New Wireless Broadband - HELP!

I am very stuck and I think it is mainly down to general incompetence.

I have a new wireless router from Sky - I attempted to set up my broadband
last night using a wireless adapter.
When connecting the router i didnt connect using the earthnet cable as it
suggested because i dont have the phoneline near the desktop.

I appeared to have connected to it by using the wireless adapter - but then
i was concerned about the security level as it has not appeared to ask me for
the network key and SSID..

Does a wireless adapter have the security network set up automatically when
its installed?

I also seemed to struggle when it said the adapter could not configure. I
must have installed and uninstalled to try again about 4 times.

Also how good is the range of a G+ adapter - i have the router downstairs
and only one flight up and it seemed to be a weak signal.

Can anybody point me to an idiots guide to set all of this up or tell me
some basics to find out which part of the process im doing wrong. Frank and
honest answers appreciated - if i need to get help from someone who know what
their doing then id be grateful if you can tell me that as well.

Thank You

Paul

Paul Veevers wrote:
> I am very stuck and I think it is mainly down to general incompetence.
>
> I have a new wireless router from Sky - I attempted to set up my broadband
> last night using a wireless adapter.
> When connecting the router i didnt connect using the earthnet cable as it
> suggested because i dont have the phoneline near the desktop.
>
> I appeared to have connected to it by using the wireless adapter - but then
> i was concerned about the security level as it has not appeared to ask me for
> the network key and SSID..
>
> Does a wireless adapter have the security network set up automatically when
> its installed?
>
> I also seemed to struggle when it said the adapter could not configure. I
> must have installed and uninstalled to try again about 4 times.
>
> Also how good is the range of a G+ adapter - i have the router downstairs
> and only one flight up and it seemed to be a weak signal.
>
> Can anybody point me to an idiots guide to set all of this up or tell me
> some basics to find out which part of the process im doing wrong. Frank and
> honest answers appreciated - if i need to get help from someone who know what
> their doing then id be grateful if you can tell me that as well.
>
> Thank You
>
> Paul

It's hard to give you a specific answer about what went wrong because we
don't know what you did.

It's actually pretty easy to set up a WinXP wireless network, especially
if all you are doing is connecting one computer to access the Internet
(sharing files and printers among several computers takes just a bit
more effort).

The reason why most every one recommends configuring your wireless
router by temporarily connecting a computer to the router by cable is
that otherwise you will get disconnected in the middle of the setup as
some of your wireless parameters are changed. This just means you have
to reconnect, possibly changing settings on the computer.

By default, a wireless adapter has NO security setup. Same with the router.

There are basically 4 steps you need to take:

1. Change the router's password to access its configuration screens.
This is purely a security consideration; it will not affect your ability
to connect to the Internet or to share resources, but it may prevent
unauthorized people from messing with your network settings.
2. Configure the router to connect to your ISP. This varies with your
ISP's requirements. Typically, for DSL, it requires entering your ISP
UserID and password.
3. Change the router's default SSID (the name that your wireless
network uses as an identification). You should pick something unique
and recognizable, but not your last name or address.
4. Establish wireless security (mainly encryption). In order of
increasing effectiveness: WEP 64; WEP 128; WPA-PSK (TKIP);
WPA-PSK (AES); WPA2-PSK. The "PSK" means "Pre-Shared Key" and on some
routers may be called "Personal" instead of PSK. Note that ALL of the
wireless hardware on the network must use the same level of encryption.

As a fifth step, you may want to change the default channel used by the
router in order to avoid interference from neighboring wireless networks.

Signal strength is hard to predict. It depends not only on distance,
but on what's in the way. That is, are you one flight up but at the
other end of a large house? Are you in a steel and concrete building or
a wood frame house? Do you have wood or metal studs in the wall? Do you
have aluminum-backed insulation in the wall? etc., etc.

Some of the links below that discuss the XP Wireless Network Setup
Wizard mention the use of a USB flash drive. This is somewhat useful if
you have multiple Win XP computers to configure, because the Wizard
writes the required parameters to the flash drive and then the other Win
XP computers can read the flash drive and "self-configure." However,
most routers -- despite MS's wishful thinking - do not have a USB
connection that will allow the router to be configured this way (i.e.,
they do not "support Windows Connect Now." Most likely, you will still
have to configure the router the old-fashioned way -- by hand. So go
ahead and use the Wizard if you want to, but choose the option to print
out the parameters rather than to store them on a flash drive.

Here a a few links that should help you get it working:

MS Technet's "The Cable Guy" on The New Wireless Network Setup Wizard in
Windows XP Service Pack 2":
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/com...604.mspx#EJCAC

MS Technet on "Configuring Windows XP IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networks for
the Home and Small Business":
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro.../wifisoho.mspx

MS: "4 steps to set up your home wireless network":
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/more...lesssetup.mspx

Wireless - Basic Configuration -
http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Config.html

Wireless - Basic Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html

MVP Barb Bowman on wireless security - http://tinyurl.com/56fc5