Do I need to be connected to LAN

I just placed an order for a new Dell Dimension E510. I am going to purchase
a wireless router and PCI card (I think). I have two questions.

1. My current computer is not working. My cable modem is nicely setup in the
basement next to my nonworking computer. I will be putting my new Dell one
floor up in the family room. I would like to set up the Dell with a wireless
network. Can I setup the wireless router in the basement and have the Dell in
the family room. I would not have any computers (until I fix the old one
someday) connected to a LAN port. Can I do this? I understand I may need to
temporarily connect the Dell to the router to get the network setup.

2. What router/card combo would you recommend? Is it better to get a PCI
card or an external USB

Thanks in advance!!

Short answers:

1. You do not need to have more than one computer to use a router. It's
still a network even with only one machine.

2. I'm sure you can easily find all kinds of conflicting advice about
wireless equipment brands. It is a good idea to get a router and an adapter
from the same manufacturer. In your case because your signal needs to
travel between floors I would look at routers which support easy high gain
antenna upgrades. This probably will not become an issue, but you won't
know until you install and test your equipment.

3. USB adapters have the advantage of being easily swapped between
different machines. In general for a desktop machine I would recommend a
PCI adapter with a removable/upgradeable antenna. Internal adapters tend to
have better adapters anyway, and some manufacturers provide easy high gain
upgrades.

Doug Sherman
MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP

"aquapowers" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:34BE5546-348D-45E4-942D-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I just placed an order for a new Dell Dimension E510. I am going to
purchase
> a wireless router and PCI card (I think). I have two questions.
>
> 1. My current computer is not working. My cable modem is nicely setup in
the
> basement next to my nonworking computer. I will be putting my new Dell one
> floor up in the family room. I would like to set up the Dell with a
wireless
> network. Can I setup the wireless router in the basement and have the Dell
in
> the family room. I would not have any computers (until I fix the old one
> someday) connected to a LAN port. Can I do this? I understand I may need
to
> temporarily connect the Dell to the router to get the network setup.
>
> 2. What router/card combo would you recommend? Is it better to get a PCI
> card or an external USB
>
> Thanks in advance!!

"Doug Sherman [MVP]" wrote:

> Short answers:
>
> 1. You do not need to have more than one computer to use a router. It's
> still a network even with only one machine.
>
> 2. I'm sure you can easily find all kinds of conflicting advice about
> wireless equipment brands. It is a good idea to get a router and an adapter
> from the same manufacturer. In your case because your signal needs to
> travel between floors I would look at routers which support easy high gain
> antenna upgrades. This probably will not become an issue, but you won't
> know until you install and test your equipment.
>
> 3. USB adapters have the advantage of being easily swapped between
> different machines. In general for a desktop machine I would recommend a
> PCI adapter with a removable/upgradeable antenna. Internal adapters tend to
> have better adapters anyway, and some manufacturers provide easy high gain
> upgrades.
>
> Doug Sherman
> MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP
>
Thank you for the good hardware advice.

Just to clearify your answer:
> 1. You do not need to have more than one computer to use a router. It's
> still a network even with only one machine.
The one computer can be connected to the router wireless, right?

I also have my laptop from work that I will connect to the internet through
the wireless router.

See responses inline

aquapowers wrote:
> I just placed an order for a new Dell Dimension E510. I am going to purchase
> a wireless router and PCI card (I think). I have two questions.
>
> 1. My current computer is not working. My cable modem is nicely setup in the
> basement next to my nonworking computer. I will be putting my new Dell one
> floor up in the family room. I would like to set up the Dell with a wireless
> network. Can I setup the wireless router in the basement and have the Dell in
> the family room. I would not have any computers (until I fix the old one
> someday) connected to a LAN port. Can I do this? I understand I may need to
> temporarily connect the Dell to the router to get the network setup.

You probably can have the wireless router in the basement and the PC in
the family room -- but you won't know until you try. Wireless
communication depends on a variety of environmental factors. If you're
in a typical U.S. wood frame house, and the family room is relatively
near to being over the spot in the basement where the router will be
located, you almost certainly will be able to connect with a good to
excellent signal. If you have a large house and the family room is at
one end and the router is one floor below at the other end of the house,
the signal strength may not be so good. Other factors such as
interference from cordless telephones, microwave ovens, and some types
of insulation may also cause problems.

You really should make an effort to connect the PC to the router via
ethernet while doing the initial router setup. I suggest getting things
working without any encryption first. Once you get the network going
without encryption, you probably can reconfigure the router to use
encryption with the wireless connection rather than lugging the PC back
down to the basement (although that isn't recommended). If you try
this, be aware that as soon as you hit the "accept" or "enter" button on
the router's configuration screen, you'll lose the connection until you
re-connect using the appropriate password.

>
> 2. What router/card combo would you recommend? Is it better to get a PCI
> card or an external USB

As to PCI or USB, if you can get a PCI card with relocatable antenna,
that's probably preferable. Otherwise, a USB adapter can be moved
around in an attempt to get the best signal.

Although they are more expensive, you might consider buying a "pre-N"
router and adapter or a router with "MIMO" technology. These are
supposed to have increased range as well as increased speed. There is
no guarantee, however, that what any given manufacturer sells today as
"pre-N" will, in fact, work with whatever 802.11n standard eventually is
adopted. And if you do get so-called "G+" devices, be sure to get the
same brand for router and adapter, and check for and install the latest
firmware and driver updates from the mfr.

As to brand, I have had good luck with Linksys; others don't like it.

Here's a Linksys MIMO PCI card and router: WRT54GX
http://tinyurl.com/74lov and WMP54GX http://tinyurl.com/f5p94 (Linksys
makes routers that are supposed to be faster/greater range than the
WRT54GX, i.e., the WRT54GX2 and WRT54GX4, but it's not clear to me that
they make a PCI or USB adapter that is compatible with the x2 or x4
enhancements.) For more info re Linksys products (from users, not the
company), go to http://www.linksysinfo.org/
>
> Thanks in advance!!

Yes - as you anticipated, you will probably need an ethernet cable
connection for initial setup. Thereafter you can use the wireless
connection exclusively or mixed connection types as you add more machines.

Doug Sherman
MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP

"aquapowers" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:85818DCC-6BA8-4BD9-9F62-(E-Mail Removed)...
> "Doug Sherman [MVP]" wrote:
>
> > Short answers:
> >
> > 1. You do not need to have more than one computer to use a router.
It's
> > still a network even with only one machine.
> >
> > 2. I'm sure you can easily find all kinds of conflicting advice about
> > wireless equipment brands. It is a good idea to get a router and an
adapter
> > from the same manufacturer. In your case because your signal needs to
> > travel between floors I would look at routers which support easy high
gain
> > antenna upgrades. This probably will not become an issue, but you won't
> > know until you install and test your equipment.
> >
> > 3. USB adapters have the advantage of being easily swapped between
> > different machines. In general for a desktop machine I would recommend
a
> > PCI adapter with a removable/upgradeable antenna. Internal adapters
tend to
> > have better adapters anyway, and some manufacturers provide easy high
gain
> > upgrades.
> >
> > Doug Sherman
> > MCSE, MCSA, MCP+I, MVP
> >
> Thank you for the good hardware advice.
>
> Just to clearify your answer:
> > 1. You do not need to have more than one computer to use a router.
It's
> > still a network even with only one machine.
> The one computer can be connected to the router wireless, right?
>
> I also have my laptop from work that I will connect to the internet
through
> the wireless router.
>
>