Wireless help

[wannaB]

Hello All,

WannaB here :t .

Okay I searched and read and nothing.

I purchased a used laptop it says It has this Internal 802.11b Wireless internet, since Im a WANNAB, can anyone help me.

I want to connect this laptop to the internet,
can I do this without having a (hardwire) and using the wireless?

It has WindowsMe on it.

Step by step would be helpful, although Im a little savy,
just treat me like a 2 year old child trying to learn,
I will try not to act to stoopid.

Thank you

[Midknyte]

you need to provide more info. are you using dsl or cable? do you have a wireless router yet? if so, what make and model is it? did you look at the router manual yet? what is the make and model of the laptop?

configuration-wise, you need to have the same SSID on the laptop and router. once you get connected, you can worry about security.

[wannaB]

Hi Midknyte,

IT's a:

IBM Thinkpad I series 1300 Laptop
Cel 700 Mhz Processor

* 128 MB ram
* 10 gig Hard drive
* 13.3 Active TFT Color Screen
* Internal CD Rom Drive * Internal 56k Modem
* Internal 10/100 network (makes the laptop high speed internet ready)
* Internal 802.11b Wireless internet.
* Power supply/ac adapter/battery charger
* Ports/slots on this laptop ( to hook up other external devices):
2 USB Ports
2 PCMCIA Ports To hook up a wide range of external devices
Mouse/Keyboard Port To hook up an external mouse or keyboard, great if you prefer a regular desktop mouse.
* Windows Millennium Edition Loaded!

Which wireless is the best for the buck?

Thanks again

[Midknyte]

DLink, Linksys, and Netgear all make good products. I think DLink or Netgear would be the cheapest.

It depends on if you're going 802.11B or 802.11G. G hardware is obviously more expensive. since you only have a B card, you could opt for a B router. However, that would limit you in the future if you wanted to add systems with G capability. it's up to you.

[wannaB]

So being that I have the card Internal 802.11b Wireless internet,

When Im in a Cafe or airport with service, how do I connect it to these services?

[Midknyte]

you would need to ask the provider there for instructions. not all of them are free services. you would need to know the configuration settings, especially the SSID and security settings. Some places make you use their cards because of MAC address filtering.

[wannaB]

One more question,

so there is no such thing as wireless dial up?

So if I wanted to connect my cell phone to the laptop what would I need? I have read some people connecting there cells to laptops.

I am really new to the wireless age :D

ty

[Midknyte]

you would need a cellphone modem and subscribe to the service. AT&T, sprint and t-mobile have that available. it's kinda slow, though. I've used a sony-ericsson PC card cell modem and it's really not worth it unless you travel a lot.

[wannaB]

Okay I got my Dlink 802.11G,

But my problem is still here, because I dont know how to use the software (configure) on my laptop to get the wireless card to pick up the signal.

I was reading and found out I can access "Hotspots".

Which is great but my problem is I dont know how to even access the laptops wireless card to configure it to look for a signal.

How do I use this thing ---->* Internal 802.11b Wireless internet.


Can anyone help??

[Midknyte]

did you already have a 802.11b card built in? if you got a 802.11g, there shouldn't be anything you need to do to connect to a 802.11b network.

did you install the dlink wireless configuration software? you're supposed to install the software first, then install the card. it will be in your programs list in the start menu.

other than that, you can go to the "my network places" and manually configure from there.

You'll have to get the information on how to configure your system for each vendor's hotspot, so they should have a quick guide for you.

[wannaB]

Yes the 802.11b was already in the laptop when I bought it,
so what I wanted to do was head over to Starbucks and connect to the internet but I am really new to this, so I dont even know where to start.

I need to have DSL setup at my house first before I setup
my home network.

[Midknyte]

if you're going to use the G card, then you need to disable the B card. that will just confuse you.

you need to ask starbucks for the instructions. they would need to give you the SSID, WEP key, etc.

[Midknyte]

if you install xp sp2, it has a wireless network setup wizard.

[wannaB]

I have WindowsMe on the laptop.

Also, your telling me that the 802.11G is not compatible
with the 802.11b ????

The 802.11G is the Dlink,

The 802.11b is in the laptop...

[Midknyte]

I thought you said you had 802.11b onboard and you bought a 802.11g card. you meant you got a g router.

Okay I got my Dlink 802.11G

Dlink is a brand, not hardware. it would have helped to give a model number or even say "router". It's like saying I have a "Microsoft". does that mean windows, office, powerpoint, or what?

802.11g is backwards compatible to 802.11b.

if you have winme, then you will probably have to manually configure the settings from device manager and network neighborhood. if you were lucky, then IBM has some kind of configuration utility. you might want to see if IBM has one you can download. again, ask starbucks for the configuration instructions. there's no way for us to know what the SSID and other settings are.

[wannaB]

Midknyte,

Sorry,
I assume you know what I am talking about and I shouldnt do that.

Well so far you sent me in the correct direction, just by telling me to go to the device manager, I knew that was in the control panel (I think lol) anyways by going in there I found the Icon
wireless network, I clicked on it and it brought up Add/Edit configuration Profile, I assume in there is the name I call each location it has four entry's and looks like where I can name one "Starbucks" for instance. I will try to configure it and see what happens.

Thanks for your help.