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45961
March 31st, 2010 12:00
Adapting old computer to wireless
I called Radio shack about getting a USB Wireless Adaptor, and they told me I needed to know if the old computer used N or G wireless, and that information would be in the manual. The old computer is a Dell Dimension 2300, and I don't have a manual. How can I find out if I should buy an N or G adaptor? By the way, the main computer in my home is hooked to a wireless router which was installed by Verizon. Thanks for your help.
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Mary G
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20.1K Posts
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March 31st, 2010 12:00
They were wrong. The old computer did not have wireless. You can add a wireless adapter that matches your wireless router. Stay with a G wireless card and router since the computer is old.
jackshack
6.4K Posts
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March 31st, 2010 12:00
If you wish to use a USB wireless adapter, the important things to know is a)what is the spec for your wireless router, and b) does the USB driver that will be installed on your computer support your operating system. I would assume that you are using Windows XP, and if you are using a wireless router supplied by Verizon, it is almost certainly 802.11g. If these things are true, your USB adapter needs to support Windows XP and 802.11g. By the way, all the 802.11n adapters I've seen will also fall back to 802.11g if that is the router you have. The only way you can't go is if you get an 802.11g USB adapter to use with an 802.11n router, the router will have to fall back to "g" for your system to connect.
DCX4EVER
288 Posts
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March 31st, 2010 12:00
You need to know if the wireless modem is G or N standard. If you are unsure get an N adapter as they are backwards compatable with all previous standards. If cost is a consideration then purchase a wireless G adapter as that is what most service provider modems would have been until very recently. Good Luck.
PS. If your older computer is usb 1.0 standard then I wouldn't recommend that you purchase a usb wireless adapter as the speed difference in the port will constantly remind you to upgrade your speed. Use a pci adapter card using wirelss G technology as that will suffice in most applications.
DELL-Kristena
2 Posts
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April 5th, 2010 11:00
I successfully installed a PCI adapter card in our Dimension 2300 at home, it was super easy to do and works great. We didn't want to take up the USB ports on the system, since we use them both frequently.
As previously posted, an N standard adapter will be more expensive, but faster and has further range. G is a good safe choice if you are in doubt.
When we moved the wireless modem in our house, to a location further away from the Dimension 2300, our former wireless card had trouble connecting with strong signal. Moving to N standard fixed that range problem.