Wireless Router Advice

dehaani

Marty_J wrote: »

Maybe ten years ago; the major ISPs supply router/modems with ethernet now.

Yes I'm aware of that.; most supply an ADSL router but the OP didn't have one (hence this thread). So, I presumed it would be a USB modem since there aren't many ethernet modems around.

Anyway, nice one lisae03

lisae03

Sorry to drag this thread up again but I have now received my Free 54mbps Netgear Wireless Router and its says on the box that it is compatable with Microsoft Windows 2000, Xp or Vista. My brothers laptop is windows 7 which I think is relatively new, do you think it will still work? Also as I am with Virgin it has the set up disc for Virgin and my brothers provider is Bt, do you think he will still be able to gte it working? I just want to be sure before I take it to him as I'm palming it off as b day present, how very MSE of me!

claire07

It should be fine. I had a netgear router from virgin a few weeks ago and it connected my xp desktop and my new windows7 laptop with no problems.

bluboy

Windows 7 is not the issue.

It sounds like your freebie router is for Virgin CABLE and he would need an ADSL router.
As pointed out in earlier posts they are not the same - Cable routers use a separate modem while ADSL (e.g. BT) routers come with the modem built in.

If you can post the exact model of your new freebie router we can say for definite.
Possibly a Netgear WGR614?

Weemac

My question concerns my Netgear router from Virgin which at the moment is connected to my PC via a separate modem. I am buying a laptop and will be getting rid of my PC so was wondering how i disconnect the router and modem from my PC as they are on a wired connection at the moment- do i just unplug the router from the back of my PC or do i need to uninstall the router from my PC? Will the router/modem still work on their own so I just need to connect to them via my new laptop? The laptop has windows 7 but from the previous replies I see that this shouldn,t be a problem

Thanks for any advice

bluboy

Weemac wrote: »

... do i just unplug the router from the back of my PC or do i need to uninstall the router from my PC?

No, nothing to uninstall on the PC.

You don't say how you want to connect the new laptop.
Wired - If you intend to connect the new laptop 'wired' to the router just unplug the ethernet cable from the back of the PC and plug it into the ethernet socket on the laptop. W7 should detect the connection and you'll be good to go.

Wirelessly - If you intend to connect the new laptop to the router wirelessly you'll need to know the wireless settings from your router - the SSID (sometimes called the Network Name) and the Wireless Passkey (passphrase). If you've never connected wirelessly before these will probably be still set to the defaults. Have a look for a sticker on the router itself, or have a look in the router manual, or post the make and model of the router here and we'll tell you the defaults.
Once you have the details just fire up the Win7 laptop and go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center and choose 'Connect to a network' then 'Manually Connect to a Wireless Network'.
Input your SSID and passkey and you're done.
Note - if you're opting for wireless make sure you leave the old PC connected to the router until everything is working properly. If your wireless settings are not the default ones you will need to connect to the router 'wired' to access the settings and you can do this with your existing PC set up. We can take you through it if needed.

If you have any questions its important to post the make and model of your router.

Weemac

Hi bluboy - thanks for your help - i intend to connect my new laptop wirelessly and your instructions sound similar to what i did with my daughters laptop so i know my SSID and passkey already. My router is a Netgear WNR2000 by the way. I like the idea of leaving my PC connected to make sure everything works - I would never have thought of that! I will give it a go once i get my new laptop but will come back to you if that is ok if i have any probs - thanks again.

Sorry to lisae03 for butting into your question but it was very similar to my question

lisae03

bluboy wrote: »

Windows 7 is not the issue.

It sounds like your freebie router is for Virgin CABLE and he would need an ADSL router.
As pointed out in earlier posts they are not the same - Cable routers use a separate modem while ADSL (e.g. BT) routers come with the modem built in.

If you can post the exact model of your new freebie router we can say for definite.
Possibly a Netgear WGR614?

Yes thats the one, how did you know lol!

DCFC79

lisae03 wrote: »

Yes thats the one, how did you know lol!

possibly because virgin send them routers to they're customers

you sure the broadband connection is adsl and not cable

bluboy

lisae03 wrote: »

Yes thats the one, how did you know lol!

I'm psychic?
Or maybe it's the one Virgin usually give away.;)
Sadly it will not have an built-in modem and he would need to buy a separate ADSL modem for it to work on an ADSL conection.
While it is possible, they can be a pain to set up and the cost of the separate modem sort of defeats the idea of the BDay pressie!
For around the same price he could buy an ADSL router or maybe do as you did and try and get a freebie from his ISP.

edit: - unless of course he already has an an ADSL modem?!