Wireless basics

Hi Guys,

Sorry for yet another 'What do I need' kinda post but the wireless
networking thing is really confusing me at the moment!

All I'm looking to do is to share internet access and a few files between a
desktop and a laptop both running Windows XP (SP2). The desktop PC is on
and connected nearly all the time so do I necessarily need a router or
wireless modem? I'm currently using ICS with a crossover cable, the wireless
equivalent of this would do me fine.

At the moment I've managed to get my hands on a Belkin Wireless USB Adaptor
and a Belkin Wireless router. The router is pretty useless at the moment as
the ADSL modem I'm using is a basic USB affair with no NIC connections on it
so I can't connect it to the router.

Is all I need a Wireless PCMCIA card for my laptop to allow me to connect to
the USB adaptor in the pc and then I can setup file sharing and ICS as
before or do I need some other equipment.

I am confused by Routers/Access points/ etc and all the sites I've looked at
seem to assume you know what these are and what they do. Any help would be
appreciated!

TIA

Andy

what you are thinking is correct
get another wireless card and set-up an 'ad-hoc' connection.
the guides should be good enough to get that working.

you could use the router as well, prob better, then just continue to run
internet via ICS until you get a USB router or another modem.

mike

"Andy Hewitt" <chut at dsl dot pipex dot com> wrote in message
news:41c5d09c$0$19166$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Guys,
>
> Sorry for yet another 'What do I need' kinda post but the wireless
> networking thing is really confusing me at the moment!
>
> All I'm looking to do is to share internet access and a few files between
a
> desktop and a laptop both running Windows XP (SP2). The desktop PC is on
> and connected nearly all the time so do I necessarily need a router or
> wireless modem? I'm currently using ICS with a crossover cable, the
wireless
> equivalent of this would do me fine.
>
> At the moment I've managed to get my hands on a Belkin Wireless USB
Adaptor
> and a Belkin Wireless router. The router is pretty useless at the moment
as
> the ADSL modem I'm using is a basic USB affair with no NIC connections on
it
> so I can't connect it to the router.
>
> Is all I need a Wireless PCMCIA card for my laptop to allow me to connect
to
> the USB adaptor in the pc and then I can setup file sharing and ICS as
> before or do I need some other equipment.
>
> I am confused by Routers/Access points/ etc and all the sites I've looked
at
> seem to assume you know what these are and what they do. Any help would be
> appreciated!
>
> TIA
>
> Andy
>
>
>


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Andy Hewitt wrote:
> Hi Guys,
>
> Sorry for yet another 'What do I need' kinda post but the wireless
> networking thing is really confusing me at the moment!
>
> All I'm looking to do is to share internet access and a few files between a
> desktop and a laptop both running Windows XP (SP2). The desktop PC is on
> and connected nearly all the time so do I necessarily need a router or
> wireless modem? I'm currently using ICS with a crossover cable, the wireless
> equivalent of this would do me fine.
>
> At the moment I've managed to get my hands on a Belkin Wireless USB Adaptor
> and a Belkin Wireless router. The router is pretty useless at the moment as
> the ADSL modem I'm using is a basic USB affair with no NIC connections on it
> so I can't connect it to the router.
>
> Is all I need a Wireless PCMCIA card for my laptop to allow me to connect to
> the USB adaptor in the pc and then I can setup file sharing and ICS as
> before or do I need some other equipment.
>
> I am confused by Routers/Access points/ etc and all the sites I've looked at
> seem to assume you know what these are and what they do. Any help would be
> appreciated!
>


If you turn off DHCP in the router and pug it onto your PC's ethernet
port, it will act as an access point. Then plug the USB wireless adapter
into the laptop and it should behave like the laptop is directly
connected to the PC so you can run ICS as normal.

"mikeFNB" <moc.dlrowltn@FNB7G-ekim> wrote in message
news:x%kxd.211$(E-Mail Removed)...
> what you are thinking is correct
> get another wireless card and set-up an 'ad-hoc' connection.
> the guides should be good enough to get that working.
>
> you could use the router as well, prob better, then just continue to run
> internet via ICS until you get a USB router or another modem.
>

Hi, Thanks both.

Now got it working on an ad-hoc connection using a Wi-fi USB adaptor and
PCMCIA Card.

Just having one slight problem though, the Belkin USB Adaptor will cause the
desktop to freeze every so often and will drop the connection to the laptop.
The only way to fix this is to reboot the desktop pc and connect to the
internet again.

Does anyone know if this Is this a known problem or can be resolved with a
patch or software upgrade maybe?

Cheers

Andy