Help with Going Wireless

The_Saving_Man

I have a laptop, which I now will be using more frequently from home as a 2nd computer in my study. My PC at home, which works fine for what we need it for, is getting a bit long in the tooth and as such doesn't have a ethernet port to connect it to a router, wired or wireless (well not since I had to remove it to add some USB 2.0 ports (told you it was old), and a new sound card).

When I asked in PC World for some advice, I was told there was a way of creating an Ethernet port via a USB Port? Does this work, and is it any good?

Any help of any sort would be great, as well as other options. Thanks in advance.

P.S. I've seen threads that talk about accessing the web from a laptop when abroad, but I haven't seen one that specifically speaks about accessing whilst in this country. Apologies if there is one and I've missed it!!

jos22

Not an expert but here goes.

You can get a USB plug in wireless adapter. Mine cost about £25 from PC world (Belkin). I plugged it in and Windows did all the work.

Before installing the adapter I did have to install the broadband connection onto my laptop through the router (BT Broadband), rather like the original set up on my desktop. This was done using a USB connection.

Now the real techie stuff. All round the country there are places that are called "hot spots". A list of these is available, one site is BT. At these places you can access the internet but it will cost you extra and you have to make various techie adjustments to your computer. A good place to start is http://www.bt.com/openzone/. I am still learning so sorry if I have misled you (no doubt others will put you & me right). In the meantime I hope this helps a little.

phantomtraveller1

do you have a card slot in your laptop?

Omertron

You can install either a USB Adapter or a PCMCIA Card to get wireless access depending on your availability. One thing to watch for is that they work with your version of windows.

Another option is a USB 2 Ethernet Connector.

akmodi

HI MSM,

Ethernet via USB works well for internet access -- remember that your connection will be limited by USB speeds ie 1.1 mbps for USB1 and 40MBPs for USB2.

Cheers

The_Saving_Man

phantomtraveller1 wrote:

do you have a card slot in your laptop?

Yes, Phantomtraveller, i've card a card slot on my laptop.

The_Saving_Man

akmodi wrote:

HI MSM,

Ethernet via USB works well for internet access -- remember that your connection will be limited by USB speeds ie 1.1 mbps for USB1 and 40MBPs for USB2.

Cheers

What's the difference both in performance and price between these two options?

albertross_2

USB1 is 12 megabits/second, usb2 is 480 megabits/second. broadband is maybe 0.5 , 1, 2, upto 8 megabits/second currently, so usb will not limit your download speed.

nickmack

Ideally, for any wired network, get a Network PCI Card for your PC and a Cardbus card for your Laptop. You can use a USB adaptor but it is not as stable/reliable/suitable as an Ethernet card.

For wireless ideally, buy a Wireless Card for your Laptop. Again you can use USB, but a card is preferred for the reasons above and also you have less wires hanging out of the laptop.