Wireless LAN connection woes

[danny]

I'm pretty well a rookie at this wireless thing. I've read the posts in this forum and all seem to deal with a router. I didn't buy a router, (maybe I should have??) I bought a Linksys WMP54G PCI Wireless-G card for my home PC. I have a Toshiba laptop which has built-in wireless LAN as well. I've installed the card and Windows detected it and I installed the drivers. The problem I am having is that there is no available networks, so I must be doing something wrong. Also, in checking the wireless card in the back of my PC, I see no green light. Now a newbie like me, did I have to buy a router on top of the card? The salesman told me the network card would suffice. Here is my specs:

Windows XP
512 RAM
AMD Athlon XP 2800+

I've run the network wizard and all seems to go fine during the installation. So I am assuming that I did not set some configuration setting. Can you point me in the right direction please? Thanks

[RJS2]

I have 2 computers in my house and the one is using a wireless card, I have a router connected to the main computer so yes you need something to connect the wireless card thru to in order to get connection to the internet.

[glc]

If all you are trying to do is set up a 2 computer network with wireless adapters, and don't care about the Internet, you can run the adapters in "ad-hoc" mode. Then they will talk to each other.

[danny]

Originally Posted by glc If all you are trying to do is set up a 2 computer network with wireless adapters, and don't care about the Internet, you can run the adapters in "ad-hoc" mode. Then they will talk to each other.

For the time being, I'd be happy just to see both computers seeing each other. Set at ad-hoc, and still no network.

[nicolaus corelius]

unfortunaly, i dont know how to set-up ad-hoc but i heard its a pretty realistic config.

[danny]

Just got off the phone with Linksys support. They advised I absolutely needed a router for the two computers to communicate.

[glc]

They are misleading you. Ad-hoc should work fine, I've done that many times.

That said, if you have broadband, I would recommend you return the PCI card for a wireless router. Connect your broadband modem to the router, and connect the desktop computer to the router with a patch cable, then configure the laptop wireless. This will get you internet sharing and file/print sharing.

[danny]

Originally Posted by glc They are misleading you. Ad-hoc should work fine, I've done that many times. That said, if you have broadband, I would recommend you return the PCI card for a wireless router. Connect your broadband modem to the router, and connect the desktop computer to the router with a patch cable, then configure the laptop wireless. This will get you internet sharing and file/print sharing.

Wow, thanks alot. I'll return the PCI card and replace it with a router today.

[danny]

OK, I've replaced the original PCI LAN card and bought a Linksys broadband router, model BEFW11S4 version 4. It seems now that the computers can see each other but I can't use the internet on the client and can't access the drives and printer on the server PC so I am assuming I messed up somewhere in the configuration. Here is what I have:

The PCI network card is plugged into the router. My high-speed modem is an internal version, therefore I can't connect it into the router. According to Linksys, everything should work. SO can someone direct me in these final stages of the wireless network setup dilemna? The server PC can access the client drives but not the other way around. On the server PC I have two HDD and both are shared, as well as my internet connection and my printer. In my network connections, I have three connections. One is the broadband connection for the Internet and two are in the LAN or High-Speed Internet category. I've got the high-speed modem shared and not the Internet connection itself as I can't manage to get that shared for some reason. I'll stick to my day job as this networking is frustrating. Thanks for any help.

[glc]

You need to replace the internal modem with an external Ethernet-capable modem, sorry. I'd also return THAT router, that particular model is a lemon. Get a WRT54G, or possibly a combo modem/router that's compatible with your ISP.

The only way to share out an INTERNAL modem wirelessly is 2 wireless adapters in ad-hoc, like you originally tried to do.

[danny]

OK thanks for your help but this is enough for me. I'm returning the router and foregoing setting up a wireless network. Don't need it that bad.

[GRP]

Actually, Danny, what you are trying to do is not difficult. If you have broadband you will need a router and an external cable modem. The Linksys router wrt54g mentioned above is a great choice ,being a router, switch, and access point. The notebook already has an adapter, if it's a B you can mix it with G. I would put the router close to the desk top and buy a wired PCI 10/100 NIC, Why fool with the wireless when just a short patch cable will do without the wireless haggle, and security issues. Now you just have one wirless connection to configure, and of course the router. Go to Linksys.com for diagrams.

[glc]

Already covered, GRP.