Is a desktop computer required for wireless networking?

[duker10]

I am just curious. I have a friend who was asking me about getting a wireless connection going in his house for a new laptop that he just bought. He has a wireless router, and wants to just connect to the internet wirelessly. His new computer has Vista on it. He also has an older desktop model that has a P3 in it, and likely wouldn't handle Vista.

Can he connect to the router wirelessly without it being connected to a desktop? By that I mean, can the router itself just be hooked up to the ethernet cable coming from his DSL modem, and there be no other computer physically connected to it, and him be able to access the internet that way? His plan is to do away with the desktop if possible, and be able to work wirelessly in his house. I have no experience with wireless units yet, so I thought this might be the best way to help him.

[Floppyman]

Absolutely. A wired connection to the router (besides that coming from the modem) is not required for it to function. In other words, the router will work just fine with only wireless clients connected. HTH

[duker10]

Thanks - I figured as much but wasn't positive

[patrickt]

I just connected a friend with a laptop and a Linksys router. I did have to connect the laptop to the router via cable to do the setup. Once it was set up, we disconnected and it ran fine.