WARNING: Using Tips n Tricks on this website incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Operating System. We cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Tips and Tricks can be solved. Use Tips and Tricks at your own risk.

Is your PC ready for wireless networking?

Here’s how to find out whether your PC has what it takes to set up a wireless network:

1. The first thing to check is how your computer connects to the Internet. If you’re on a broadband connection that’s on all the time and you don’t need to dial out to connect to the Internet, you’ll need to check whether you have a broadband modem or a broadband router.

2. Check with your Internet Service Provider about whether they supplied you with it. Failing that, try typing in the make and model number into a search engine to find out what it is. If it’s a router, then it may be a wireless router.

3. Next you need to check out your PC to see if it is wireless-network capable. If you look in Control Panel under ‘Network and Internet Connections,’ you can see whether there is any kind of wireless adapter installed.

4. If you have a wireless-enabled router and a wireless-enabled PC, you’re good to go! You should be OK using the automatic detect settings. If you do need to set a static IP address, choose something like 192.168.1.5 and set the default gateway to 192.168.1.1 and the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0

Note that if your computer doesn’t already have a wireless network adapter built-in, you’ll need to install one for each system that connects to the network.
 

Improve wireless router signal strength

THE MISSING LINK

You buy a wireless laptop, install a wireless router, and after you check that it all works, give yourself a pat on the back. The next day you discover that your wireless network covers only half your house and that both your living room and your kitchen are masked in digital darkness. The package the router came in claims a range of up to 250 feet, but your Wi-Fi signal barely seems to penetrate into the next room. You return the router for a new one, only to discover that the replacement unit leaves you with the same truly confined coverage area. Condemned once again to spend your most productive hours at the desperate isolation of your desk, you give in, take a seat, and start typing.

Insufficient range is a common problem for many wireless networks, but there are ways to extend your coverage area into the places you need it most.