adapters configuration files, which are stored in the Registry. That is why using the Wireless Network Wizard is important, it enters all the neccasary information into the Registry.

Anyway, while all this may sound complicated, it really is very straight foreward and simple. It is nothing like is use to be. Not so very long ago it was a nightmare trying to setup and configure a Wireless Network. It was all done manually and without Setup CDs. Technology has come a very long way in a short amount of time.

Good luck and I hope you are hooked up to your Wireless Network really soon. Remember that Wired is still preferable over Wireless. Wired is still faster and more stable. Wireless signals can be dropped, and often your connection mysterously disconnects itself, and then you right click your Wireless Networks Icon in the Notification area, then select Repair, and it repairs the connection. Just thought I would add this last bit because most Wireless connections do require this step, sometimes very often, several times a day if using regulary. If you are downloading a file or streaming media it will be interupted until you reconnect your connection.

As the Router is in your room I would suggest you continue using the wired connection as it currently is configured. It is a better connection. Use the Wireless for a laptop when neccasary.