wireless connecting to internet what do I need

Um.

Firstly you need to confirm that the card in your pc is a wireless card.

If so then all you need is one of two things.

1. An entire Wireless broadband modem, such as a Draytek vigor 2600 or Netgear.

2. A wireless router, which connects to your modem*

*If you are using a USB modem such as the Speedtouch, then throw it onto the fire and burn it, hope that it goes to the hell from which it came, proceed to step 1.

quote:

Originally posted by garyi:
Firstly you need to confirm that the card in your pc is a wireless card.

"My laptop has a network card already fitted (non wireless type) and no additional slot for a wireless card."

USB seems to be his only option.

cheers, Martin

Sometimes those slots on the side of pc laptop allows for a wireless card don't they? (I'll be honest I wouldn't have a clue)

And yes I have seen those wireless USBs in the shop and it would appear to be just what you need, plus the the other stuff mentioned.

You will most likely need to replace your BT modem (presumably connects using USB and is therefore useless) for a ADSL modem/router/firewall/switch and then a get a PCMIA wireless card, often packaged with wireless modem/router/firewall/switch, this should cost no more then £100

You will then need to find out the various settings required for your ADSL modem and configure the modem/router/firewall/switch for your ADSL connection and also configure your modem/router/firewall/switch for wireless networking (you should use some level of secuirty) as well as ensuring that the firewall is operational. This combination is very secure, the firewalls in these relatively cheap devices are pretty effective (nothing has got through to Windows XP firewall through it). It would be worthwhile getting a WPA-PSK enabled wireless device as this is very secure, does mean you may need to download software patches for your PCMIA card but WEP encryption is not great. Disable SDIS broadcasting. MAC address filtering helps but is a bit of a pain to configure for new users.

You may want to check but your laptop may have built in aerial and be able to take a mini wireless PCI card.

Good luck

Matthew

quote:

Originally posted by ARC:
I would like to connect to the internet without connecting my laptop to the modem using a cable. My laptop has a network card already fitted (non wireless type) and no additional slot for a wireless card. Am I corect in assuming that I can use a USB wireless antena to a router which connects to my existing modem. If not any idea what I should do? The laptop is a 1 year old HP pavillion ZX5000 and I use AOL via a BT modem.

Brendan

As stated in replies above, a hub/router will do it. We installed a BT1800 hub this year and are now happily running four PCs wirelessly. This may only apply to BT (so if you are with another ISP it may be different) but we had to go up to 2Mbs - which we were going to do anyway. All BT users who can get it shoul be on 4 this year anyway. We also had a PC that wouldn't accept a wireless card, but a USB device (not much bigger than a box of matches) does the job just fine.

Cheers

Harry

I've now idea why your Pavillion wouldn't have a spare PCMCIA slot left, so if it does, get PCMCIA. Will be far more comfortable than a separate USB box.

If your modem has a built in router/hub, a Wireless Access Point (like Linksys, Cisco owned BTW) will do the job. If not, get a router/hub, preferably 3Com. Mine is a D-Link, which is good, but needs a reset every now and then and I hear the 3Com ones are a bit better in that respect.

Whatever you need, it won't be very expensive.

Cheers,

Edo

A word of warning here.
The only ADSL modem router that supports AOL, is the Netgear 834g. AOL have specifically optimised "Easy install" drivers on their help site for this router, so you should use these and not the ones supplied with the router.
There is now a version 2 of the router, probably best to get this.
You will also need the USB adapter/receiver WG111. Anyhoo you can get it all Here

Yes it should be noted that AOL is the devils work of death.

Machine man,

Thanks very much for the tip, I'm now up and running wirelessly using AOL. The connection actually seems faster than my old wired BT modem setup. The netgear works really well with excellent connection throughout my house using the USB adaptor.

Brendan

Brendan,
Glad to have been of service , it's nice to know it worked out well for you.
Alas, i am dumping AOL for BT(girlfriend works for them, discount) because am having problems with version 9 and Windows ME. Every 5 Min's or so, web pages wont load for about 20-30 seconds, then they load instantly like nothing has happened Anyway even level 2 tech support couldn't sort this one out. So i guess it's time for a new spewter and ISP. At least I'll be able to use the old Voyager 105 modem and save a few spondoolies. Anyway sorry for waffling. Hope you enjoy your speedy setup.

Kind Regards.