Wireless setup help please

[JDPower]

Apologies if theres some stupid questions here but I've zero networking experience of any kind (any knowledge in this post is purely from Googling).

 

Need to setup a wireless network, my new lappy is wireless enabled (Dell Wireless 1390 802.11b/g Mini-Card), my girlfriends isn't.

Firstly my gf's lappy (a Toshiba A60-191) has a PC card slot, is this where I would plug in a wireless adaptor like this one:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-WG511-Wire...0392&sr=8-1

 

And then (from the list of my ISP's supported routers) get one of these wireless routers:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-DG834G-54M...0392&sr=8-1

 

Am I along the right lines so far

 

Also will I be able to connect to the router wired while gf connects to it wirelessly?

 

And if I connect to it wired I will need an ethernet cable, yes?

 

Any other advice or anything else you think I should know would be gratefully received

[Glenn]

YES to everything. You seem to have it all correct.

 

I've never used Netgear so I have no opinion in that regard.

 

One thing you should know ... if you have other 2.4 GHz devices (e.g., cordless telephone) they create interference.

[CTskifreak]

One thing you should know ... if you have other 2.4 GHz devices (e.g., cordless telephone) they create interference.

 

Usually the router has an option to switch what channel it sends it out on... My Linksys router has the option to slightly change the frequency so it doesn't inter with my cordless phone. My microwave causes more interference than my router does .

 

AJ

[Glenn]

Usually the router has an option to switch what channel it sends it out on... My Linksys router has the option to slightly change the frequency so it doesn't inter with my cordless phone. My microwave causes more interference than my router does .

 

AJ

The problem is the other way ... you can't control the frequency used by the cordless phone. It can cause the router to effectively slow down as it starts to drop packets. The slowdown may not be noticeable if the effective router speed is not the bottleneck, i.e., it remains faster than the internet connection speed. A signal strength indicator won't show this but if you have a signal quality indicator or a dropped packet report, it'll reveal this.

[JDPower]

The problem is the other way ... you can't control the frequency used by the cordless phone. It can cause the router to effectively slow down as it starts to drop packets. The slowdown may not be noticeable if the effective router speed is not the bottleneck, i.e., it remains faster than the internet connection speed. A signal strength indicator won't show this but if you have a signal quality indicator or a dropped packet report, it'll reveal this.

Its because of random things like this that I intend to stay wired through the router for the most part. Plus surely there will be better quality/speed connection through a wired connection (I use my laptop as a semi desktop for the most part so being connected to a wire isn't an issue)

 

BTW am I right in thinking your internet speed will be slowed with two people connected through the router?

[fireryone]

If both are using it, Yes.

If downloading, worse, it could stop the other accessing internet at all.

[JDPower]

Thanks for the replies. Have just ordered the router and network card, hopefully I won't be back asking for more help when they arrive

[JDPower]

Well after four frustrating hours I finally got the router working. What I need to know now is what level of wireless securty do you guys use/recommend? I have these options (and haven't really got a clue what each is):

 

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)

WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key)

WPA2-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key)

WPA-PSK + WPA2-PSK

WPA-802.1x

WPA2-802.1x

WPA-802.1x + WPA2-802.1x

 

So which would you suggest I use?

[rridgely]

WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key)

 

Thats what I use I guess. You just enter in your password to connect.

Its also a good idea to set the router to not broadcast your ssid. The networks could still be found but it wont be by casual users.

[CTskifreak]

That is a helluva lot more options than the ones my Linksys router gave out for wireless encryption.... geez.

 

AJ

[JDPower]

WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key)

 

Thats what I use I guess. You just enter in your password to connect.

Its also a good idea to set the router to not broadcast your ssid. The networks could still be found but it wont be by casual users.

Thanks RRidgely, having read up on the difference between WPA and WPA2 on Wikipedia (HERE) I've gone for the WPA2-PSK one as its supposed to be considerably more secure and hidden the SSID

 

Had a bit of a scare installing the network card on gf's laptop. After installing it I went to reboot and got the old style shutdown/reboot/logoff window, it restarted and got the Windows sign on screen asking for a password. Thankfully it hasn't got a password so clicked enter and Windows loaded.

Went to 'User accounts' to try to change it back to how it was and got access denied due to MrvGINA.dll. A quick Google found lots of Netgear owners having the same problem either with the card or after updating to most recent drivers. Thankfully that led to me finding a semi-official (no mention of it at all in Netgear knowledge base) solution on the Netgear forums here.

[rridgely]

Hmm.. I just checked my router and it was set on WPA2. It didnt even occur to me that they were that different.

I think as long as your not wide open or using WEP you should be good.