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Setting up a home network query.

Deetee

Illuminator
Deetee
Joined
Jul 8, 2003
Messages
3,789
Just a quickie I hope - I am tryign to set up a network, buying a new PC and having my current PC/laptop available wirelessly.
If I get a wireless router/modem, I assume this is plugged into the phone line at the wall, but does any "wiring" then need to go from the router to one of the PCs?
Do the PCs need modems in them or need I not bother?
Thanks in advance for any advice received!
 
No you don't need to have anything else wired through. What you do need is a wireless card in each computer. Newer laptops have them mostly built-in, older ones and desktops you probably have to buy seperately.
 
Hi,

1. Yes, with a wireless router, you should get a phone cable and an ethernet cable. You should firstly connect the phone cable into the back of the router and then into the phone socket. Assuming that you have a broadband connection, then it should go into the splitter device along with the telephone connection.

No - with wireless, you do not need to connect anything to the computer.

2. No. The PC's should not need internal modems, but what they should have is a wireless card/airport card so that they can pick up a wireless connection. The internal modem would only be used for dial up purposes.

3. I am a Mac user rather than a PC user, but the principle is the same. When I set up my wireless connection, a long time ago now - I had to buy one of the Airport base stations, plug ins. I opted for the smaller version that just plugs into the wall. Plugging the ethernet cable from the back of the router to the base station sets up the wireless connection so that you don't need to connect anything to any of the computers.

What kind of router did you purchase? I have used Netgear for sometime now. They are easy to set up and to use. I have never had any problems.
 
Most wireless routers will also have 1-4 Ethernet outlet sockets.
I use a Linksys WAG54-G, which has 4 ports.
The PC is plugged into the router through one of the ethernet ports.(CAT 5 cable). The router sits on top of the pc, so I'd gain nothing by using a wireless connection.
The laptop is linked by wireless. So long as the router is on, the laptop is usable with the pc turned off.
So total wiring is one Cat 5 ethernet cable, one ADSL filter on the phone line and a phone cable from the filter splitter to the router.
 
Thanks guys for the responses.

I haven't purchased anything yet - just doing the background research before commiting myself. I did read that the Netgear eqt. seems easy to set up - this would be my main criterion. (Networking for dummies is what I'm about)
 
Netgear is excellent. You normally only connect via cable during initial set up. Make sure that you buy a router with built in modem and not just router.

Karl Quigley
 
I don't know what the ISPs are like in your neck of the woods, but in many places you can get a wireless modem/acess point through special offers from the DSL providers proided you sign up for six months, a year or whatever. That's how I did it. It isn't super-duper equipment, but its cheap and it works.
 
I'm signing up new for broadband (am on dialup just now in the UK). I was thinking about BT but didn't really wish to go for their home hub. The Pipex deal looks quite tempting. I don't mind buying the router/modem if there is not one as part of a package - I'd rather get a good ISP and a decent network system independently if need be.
 
I'm with Nildram in the UK.( Owned by Pipex but offering slightly different packages). Not the cheapest, but no problems.

PC Advisor mag just did a comparison of UK ISPs which is worth reading.

I think you can get packages with BT which do not include their hub. There are bound to be big changes in the near future in phone billing systems. The advantage of going with BT is simplicity.
 
I have to say that Pipex are good. I suppose I am a bit of a computer Geek - perhaps it has to do with my time spent in the States, but I signed up for broadband when the prices started coming down. It started with BT who were charging about £35 per month. A few months later, prices were coming down. I went to Pipex, as they were a number one business provider and were charging £23 per month for a 500 connection. I then got a free upgrade to 1Mb for free and then managed to get up to 2Mb for £14.99.

I started with one of those old Alcatel broadband modems, until it packed up and I went into a computer shop in London and they told me that they were ancient now. That is when I purchased my first Netgear wireless router and I have never looked back since.

Some ISP's will give you wireless connection now too. I think with the PC's, as someone said previously, you need to connect to your main PC and then all the rest will run wirelessly, if they have network/wireless cards in them. As I use Mac's, I have a special airport that will run wirelessly. I do make a concession and keep and laptop PC just in case and that runs fine on my Pipex Mac network.

I have heard that Tiscali is quite good too.
 
I've been very disappointed by Pipex's tech support. 4 days to answer emails about why my connection was dead and spending (literally) hours on the phone listening to sales messages - never picked up.
 
Googling "how do i set up a home wireless network" got me thousands of results, but on the first page itself, the first 8 results gave me all the answers I needed (with pictures and examples using real equipment). And they were written for beginners.

The 9th result dealt with using ICS on Windows XP

The 10th result dealt with making the wireless network secure.

I actually honestly don't get it why people ask technical questions here. I could understand if the question were "What are your opinions on equipment xxx versus equipment yyy versus equipment zzz?".

Is it faster to get a result? Or are people just scared of technology? Or are people lazy to search for themselves? I always have been curious to find out for myself first, so I am really wondering about why people do the opposite.
 
I use BT (without the home hub) and they are superb - and extremely easy to set up. I've recommended them to lots of people for that reason.
 
stormer said:
I actually honestly don't get it why people ask technical questions here. I could understand if the question were "What are your opinions on equipment xxx versus equipment yyy versus equipment zzz?".

Is it faster to get a result? Or are people just scared of technology? Or are people lazy to search for themselves? I always have been curious to find out for myself first, so I am really wondering about why people do the opposite.
Click to expand...
In my case, I also wanted to bounce around the concept so as to get a bit of fairly reliable feedback. So knowing that someone had problems with Pipex support and others think BT is a breeze are valuable bits of info for me.
No-one is required to respond to questions - those who do, yourself included, usually give very helpful advice which is much appreciated.
 
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