Trying to set up a network at home - help!

Silverfox

I recently bought 2 new PCs from Dell. The first one has a wireless PCI card built in. This is to be placed downstairs. The second one has no wireless card and is 2 floors up. I have BT broadband and they're offering me their wireless modem for €45 with a usb adapter for the upstairs computer at a further €45. I originally bought a Netgear G MIMO router from Harvey Norman but was told by them after I brought it back that I need to get one from my ISP.

I have called Dell who told me to use whatever modem I like. I called BT who said to use whatever I like. Peats told me I'd have to get one from BT. I am now so confused that I'm considering giving up. So here are my questions:

Can I avoid buying a router/modem and just buy a usb adapter for the upstairs computer, using the built in wireless card from the downstairs computer to set up a LAN? BT suggested this.

If not, will the fact that I have a built in PCI card affect my using an external wireless Modem/router?

Will the BT voyager 2110 be as good as the Netgear G MIMO router that I had bought originally, keeping in mind that my second PC is two floors up with plenty of obstacles in the way?

Can anyone recommend a decent router/modem as an alternative? I'm willing to spend up to €150.

dub45

Silverfox wrote:

I recently bought 2 new PCs from Dell. The first one has a wireless PCI card built in. This is to be placed downstairs. The second one has no wireless card and is 2 floors up. I have BT broadband and they're offering me their wireless modem for €45 with a usb adapter for the upstairs computer at a further €45. I originally bought a Netgear G MIMO router from Harvey Norman but was told by them after I brought it back that I need to get one from my ISP.

I have called Dell who told me to use whatever modem I like. I called BT who said to use whatever I like. Peats told me I'd have to get one from BT. I am now so confused that I'm considering giving up. So here are my questions:

Can I avoid buying a router/modem and just buy a usb adapter for the upstairs computer, using the built in wireless card from the downstairs computer to set up a LAN? BT suggested this.

If not, will the fact that I have a built in PCI card affect my using an external wireless Modem/router?

Will the BT voyager 2110 be as good as the Netgear G MIMO router that I had bought originally, keeping in mind that my second PC is two floors up with plenty of obstacles in the way?

Can anyone recommend a decent router/modem as an alternative? I'm willing to spend up to €150.

It really is worth googling for information on wireless networks and how to set them up etc before going out and buying stuff and leaving yourself at the mercy of shop assistants who in this case do not appear to have a clue. On the other hand it is also unfair to expect busy shop assistants or telephone support staff to provide a free course in wireless networking.

Firstly you don't say what modem or router you have at the moment? You don't say why you had to return the Netgear to Harvey Norman?

For a wireless network you will need a dsl modem and a wireless router - these can come as separate units or combined as an all in one and sometimes referred to as a gateway. You don't need to purchase these units from your isp. they can be bought from any reputable source but it is up to you to make sure that you are buying the correct equipmet. Each pc or laptop using the network will have to have either a wireless card or a wireless usb dongle.

The big problem which I see facing you is the distance between your wireless modem/router and the upstairs pc which is two floors away. It really is very difficult in advance to predict the behaviour of wireless equipment. In theory the Netgear which you returned should give out a better signal over a wider distance than the BT model but to achieve the maximum performance you would need a matching mimo card in the upstairs pc.

Silverfox

I brought it back because I suspected, once I got home, that it wasn't compatible with my older internet connection and modem, so I didn't open it. I was right. I was also worried that this would be the case with my new one but it will be fine. I think I'll get the netgear combined modem/router as I'm pretty sure it should be ok. Thanks for your help!:)

AdrianII

Buy a wireless router, connect it to your local pc first to set it up.

Give it the Ip address, DNS given to yo by your ISP, set the router to DHCP (this will give out address on the network for you)

Connect your pcs using the wireless card or buy a USB wireless dongle.

Its pretty easy to do

AdrianII

i have a linksys one, they are very easy to set up, PM me if you require help