clueless! wireless router to broadband modem

whiteshadow

Hi all,
A bit clueless about networking especially wireless... but looking for some help

I got a regular netopia broadband with my eircom broadband starter kit
here is the modem

I've got an Intel centrino chip in my laptop so wanted to start using it.
I spur of the moment bought the CNet Wireless-G Router from Komplett
and figured it would be a case of plugging the Ethernet cable that currently goes into the back of my lappy, into the new router instead.

Was having none of it... any pointers/tutorials out there that
would help me?

thanks

Third_Echelon

Im not too familiar with the Eircom router that you get. I had Eircom DSL in the beginning but this was a year or so ago...

Anyway with my NTL BB setup, I have the network cable (the one that you currently connect directly to your laptop) coming from the 'Netopia modem' into the 'Internet' port on the router.

From the router i can then connect wirelessly or via a network cable.

Consult your router manual for setup options..

mikeruurds

Hi there Whiteshadow

Usually the wireless router manual will instruct you to first make sure that your modem is up and running and connected successfully to the internet. Next step is to do as Third_Echelon suggested and unplug the RJ45 out of your PC network card and plug it into the "In" socket on the back of the wireless router and then switch it on. Next you get another RJ45 cable and plug one end into your PC network card and the other end into one of the 4 "Out" RJ45 sockets on the wireless modem. You should now have the RJ11 (phone line) plugged from the wall socket into your modem, an RJ45 cable from the modem to the router and another RJ45 from the router to your PC.

Ok... once you've done all of this you'll have to follow the instruction manual and access the "admin" features of the wireless router by entering its default ip address into the address bar in internet explorer... the manual should give you decent guidance in this respect. Once have followed all instructions (can be a little tricky) you should now be able to access the internet. This means that you are successfully accessing the internet via your modem and the router, albeit wired access. At this point you need to set up your WEP encryption to make sure that no leechers abuse your new wireless network.

The last step is then to unplug the RJ45 cable between your PC and the router and attempt to discover your new wireless network using your centrino notebook. Make sure that your wireless card is switched on. Your notebook should now detect the signal and prompt you for the WEP key which you set up on the router. Enter the key and make the connection. If you connect successfully, but are unable to connect to the internet then it's possible that the TCP/IP settings for your wireless card are a little bit screwy... go to your "Network Connections" on the control panel and right click on the wireless LAN connection... click on properties and scroll down to TCP/IP and click properties again. Unless you've set a fixed IP address for your PC all settings should be on "obtain address automatically".

Good luck... a little tinkering and fiddling will get you there. I hope my brief and amateur description can help you a little.

Cheers

Mike

whiteshadow

thanks guys, ill give that a shot.

Third_Echelon

Also as a further security measure, when you have successfully connected via wireless you should disable the broadcasting of your SSID. This is just the name of your wireless network and it stops it being visible to other PCs (e.g. your neighbour) when they search for available networks that are close to them...

It should be a feature of your router to do this...

mikeruurds

Any luck yet mate?