What is a good router that will work on my computer?

Question

Okay, my computer is pretty old and i want a router on it. my aunt bought a linksys router and i intalled it and everything but it didnt work. my gues is that my pc was too old to run the program. I need a good long ranged router that will work on windows xp home edition(dont know the year maybe 2000-04 or so). So if anyone knows a long ranged router (1/2-10 mile) that is good and wil work on my pc, please tell me the model.

Answer 1

Routers are rated by capability where the most expensive on the market currently are Wireless N, then G and finally B. Most likely you probably only acquired an outdated obsolete B but LINKSYS and BELKIN are two of the better NETWORK Wireless manufacturers, and the sensitivity and software are equally good.

I have 3 fast desktops (DELL, SONY Viao, and Gateway Media Center) and 3 Dell Notebook PCs and recently did a lot of wireless troubleshooting with Dell Technical Support. FYI Dell prefers the Notebook or Desktop PC to be connected via Ethernet Cat5 cable to download all drivers first before venturing out on the wireless mode...which is my suggestion if you want to further troubleshoot your problem and most DSL providers want provide one-on-one technical support. Then on the otherhand, if you don't have DSL at home and are just looking to catch free cyberspace (this doesn't require a router <= required to expand your DSL connection) which is what my kids and I do at the oceanfront, or Borders Books Panera Bread, first you must make sure your wireless card is working with all appropriate drivers and the Linksys software is just excellent.

Hope the Above Info Helps and Happy Holidays!

Answer 2

The problem is not the PC or the router. It is the last statement in your question -"If anyone knows of a long ranged router (1/2 - 10 mile) ..."
The problem is there is no such animal. Routers are not Microwave Towers. Having such a monster in your home (even if it were possible for the radio signal to curve over the horizon, which it can't) would be like living with a unshielded microwave oven. You would be fried! The typical operating distance for a wireless router is 50 to 300 feet!
Routers are installed between one network and another. You cannot use a router as a stand alone device to get to the internet. You need an internet provider for that.

Answer 3

Any router out today, or even put out in the last two to three years, will work with Windows XP Home. It is not the router which is to blame for this, but User error. Something did not get configured correctly, or was not properly installed.

Use a Restore Point to take your system back to the day before you tried hooking up the router. If you are not sure how to do this, here:

Start--All Programs--Accessories--System Tools, and then click on System Restore.

On the first page click on the radial button in front of Restore your system to an earlier time, then click Next.

Now, select a date in the calender using the bold numbered dates, those which are not bold are not usable points. Click Next, and next again, and then finish, and your system will be rebooted, and when you log on a message informing you of a successfull system restore will greet you.

Now, place your router next to your modem. Unplug the modem. Unhook the cable from your modem which runs to your computer. Hook that end into a RJ45, (ethernet) port on the router. Now, take the cable that came with the router, hook one end into the modem port on the router, and the other end into the port where you just unhooked the other cable from.

Now, plug the modem's power supply back in and wait for the modem to fully boot. Once it has fully booted, now plug the power supply for the router into a wall outlet. Wait for it to fully boot as well.

Once it has booted, pop the CD or DVD which came with the router into the slot on your computer and slide it in and allow it to read the disk. Once it reads the disk, a Welcome to setup screen should appear. Simply follow each pages instructions.

Depending upon your ISP, you may or may not need to enter a User Name and Password that your ISP either gave you over the phone, or left on paperwork when you first hooked up your Internet connection. If you do need this information and do not have it, phone your ISPs technical department and aquire this information, and then place it in the proper page. The page would have been left sitting open until you finished the call.

Once you have all the information entered into the setup screen, it will finish the setup of your rouer by sending the information to it and uploading. Wait until you get a confirmation that you have a successfull connection. Then, open up your browser and serf a few websites which are NOT in your local cache, (depending upon how long your Temporary Internet Cache was last emptied, you could open a page which is stored on your local hard drive, which will give you a false idea of a viable connection, so before you try connecting, empty out your Cache, by clicking on Tools, Internet Options, and then deleting your temp files).

If you now have a viable connection, you can hook up other computers now. Do NOT use the installation disk on the other computers it is not needed and will only cause huge headaches for you.

If you have an Wireless Access Point on your router, you can also check the wireless connection too. Simply disabled, or unplug your ethernet cable from the router, and use your wireless adapter to connect to the internet. Do NOT do this long without setting up security!

Setting up security is not difficult and you should have instructions in the paperwork which came with the router. Read the instructions. If you do not have the paperwork, here is a website where you can locate different manuals, and get some help in configuring your router. Also, if you do not have the install disk, you can download this from the Linksys website. Just go the the support area, plug in your version number, and then download the items you need. You may require the free Adobe Reader program, but if so, you will be prompted to install the browser add-on to read it in the browser window, and you can go to the Adobe website to download the free program for your system.

Please read all instructions at least one time fully before beginning any setup or configuration. This will give you an overview of what you need to do. Read the instructions carefully and do not get into a rush. One mistake can make the entire system not work. I mean the connection, not your computer.

Good luck and I hope you get your connection up and running in short order. Please have a nice holiday season.

Answer 4

router is just a device that routes the packets. u can use any router if u have an ethernet port on your comp.

router dont want to be installed on your computer. Its a standalone device.