Need Help on Basics

This is most likely a very basic question for most of you, but still a
mystery for me. Hope you have enough patience to help me with this.

I just bought a 54 Mbps wireless PC card (NETGEAR WG511 v2) to use with my
laptop for wireless Internet connection when I am traveling. What do I do
to connect to wireless networks in hotels that provide wireless Internet to
their guests ("wireless Internet in each room")? Just insert the card into
the PC card slot on my laptop once I am in my room and - then what?..

With my PC card came a resource CD and installation instructions. The
instructions tell me to first install the WG511 v2 software and then insert
my wireless PC card. Then I am supposed to select the wireless network from
the drop down list. How do I know what wireless networks are used in the
hotels I am going to stay at?.. What do I do when moving to another hotel
or trying to access the wireless Internet at the airport or elsewhere? -
Should I carry the resource CD with me to go through the setup procedures
each time I change the places?

In other words: I have a laptop and a wireless PC card. What do I actually
do to get wireless Internet access where it is available?

Thanks!

"John Cluster" <(E-Mail Removed)> schreef in bericht
news:TnMvg.2306$(E-Mail Removed) nk.net...

> In other words: I have a laptop and a wireless PC card. What do I
> actually
> do to get wireless Internet access where it is available?

You don't state what operating system you use. Most people nowadays have
WindowsXP, so do I so I''l tell you what to do if you have the same. If you
use another OS, the procedure should be similar provided you can find your
wireless card setting menu.

When your system cannot detect any known access points the icon in the
bottom right corner will give you a warning. Click on it and use the option
to search for active access points. If there is one in your hotel room
you'll find it. Tell your wireless card to connect to that AP. Usually it
doesn't use encryption so you'll get a warning. OK that to use it anyway. If
it does use encryption the hotel should provide you with the key
information.

Once your cards has connected to the AP you can open a browser page. If it
is totally free you can access any page you want. However, this usually is
not the case and you'll be redirected to a page requiring you to identify
yourself and/or issue your credit card details, the hotel can help you if
this isn't clear straight away. Once you have taken that hurdle you're
online!

You can try the procedure at home by switching off your home AP, you'll
notice the warning. You can now look for other AP's active in the
neighborhood. Switch on your AP again and see what happens next. Usually
you'll automatically reconnect, otherwise you might have to select your AP
and tell the card to reconnect. Apart from the credit card page, that is
just what will happen in a hotel. Hope this makes sense...

Paul

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:25:55 GMT, "John Cluster"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
<TnMvg.2306$(E-Mail Removed) et>:

>This is most likely a very basic question for most of you, but still a
>mystery for me. Hope you have enough patience to help me with this.
>
>I just bought a 54 Mbps wireless PC card (NETGEAR WG511 v2) to use with my
>laptop for wireless Internet connection when I am traveling. What do I do
>to connect to wireless networks in hotels that provide wireless Internet to
>their guests ("wireless Internet in each room")? Just insert the card into
>the PC card slot on my laptop once I am in my room and - then what?..

Use the Netgear wireless utility.

>With my PC card came a resource CD and installation instructions. The
>instructions tell me to first install the WG511 v2 software and then insert
>my wireless PC card. Then I am supposed to select the wireless network from
>the drop down list. How do I know what wireless networks are used in the
>hotels I am going to stay at?.. What do I do when moving to another hotel
>or trying to access the wireless Internet at the airport or elsewhere? -
>Should I carry the resource CD with me to go through the setup procedures
>each time I change the places?
>
>In other words: I have a laptop and a wireless PC card. What do I actually
>do to get wireless Internet access where it is available?

The Netgear wireless utility will show you the available networks and
let you make a connection.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>