Laptop, setting up wireless connection?

[John Jay.]

Hey guys. I just bought a laptop today. This is the first time I have ever used it. Currently, I am having trouble setting up the wireless internet connection.(Yes, I am new at this) I tried to install AOL, but all it said was,"no dial tone. "

Can any of you guys tell me how to setup a wireless internet connection?
Or a AOL kind of internet connection because I cant get my internet connection to work. Is DSL my only choice?

Your suggestions will be greatly appreciated. :)
Thank you for your time.

[JesusCraig]

Did you set up the wireless router through your modem?

[meat.eater]

Theres 2 people i ahve never seen post anything ever. wow.

And Jesus has been here for a year too.

[22woger22]

Theres 2 people i ahve never seen post anything ever. wow.

And Jesus has been here for a year too.
Take a trip to the Newbie Board and you'll see a whole lot more :).

-22-

[Megabyte]

edit: wow, you guys are real helpful, if your gonna mock em, at LEAST give some sort of useful info

if your computer is looking for a dial tone, its because you havn't set it to use a wireless or ethernet connection as its main source.

AOL is an internet service provider, or ISP, for dialup (phoneline) connections. Anyways, you need to jack a phone line into your laptop to use AOL. Your standard wireless connection that people refer to these days are broadband setups hooked into a wireless router.

To use wireless connections, you need to either purchase and jack in a wireless modem card for your laptop (expensive and not reccomended unless your using this laptop for mostly business purposes); or, set yourself up with a local broadband ISP account (which means you need to find out who your local broadband ISP are), get that setup in your home, then purcahse a wireless router. You might also need a wireless network card for your laptop, if it doesn't come with one already installed (check your user manual if you don't know if you ahve this).


If you don't know about most of these things, I reccomend you seek local aid from a friend in your area. Finding the right ISP and setting up a wireless network doesn't require any special technical knowledge or skill, but needs to be handled with the same care and though you do with any service (cell phone, electricity, etc etc). Other alternatives on getting this setup are to check out groups like Geek Squad and other tech supports that retailers provide to help you setup a wireless network.

Unfortunately, getting your computer to be able to access the internet wireless in your home is more complicated than simply installing an AOL cd on your system.

[-)Supreme(-]

Just ignore them they do that to everyone.

Might help (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/wirelesssetup.mspx)

[ck1]

Okay, on this subject, my wireless router has been acting up lately.

Jyst yeterday, I was sitting about 10 feet away from my Home Computer and modem and stuff, when suddenly, my wireless connection just gave out.

This seems to happen a lot, but I think it actually has nothing to do with my wireless connection, because right when it disconnects, it reconnects, just long enough to d/c me from TAO games. -.-

Could there possibly be something wrong with my wireless chip, or is it something else.

Oh yeah, and hi! I've been gone for a while..... any new units? :P

[Lonely Tylenol]

Take a trip to the Newbie Board and you'll see a whole lot more .

I'd watch what you say. John Jay and JesusCraig could probably both take you in a game. :p

Megabyte beat me to it, unfortunately... AOL isn't compatible with wireless internet connections. You'd probably need to use another ISP instead of AOL for wireless.

EDIT: Ck1, depending on the wireless connection, you might be experiencing third-party interference, much like with a satellite TV... When a plane flies over satellite, it intercepts the satellite waves, thus causing a temporary disconnect.

[Punishment Co.]

Okay, on this subject, my wireless router has been acting up lately.

Jyst yeterday, I was sitting about 10 feet away from my Home Computer and modem and stuff, when suddenly, my wireless connection just gave out.

This seems to happen a lot, but I think it actually has nothing to do with my wireless connection, because right when it disconnects, it reconnects, just long enough to d/c me from TAO games. -.-

Could there possibly be something wrong with my wireless chip, or is it something else.

Oh yeah, and hi! I've been gone for a while..... any new units? :P

If you say youre on Linksys then we can sue them and buy non-wireless networks! My internet has been like dating back to the first day. Same symptoms like disconnecting then reconnecting, dropping, etc.

On my FFXI at the PS2 my connection is absolutely perfect, so yes the problem is with the wireless fuckups.

[ScoutBlade]

You have to tell your computer what you are planning to do. Wireless connection doesn't have a dial tone.

Go to network connections and disable your Phone connection, and switch to your wireless connection.

If you are running through a router, what type is it? A model number would be nice as well. You might need to change one of your computer's Ip Address if you are running two computers on the same connection.

[John Jay.]

I bought a router today from BestBuy, but I don't know if it is good or not.
Here is the link to the purchased product:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5250809&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat25300050001&id=1051384664188

Well, the whole purpose of buying a laptop is that I can carry it to anywhere I want. I don't want my DSL connection to be confined within my house area.
Can any of you guys tell me if I bought the right router or not? If not, please assist me.

I am open to any suggestions.

[Megabyte]

to the hampster...

a large number of wireless systems will have quick moments of no activity on the connection which causes the DC. This isn't a big problem for most games, as you just re-sync, but you'd screwed for TAO.

I think their might be some way to adjust the security or port access settings to negate this, but I can't think of it off hand. Maybe do some checking and see.

LinkSys has actually been my preferred ones as I havn't noticed those drops in activity when I use the system I setup at my parents house. However, I use a D-Link at my apt, and I know for certain its the router. I can even jack my comp in through the ethernet and I'll still get the drops on activity.

[John Jay.]

Please disregard this post. Sorry for double posting.

[John Jay.]

Okay, this is the laptop I bought from BestBuy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7262516&type=product&productCategoryId=pcmcat39100050016&id=1118839115082

Well, from the descriptions, this one has a built-in high-speed wireless LAN (802.11b/g); 10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN with RJ-45 connector; V.92 high-speed data/fax modem.

If I want to setup a wireless connection, what kind of router should I buy which will enable me to carry this laptop to school and any place I want?
Can you help me choose?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=category&id=cat01029
Edit: Don't pick those too expensive routers.

By the way, do I need to buy a network adaptor card?

Much thanks.

[Megabyte]

ok, firstly, make sure u hit the edit button in the future


nextly, you can already carry your laptop wherever u want.
If you have a wireless network adapter built in (which according to u, you do) then you can access wireless networks that are open to you. You do not need to buy any network card.

Buying a wireless router and hooking in your broadband connection at home does NOT make it so that you can access the internet anywhere you travel. Wireless routers make it so that you access the internet throught that connection within a certain radius (in your household basically). Think of it like a radio station. The router transmits a signal that goes out a certain distance in all directions. As you get father from the router, the signal gets weaker, till eventually you can't access it. All of your standard routers you'll find in retail stores are setup so transmit in a househol size area.

The current model standard is 802.11g for speed (earlier models are 802.11b, and a). But aside from that, there's nothing specific you must get. There's a lot of different wireless routers out there, just check out a electronics store and pick one out.

You can access different wireless networks in different locations. If you get yourself a T-mobile hotspots you can access wireless connections in Starbucks, Borders, and other places. Also, there are many publically accessible networks all around in urban areas. Check your school or other local community areas to see if and where these are available.