Setting up a wireless internet connection for a laptop.

James79 · 12-11-2005, 19:38

Hi all - Im aware this is probably already in existence somewhere on the forums, but I havent been able to find it thus far!!

Basically, Im looking for a bit of assistance in setting up a wireless internet connection for a laptop that a relative has purchased.

The main PC is already connected to the internet wire free. I believe they have AOL using a BT phone line.

When I was there last night, and the laptop was turned on for the first time, a connection (albeit "unencrypted") was established. We were able to access some sites, such as BBC, AOL, and Yahoo. Other sites such as MSN/Hotmail, Microsoft, etc either timed out or took so long to load, that we gave up.

Just wondering if anyone would be able to provide some assistance in setting up the connection so that all sites are accessible.

Will the setting up of a "secure" network connection have implications on the wireless connection for the main PC? In relation to this, how do I set up a Secure connection - I havent a clue to be honest - have just had experience with wired connections!!

What I will say is that when I went into the Internet Options and checked the "Automatically Detect Settings", things seemed to go quicker, but microsoft etc was still unavailable.

All help will be gratefully received.

James

Stuart · 12-11-2005, 22:18

Any security settings you change on the network will affect ALL devices attached to it, so they will all need to be configured.

For a good discussion of Wireless security (and how to set it up), go to http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/showthread.php?t=8435.

We have an article that sums up the info in the thread nicely, but unforetunately, the Articles section is off line at the moment (due to Friday's upgrade).

GeoffW · 13-11-2005, 09:53

It's not clear how you are sharing the connection, do you have a wireless router? If not then getting one is the easiest way to share the connection, and as Stuart says, any encryption setting affect all machines. The browser settings are the same as if you were connected via a direct cable connection, you still need a DHCP address and a gateway at the IP level (from your router).