Wireless Router?

We have a desktop computer upstairs and a laptop downstairs. The cable from Virgin Media runs directly upstairs into the external modem. If the missus is working on the desktop upstairs and I want to search the internet downstairs , do I need a wireless router and what programmes do I need to enable my Laptop to read the wireless router. Any recommendations anyone.|||Yes a wireless router is needed along with a PCMCIA "wireless" card or USB adapter for the laptop. If you right-click on MY COMPUTER, then left-click on PROPERTIES, then go into HARDWARE TAB, then DEVICE MANAGER, scroll down the list to NETWORK ADAPTERS, left click on the (+) symbol and see if it lists a "wireless lan adapter" already installed. If so, nothing further is needed to be done to the laptop.





Make sure you buy a good wireless ROUTER that is EASY to configure. LINKSYS (by cisco) is about the worst for the home consumer. I would recomment BELKIN as my top choice (their wireless G system reaches at least 400ft.) and DLINK as my second choice. It's not that LINKSYS is a bad brand, but they are a little difficult to configure and if you play "online" games or use "chat" programs with "cams", you will sometimes encounter problems due to (too much security) with the router. Both the other brands are secure enough for your home environment use, and if you wish you can password protect and "encrypt" the signal also through it's software.





I realize you are not too tech savvy so here is what you asked for SIMPLY! LOL





Here is the site with the product I have and mentioned. There is a LIFETIME WARRANTY on this product and the CD-ROM will set it up in under 3 minutes for you AUTOMATICALLY. The USB adapters for your laptop are on this page also towards the upper right hand side. NO NEED TO MANUALLY CONFIGURE "ANYTHING" BUT PASSWORD FOR ENCRYPTION!





Click on CONTACT US tab at top of site for the "online" link for european orders!|||Yeah, you will need a wireless router and a wireless card for you laptop. There is a possibility it already has one built in. I would go to a reputable electronics store and tell them you need a wireless router and that you aren't sure if your computer has a wireless card or not. They should be able to help you.|||If your router is wireless then you need to make sure you laptop can detect and access the wireless signal it outputs. This means you need some form of either USB wireless adapter or a card based wireless adapter. I personally would suggest using the USB ones as they allow for easy movement and adjustement to find the best signal.





The adapter you buy should come with software, but note if you are running either vista or Windows XP then they have there own built in programme. I am not sure on this for the older versions. However most adapters have software you can use!





I suggest greatly that you buy an adapter the same make as your router. If your in doubt as to where to purchase it from check the router manufacturers website for help! Or try Argos for some simpler ones, PC world or a website such as ebuyer.





I hope that has cleared it up for you.


Adam|||i recommend getting the apple airport extreme or airport express,


i had a linksys router and it never worked properly(dont know was it the router or my phone line or what) but this is working perfectly now,


airport also lets you print from your laptop to the printer wirelessly, connect an external hard drive, or any usb device really to the laptop(all wirelessly through a usb port on the router).


you need a wireless card for your laptop(if its not built in), these are pretty cheat n easy to install|||i use linksys wireless g router. you can buy the router that hooks into the cable and then you get a wireless reciever for the laptop. bought from walmart for around $90 total.|||If your laptop does not have wireless software it obviously does not have a wireless card. You will need one of these first.|||To enable more than one user to access the internet simultaneously you need a router.





The modem's wan port plugs into the router WAN port. Because you have a dynamic IP from your ISP, the router wan port must be configured for a dynamic ip and most come preconfigured for that.





The router has at least 1 LAN port. Many have up to 4. If you have more LAN devices that you wish to connect via wired connection than you have LAN ports in the router, you will also need a network switch. With a network switch, you connect router LAN port to network switch along with LAN devices.





For wired LAN devices, all connections are made via CAT5 cable. Many people either don't know how to run the cable or don't want to do so and they prefer a wireles router.





A wireless router actually is a hybrid wired and wireless device in that it has wired LAN ports as well as wireless ability.





While wireless appears easier to install, you have to concern yourself with security and must install all the security the router can provide or hackers will get in. Configuring security is time consuming and frustrating so many just don't do it. At some time they reget their failure to install security.





Now for the particulars





Wired Connections - You need a network adapter on each pc you wish to connect. Most come with these built in; older pcs require a pci card added to achieve this. You should configure the connection to accept a dynamic IP address.





Wireless Connection - You need a wireless network adapter on each pc you wish to connect. Some notebooks come with a built in wireless adapter, some to not. Desk tops usually do not come with wireless built in. As with wired, yoiu should configure the connection to accept a dynamic IP address.





Router LAN configuration - you should configure the router to provide LAN IP addresses via DHCP. This gives LAN IP addresses to the LAN pcs.





Router Wireless configuration - you should, in addition of all the LAN config above, turn on the wireless capability, assign a new ssid, change the router password and user name if user can be altered, and invoke all security. I prefer WPA and a preshared key that is long and a mix of upper and lower case letters and numbers. Enable MAC address filtering and enter the MAC address of all wireless network adapters you want on your pc and all should work.





Whenever addressing your router, always use a wired port.





I suggest you first get the wired ports up and working; then address the wireless ones.





Finally, there are several household units made by Linksys, Netgear, Belkin, D Link,etc that are inexpensive. Many like them and report decent performance. For home use where no VPN is needed to reside on the router (which is your case) I prefer 3Com and not their bottom of the line models because they are more stable, more reliable, and more hacker resistant than the low end models.





Manuals for routers, like manuals for anything else are fair but not great. Be patient, do one thing at a time, and you most likely can persevere through this.





Whether wired is better than wireless is something only you can determine.