Wirelss built-in... need card?

Hi.

As I am new to the wonderful world of wireless internet, I apologize in
advance for what may be a rather rudimentary query.

I'm a single mom and have a hard-wired network setup that is working
fine, but as my daughter is now the proud owner of a new laptop, I
would like to switch things over to wireless.

The laptop literature states that it has built-in wireless... 802.11
b/g. Now comes the question... With a wireless router, will I need an
add-on card to receive the signal or will the built-in 802.11 b/g do
the job? If a card is not required, will the built-in work with any
router (Linksys, D-link... etc.)? At school, how will my adughter
connect to the wireles system (or any other external system)?

One other thing, to avoid any (possible) conflict, would I have to
remove the existing hard-wired router software (at home) or can it just
stay there should I ever again need to fire it up?

I realize these are a lot of questions, and as such, I thank one and
all for your time, effort and assistance.

-Danielle.

When you get a wireless router, be sure that it's b or g, preferably g,
which is faster. It will have "wired" ports on it as well, which you can
plug your PC into exactly like the current router, if you're using one. If
not, you connect your modem to the router, then plug your PC into the
router. If the router is set to broadcast, your daughter's laptop will pick
up the signal. The wireless routers in public places are set to broadcast as
well, so she will be able to pick up those signals as well. Sometimes the
built in cards are not to powerful, so if she finds this to be the case, she
can get a pcmcia card that would be more powerful


<l_etoile@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1159992740.216736.254920@c28g2000cwb.googlegr oups.com...
> Hi.
>
> As I am new to the wonderful world of wireless internet, I apologize in
> advance for what may be a rather rudimentary query.
>
> I'm a single mom and have a hard-wired network setup that is working
> fine, but as my daughter is now the proud owner of a new laptop, I
> would like to switch things over to wireless.
>
> The laptop literature states that it has built-in wireless... 802.11
> b/g. Now comes the question... With a wireless router, will I need an
> add-on card to receive the signal or will the built-in 802.11 b/g do
> the job? If a card is not required, will the built-in work with any
> router (Linksys, D-link... etc.)? At school, how will my adughter
> connect to the wireles system (or any other external system)?
>
> One other thing, to avoid any (possible) conflict, would I have to
> remove the existing hard-wired router software (at home) or can it just
> stay there should I ever again need to fire it up?
>
> I realize these are a lot of questions, and as such, I thank one and
> all for your time, effort and assistance.
>
> -Danielle.
>

l_etoile@yahoo.com hath wroth:

>The laptop literature states that it has built-in wireless... 802.11
>b/g. Now comes the question... With a wireless router, will I need an
>add-on card to receive the signal or will the built-in 802.11 b/g do
>the job?

No card is required. The 802.11b/g card inside your laptop will do
both transmit and receive.

>If a card is not required, will the built-in work with any
>router (Linksys, D-link... etc.)?

Yes. That's the nice thing about standards. Anything that says
802.11g will work (from any manufacturer). For security, make sure
that the wireless router or wireless access point supports WPA. I'm
sure the new laptop supports WPA.

>At school, how will my adughter
>connect to the wireles system (or any other external system)?

Certainly. The skool undoubtedly has 802.11b or 802.11g wireless
access points. The laptop card should be easily compatible.

>One other thing, to avoid any (possible) conflict, would I have to
>remove the existing hard-wired router software (at home) or can it just
>stay there should I ever again need to fire it up?

Either way. If you're attached to the router for some reason (such as
one issued by a company for home telecommuting), you can leave it
alone and just add an access point. This access point can be either a
wireless device that is labeled as such, or a wireless router that's
configured to operate as an access point. You'll find that wireless
routers are cheaper than access points, so I would go with a wireless
router. See the FAQ at:
| http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi...s_access_point
for how to setup a wireless router as an access point.

Using a separate access point with your existing router has a few
advantages:
- The router usually wants to live near the floor where all the wires
come together. However, the wireless access point wants to live up
high for maximum range. These are usually incompatible
requirements for a single box.
- If your existing router has a built in cable modem or DSL modem,
you are effectively stuck with adding an access point, or be faced
with replacing everything including the modem.
- A separate radio section is nice for security. If you're not using
it, turn it off and nobody will hack their way into your system.

>I realize these are a lot of questions, and as such, I thank one and
>all for your time, effort and assistance.

I probably generated more questions than answers. If you want more
specifics, please supply maker and model of what you currently own for
hardware.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558