new wireless connection
 

hi all,
advice needed my daughter wants a laptop for xmas(dont we all lol) and i will need to set up a wireless connection from my pc i need advice as i have never done this before and consider myself a novice in the pc world,i wanted to know the best networking kit to buy but preferably the cheapest as well obviously it has to work with cable broadband also what should i look out for and how easy is it to set up,as when i asked in pc world the asst there said it was quite difficult and he had been trying for weeks to do it himself,but then offered a service from there tech guys for £30 (i smell a rat there) all help and advice would be greatly appreciated as i would love it to be set up for her on xmas day.

Re: new wireless connection
 

You want serious advice, don't ask in PC world, especially from some supposed computer salesman who clearly isn't good at IT based on what you've just said.

Setting up a home wireless connection in most cases is quite straight forward.

First you need to get your self a cable compatible wireless router (It must not have an inbuilt ADSL modem. There are recommendations elsewhere on the board. Personally I like the Linksys WRT54G series which oddly enough pcworld do flog ;)

Setup is straightforward.: Power down all computers and the modem. Connect the supplied ethernet lead between modem and router. Connect your existing ethernet lead between router and current PC. Power on modem, let settel, power router, let settle, power PC. That's your wired network running.

The manual with the router will tell you how to get the wireless going, but again it's not complex. Using Internet explorer on your wired PC, browse to the setup pages of the rotuer, ofter http://192.168.1.1. Log in as the admin user (good idea to change teh default password), and then got to wireless settings. Give your wired network a name using the SSID, and setup WPA encryption (stops others theiveing your connection) entering a password. Activate. The laptop should now be told to search for a wireless network connection, and enter the password when prompted.

You can use the step by step install wizards supplied with the router to do it all semie automated if your prefer.

Re: new wireless connection
 

I use this Linksys router with my BB so can vouch for it. Never had any bother and its easy to setup.

Re: new wireless connection
 

Netgear or belkin are both very good. I don't like Linksys, i told my sister not to get it and a few months down the line it kept dropping the connection so i changed it out with a Belkin.

Re: new wireless connection
 

thanks for that great advice
just one more question will i have to install my isp disc and settings onto the new laptop or will it just work from the network i know this seem a stupid question but i want to try and have everything right

cheers

Re: new wireless connection
 

you won't need the ISP disk. If your wireless has been set up correctly to connect to the router then internet browsing should then be straightforward. Make sure that Internet explorer detects the connection automatically (no proxy or dial up connection type stuff).