Writen by Carlos Cabezas
Let's just skip the intro and get straight to it. This tutorial is for the Windows XP Operating System. If you don't have it I recommend you upgrade to it.
This portion of the tutorial will apply to people with Comcast High Speed Internet. For other Internet Providers I will include another tutorial specific to those.
Let me start off by saying that despite what Comcast might tell you, you do not have to have Comcast come and set up your wireless network. In addition, you do not need to pay them an additional monthly fee in order to have a wireless network in your home or to have additional computers on your home network.
Let's talk a little about where to buy the equipment . In most walk in retail stores you are going to pay about 20% to 30% more than if you order online (with the exception of Walmart, but the one near me is always out of stock of the wireless products I need.) If you feel more comforatable buying from a retail store because you can easily return something that is defective or that you don't like, keep in mind some retail stores will take back a defective product for a full refund within 14 to 30 days, but some will tell you to ship the defect to the manufacturer for a replacement. If the item is opened and you simply don't like it, most retail stores will take it back within 30 days but you will have to pay a restocking fee, which is usually 30% to 50%. My point here is that I don't see too many advantages to buying wireless equipment at a retail store.
I order almost everything online unless I need to test it first or I can't wait a few days for it to ship. I don't mind waiting a few days in order to save 20 – 30%.
Equipment
There's a lot of different equipment you can use, but what I'm going to list here is what I've found to be the best, and is what I use myself. If the text is blue it means you can click on it to be taken to a page where it can be ordered online, either from Amazon or Buy.com, both reputable online retailers.
The following portion of the tutorial applies to the following: I have a Desktop Computer that sits near the cable modem.
First you will need a Wireless Router. I recommend the Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router.
If you are connecting a desktop computer to your wireless network and the desktop computer is sitting near your cable modem, your desktop computer will need to have an ethernet card. How do you know if your desktop computer has an ethernet card? If you bought your desktop computer within the last 3 years chances are it has one already. Best thing is to get behind the computer and look. If you have one you will have a port in the back of your computer that looks similar to a phone jack port but bigger. If you do not have this then you will need to purchase one. The Linksys LNE100M EtherFast 10/100 PCI card will do fine.
To install this card you will have to unhook your desktop computer and open the case. Before you start to panic let me tell you, in most cases it's really not that hard. In most circumstances the hardest part is opening the case.
The first thing you need to do is open your computer case. Since each computer maker makes a different case and in turn a different way to open the case, I cannot list the steps for all manufacturers. In addition for just one computer maker, the way cases are opened differs from model to model. If the computer is a Dell or HP then the instructions on how to open it should be online on their website in the help section. It may take a little digging to find it but it's there. Sometimes a case is designed well enough that it can be opened simply by unscrewing the two round screws and pulling it off.
Once the case is off it's time to take a look inside.
The slot that you are looking for looks like this picture to the right. You may have several open slots like this or just one. Take a look at the slot and then take a look at PCI Ethernet card that you bought. As you can see the Ethernet PCI card is shaped to fit nicely into the PCI slot in your computer.
There will probably be a small metal cover covering the PCI slot. Holding this cover on will be a screw. You need to unscrew this with a Phillips head and take off the cover. Once you've done that align the ethernet PCI card with the PCI slot. Once you have it aligned it will take a small amount of force to get it to click in, just make sure you have aligned correctly. There is only one possible way it can go in.
Once you have the Ethernet PCI card in put the cover back on the computer and hook your computer up again.
There are other options for wireless adapters that do not involve opening the case but I don't recommend them as they can cause more headaches then they are worth.
Laptop Computer that is fairly new
If you are trying to connect a laptop computer that was bought after 2005 you most likely have wireless capability already so there is nothing you need to add to your laptop. You can check for sure by doing the following:
Click on Start > Control Panel > System > Click on the Hardware tab > click on the Device Manager button in the middle of that window > You will see a list of your hardware here, find the one that says "Network Adapters > Click on the Plus sign next to Network Adapters > This will show all the network adapters on your computer > If you see something with the word "Wireless" or 'Wireless Adapter" then you are in good shape, your laptop has a wireless adapter.
If your laptop is older and you do not have a wireless adapter then you will need to add one to your laptop.
Let's talk for second about what kind of adapter to get. Most laptops have what's called a PCMCIA slot in them. If your laptop did not come wireless ready I recommend you get a wireless adapter that goes into your laptop's PCMCIA slot. The Linksys Wireless-G Notebook Adapter will do fine. The instructions that come with this product are pretty good and will tell you step by step how to install and load the software. In a nutshell you are going to load the CD into your cd drive and follow the instructions to load the software for the adapter. Once the software is installed you will shut down your computer, slide the card into your laptop's PCMCIA slot and turn the laptop back on.
Once you have the appropriate adapter installed for your computer you are ready to move onto the next step.
Installing The Linksys Wireless Router
The following directions apply to the following: I have a Desktop Computer that sits near the cable modem. In addition the desktop computer is hooked up directly to the Comcast Cable Modem.
If there is an Ethernet cable going from the Comcast Cable Modem to your desktop computer, disconnect this from both the computer and the modem. If it is a USB cable disconnect it from the computer and the modem.
In the wireless router's box you should find its power supply as well as an Ethernet Cable. Take them both out. Plug the power adapter into a power outlet.
Take the Ethernet cord and plug it into one of the Ethernet ports in the back of the Linksys Wireless Router (plug it into any of the ones on the back except the one that says "Internet" over it.)
Take the other end of the Ethernet cord and plug that end into the Ethernet adapter that you put into your desktop computer. Now power up your desktop computer. Once it is powered up, open up Internet Explorer, or if you use Firefox open that up.
An Internet Explorer window comes up and it says "Page Cannot Be Displayed".
In the Internet Explorer address bar, type in the following numbers exactly like this
192.168.1.1 and then press Enter on your keyboard.
If your computer is talking to the Linksys Wireless Router you should get a window asking you for a username and password. Leave the username blank.
Go down to the password field and type in admin
Then press the enter key.
You are taken to the Linksys set up screen. This is where changes are made to the routers set up.
Look towards the top, you should see something that says Host Name and Domain name. Just above this you should see a drop down menu. By default it probably says Obtain an IP automatically.
If it has "Obtain an IP automatically" there already you do not need to do anything. Just exit the window.
If it does not have "Obtain an IP automatically" click the arrow for the drop down menu and choose "Obtain an IP automatically".
Scroll down towards the bottom until you see a "save" button. Click save. You will be told that Settings are successful and you will be returned to the Setup screen again.
That's all you need to do on the router status screen for right now. Exit the window.
Connect Your Comcast Cable Modem to the LinkSys Wireless Router
By now you have your desktop computer connected to the LinkSys Wireless Router by way of an Ethernet cable.
Now you will need to grab another Ethernet cable.
Plug one end of this Ethernet cable into the Comcast Cable Modem. (There should only be one possible port for it to go.)
Plug the other end of this Ethernet cable into the LinkSys Wireless Router in the port that has the word "Internet" over it.
Now you have a cord going from the computer to the Linksys router, and another cord going from the linksys router to the Comcast modem.
You desktop should now be able to get onto the Internet. Open up Internet Explorer again and surf the Internet to check.
Connect Your Laptop to the Wireless Network
The following section applies to the following: I have a laptop and I want to connect my laptop to my wireless network. My laptop is fairly new (purchased after 2005) and it already has a wireless adapter inside it. I checked in Device manager as noted above and I found something that said "Wireless".
This should be fairly easy if your LinkSys Wireless Router is running correctly.
Boot up your laptop. When the laptop boots up you should get a pop up window saying that it found a wireless network called "linksys". It should connect to the wireless network automatically. If not then you need to Right-click the network connection icon in the notification area (area near the clock in bottom right hand corner), and then click View Available Wireless Networks.
In Connect to Wireless Network, under Available Networks, click the wireless network that you want to connect to (the one called "linksys")
Click Connect. You should now be connected to the internet.
If your laptop is older and you had to add a PCMCIA wireless card to your laptop to give it wireless capability, the steps to connecting to your wireless network are much lengthier. In this case your best bet is to consult the online documentation and follow the steps outlined in it.
Carlos Cabezas writes regularly about home technology at http://www.HighTechHomes.tv/blog. His business, High Tech Homes, helps work at home professionals, families and small businesses with their technology issues.
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