wireless network

[visakbnb]

I am having a terrible time trying to set up my linksys wireless router wrt54g
we bought it about 10 days ago.
We have two computers, one is a hp laptop xp pro, the other a hp desktop xp home.
Desktop has a wireless g card, the laptop has a wireless b card.
We set up the desktop first get it going, then try to set up the laptop and BOOM it doesn't work. We use that net assistant cd from linksys, and called their tech support(worked about an hour and finally) and was able to get them both going.
Then a few days later we were having allot of dropped signals. Again called linksys, after sometime with them, they finally said ROUTER NO GOOD.
We sent it back, got a new one, and again we are having the same difficulty in trying to get them both on.
I am so frustrated, plus so new to this form, thatit must have taken me 20 minutes to figure out how to send a message (hopefully to the right) to the right group.
anyway, can anyone help us?
thanks
bruce

[glc]

As I said in response to your private message, you should connect the desktop to the router with Ethernet - then do a reset to factory defaults on the router. Then try to connect the laptop wireless.

[visakbnb]

Good Morning everyboby,
Taking the advice of glc I hard wired my desktop to the router (wireless) to the internet, press the reset button on the router. Now what? do I go to the router's ip address (which I think I may know) oops forgot (linkysys wrt54g)
and set up my ssid names and such. Or do I physically plug in the laptop to the router and press reset again.
I hope everyone doesn't get to frustrated with me, I'm sometimes computer savy and sometimes not. and this is a case of the not.
Any info and help is tremendously appreciated, my wife is on the warpath and I need to cslm her down.
thank you
bruce

[Rebel_526]

Morning visakbnb, welcome to PCMech.

You may have an HP problem with the laptop. I know that's not what you wanted to hear.

We have a laptop cart at the High School in the district I work for. 22 HP laptops that connect to a wireless router (rarely more than 5-8 at a time). About every two weeks, I have to go in and re-enable the wireless LAN on a handful of the laptops. Haven't been able to figure out why they just mysteriously disable themselves. It's not the students, as they have no access to control panel, nor can we find any setting that could possibly have anything to do with it. We've spent hours on the phone with HP, to no avail.

As far as your Router goes, I have the same one at home. I love it. Never a dropped signal, though I am using 'G'. Perhaps you should see about a 'G' PCMCIA card for it.....

[glc]

With the desktop connected to the router with a cable, and the router reset, does the desktop have Internet access? If so, leave the desktop connected that way and disable or uninstall its wireless card. Then you can browse to 192.168.1.1 and work on the wireless section of the router. Get the laptop connected wireless with no security first, then you can work on security. Take it one step at a time. If the laptop has XP SP2, the connection process is really quite simple, when a wireless network is detected a balloon pops up and all you do is follow the prompts. Once you get the laptop connected and on the Internet, then you can work on filesharing if you want.

[visakbnb]

Okay, sorry for the delay in getting back to everyone.
Yes I do have internet capabilities hoohed up with the desktop (as last post) so now you want me to disable the wireless card and go to the web site of the router?
then do the set up there, hmmmmmm
I wish I knew what all the fields meant that they are asking for......
see, I am really lost on this

[visakbnb]

okay here;s another one, how and the heck do you disable the wireless card?

[Rebel_526]

right-click on "My Computer" left-click "Properties" left-click the "Hardware Tab", Left Click "Device Manager". Left-click the "+" next to "Network Adapters", Double-click the wireless adapter. At the bottom of the window you'll see a drop menu that reads "Device Usage", click the drop arrow and select "Do not use this device (Disable)"

[visakbnb]

thanks rebel,
sorry that you had to explain it like that , but wow! you should write tech manuals.

[Rebel_526]

LOL, don't be sorry, I'm more than glad to help

As for tech manuals....no way

[visakbnb]

okay, if anyone is out ther, I don't know what the heck I' did ot done but know the laptop has the wireless connection. But I am so scared of security?
I do not know how to set it up. I heard that there are mac numbers(whatever they are) that only allow these so called mac numbers on the router?
any info on these?

[visakbnb]

okay, I give up-------- I disabled the wireless card on the desktop, follow (if I did it right) the security router set up. Went to the laptop, and it connected--I didn't do a thing. Then went back to the desktop, enabled the wireless card, and guess what ---
can't connect!
any help?

[glc]

Leave the desktop wireless DISABLED and keep the wired connection! There is absolutely no reason to connect a desktop computer within a few feet of your router wireless. Wired is ALWAYS better when physically feasible.

Get the thing connected up again, desktop wired and laptop wireless, then start adding wireless security, testing each and every thing you do to make sure the laptop will still connect. If you are running XP SP2 on the laptop and it has an internal wireless card, I recommend WPA-PSK security, this is a simple passphrase key generation in the router and in the laptop wireless config. Just that by itself should be adequate security.