[hippichic100]

H i i am currently running tiscali broadband on my pc with a sagem dsl modem.I have just bought a laptop,and wish to set up a home network(wireless).I have done a little research on the net and find it all v.confusing.Can someone tell me how to go about this and what extra equipment i need.Thanks

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does the pc need to be wireless? (really no need)

You need a wiress router/switch and a cat5 patch or network cable. If your laptop does not have wireless integrated you will need a wireless card or usb wireess adapter.

Currently, you should be set up like this:


cable--cablemodem--pc

You need to set it up like this

cable--cablemodem--router/swithc--pc

set up the router switch to act as a dhcp server and it will give your PC and laptop individual ip addresses on your network and handle communications between the two and between the two and the internet.

Make sure the router/switch supports your wireless access card in the laptop

[gerryf]

does the pc need to be wireless? (really no need)

You need a wiress router/switch and a cat5 patch or network cable. If your laptop does not have wireless integrated you will need a wireless card or usb wireess adapter.

Currently, you should be set up like this:


cable--cablemodem--pc

You need to set it up like this

cable--cablemodem--router/swithc--pc

set up the router switch to act as a dhcp server and it will give your PC and laptop individual ip addresses on your network and handle communications between the two and between the two and the internet.

Make sure the router/switch supports your wireless access card in the laptop

[hippichic100]

ok-thanks, just to clarify-that would mean that the laptop is wireless and the pc wired{which would be fine}??
The pc has a"ethernet 802.3 card" , and the laptop has a"sis 900 intergrated fast internet"-so would anyone be able to suggest a" wireless router" that would be compatible with the above two , and any other peripherals i would need to get the whole network going?

[Neil Jones]

Any Wireless ADSL router will do, just buy a wireless adaptor for the laptop and some network cable for the PC. Unless you plan to add more than about three computers you don't need a switch, just a wireless router. You can also just buy a wireless card for the PC as well if you don't want to lay network cable.

Edited by Neil Jones, 25 November 2005 - 05:22 PM.

[gerryf]

what kind of laptop do you have?

You may already have a wireless adapter inside, but it may not be turned on.

[hippichic100]

Thanks foryour help.The laptop is an Advent 7012.I was thinking of buying a netgear router as they seem highly recomended.What do you think?

[gerryf]

It does not appear that your laptop has a wireless NIC or even a pcmcia port.

That means you will need a usb wireless adapter...I will take a look at a couple later on and post back...where are you likely to be buying from? You seem to be in the UK?

[gerryf]

well, here we go.

You mentioned the Netgear and they are OK...I have a netgear pcmcia card and it works quite well, though the drivers have been of sporadic quality (one driver works, the next one does not, then the next one does, with varying degrees of stability--I currently am using the third of five released drivers for best quality/speed).

If I were slapping a new wireless network together I would try to make sure I got a wireless adapter and router from the same vendor if possible--I rarely run into problems these days and in fact have a mixed network myself, but others have had issues.

How far is your laptop likely to be from the access point? How much are you willing to spend?

[hippichic100]

I wouldliketo be able to use the laptop all over the house.Havelookeat the misco site and there is a package there that seems a really good deal,i think ill give that a go.can you explain about the access point,i dont really understand.Thanks.