Wireless broadband connection, How do I?

bonjour1230,

Any major name brand of networking equipment will suit your needs, but you will find the Linksys products are well regarded by this forum's regulars.  Other brands include D-Link, Netgear and Belkin.  Stay away from TrueMobile.

You have not specified what type of internet connection you have.  Assuming you have either a DSL or cable broadband connection, the Linksys WRT54G will work just fine for your needs.  It is a combined router, access point and 4 port switch and supports 4 wired PCs and an additional 250 wireless PCs.  One of your two PCs should be connected to the router using a wired ethernet connection.  This is strongly recommended by Linksys, so you have a wired connection when you update the router's firmware.  The laptop is a good candidate for wireless connection.  The Linksys WPC54G will fit in the laptop's PCMCIA slot.  You have not mentioned the specifications of the laptop, but it should at least be running Windows 98 Second Edition. The laptop may also be capable of supporting a mini-PCI wireless network adapter. Consult your laptop's user manual.

See the tutorials here and here for help with configuring your network.

Post back if you have additional questions.

Ok, I bought the Linksys WRT54G, its on the way....now, I still need something for my desktop? I have the direcway satilite internet connection which uses one of my USB ports. Do I need to special card buy the a card to plug the WRT54G into? 

• REQUIRES - PC (200MHz or Faster Processor) with 64MB RAM Internet Explorer 4.0 or Netscape Navigator 4.7 or Higher for Web based configuration CD-ROM Drive Wireless-G or 802.11b Wireless Adapter with TCP/IP Protocol Installed or Network Adapter with Category 5 Ethernet Network Cable and TCP/IP Protocol Installed. Microsoft Windows 98, Me, 2000, or XP
  

bonjour1230,

I wish you would have mentioned the DirecWay satellite system in your last post, siince it makes a big difference in how the PCs can connect to each other, and you may not need the router at all.

Which DirecWay system do you have?  Their newest system is the DW6000, and can connect to a PC (or router) via an ethernet connection.  I do not know if it can also connect via USB to a PC.  I know their older system, the DW4000 system, could only connect via USB.  The router does not provide for a USB connection, so if you have the DW4000 system, you will not be able to use the router.  If you have the the DW6000 system, then connect the router to the satellite modem with an ethernet cable.  One PC will then connect to the router with an ethernet cable and the other will connect to the router wirelessly.

If you have the DW4000 system, you will need wireless network adapters in both computers and will configure them for ad hoc mode.  They will communicate with each other directly, without the need for a router or access point.  For the desktop you could use a Linksys WMP54G PCI wireless network adapter or a WUSB54G USB wireless network adapter. 

Thank you for the info, yes I have the DW4000 Direcway sysyem which connects via USB. OK, I bought the router and the PCI Ethernet card.....no fear, I will need both of the in about 5 month when I plan to switch to a Cable connection.

For now, I contacted the installer of my Direcway system. He tells me, if I understood him correctly, that it will work by plugging the router into ethernet card, and by configuring Win XP network..it should be no problem. Is this possible?

Thanks again for any help.

bonjour1230,

No, that will not work.  Put the router back in the box.  Because the DW4000 system connects to the desktop computer via USB, you will have to implement Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).  ICS is software built into windows and performs the function of a router.  Your laptop will connect to the internet through the desktop.  See the FAQ at the top of this forum for some general ICS information.

First you need to get the two computers communicating with each other.  Each will need a wireless network adapter and the adapters should be configured for ad hoc mode.  The two PC will communicate directly with each other, without the need for the router.  Once the two computers are successfully communicating with each other, you can move on to enabling ICS.  See this site for how to set up ad hoc.  The user guide that comes with the wireless network adapters will also show you how.  If you purchased a Linksys router, get Linksys network adapters, to keep things in the family.

The computer connected to the DW4000 modem will be the ICS host.  The other PC is the ICS client.  Go to this site and download the DW4000 Software Installation Guide.  It has excellent information about setting up ICS, starting on page 61.  The wireless network adapters should be configured to Obtain an IP Address Automatically.  They will be assigned an IP address by the DHCP server in ICS.  This is why you do not need the router.  It also has a DHCP server in it and its DHCP server would be in conflict with the ICS DHCP server.  Another good ICS tutorial site is here.

In the future when you migrate to the cable internet connection, reconfigure the wireless adapters for infrastructure mode and then implement the router.  Also disable ICS. 

Message Edited by _Paladin on 12-10-2003 10:08 PM

Thanks for all the info!  Am I correct..The hardware I need for my desktop now is a Linksys  WMP54G Wireless-G PCI  card?

Again, thanks for all the help!

bonjour1230,

Yes, you can use the Linksys WMP54G in the desktop or a Linksys WUSB54G.  Either would be fine.