silly question

irishh_bob

forgive my rank ignorance but ive just bought a wireless modem and was told i would need to search for a broadband signal once i turned on my laptop , up to now i had just been using my PC for the internet

is thier anything in particular i need to do after i switch on the laptop per usual

thanks

hearny

Start with a bit more information.
Who is your Broadband Service Provider (Eircom / Vodafone / UPC).

Post the model number of the wireless wouter that you bought, or describe the ports on the back of it.

Are there 4 LAN ports + 1 WAN / Interenet or is it 4 LAN and 1 (a)dsl port.

What kind of router does your PC connect to.

irishh_bob

hearny wrote: »

Start with a bit more information.
Who is your Broadband Service Provider (Eircom / Vodafone / UPC).

Post the model number of the wireless wouter that you bought, or describe the ports on the back of it.

Are there 4 LAN ports + 1 WAN / Interenet or is it 4 LAN and 1 (a)dsl port.

What kind of router does your PC connect to.

service provider is pure telecom and its a one meg connection ( live in deepest rural ireland )

the modem is a thompson TG585V6

thier are four LAN ports + a DSL port and the power cable port

as for your last question , the PC is ( now ) connected to the wireless modem i got through the post today , i disconected the old modem

i thought the laptop just picked up the signal from the wireless modem , no need to plug a cable into it ?

rhonin

irishh_bob wrote: »

forgive my rank ignorance but ive just bought a wireless modem and was told i would need to search for a broadband signal once i turned on my laptop , up to now i had just been using my PC for the internet

is thier anything in particular i need to do after i switch on the laptop per usual

thanks

What operating system do you use?

If its Windows then look for network connection settings in the Control Panel and check to see if your wireless card is picking up the router signal.
You may also see the wireless connection icon beside the clock. Double clicking on this should bring up a window that displays any wireless netowrks near by. It should show your router here.

irishh_bob

rhonin wrote: »

What operating system do you use?

If its Windows then look for network connection settings in the Control Panel and check to see if your wireless card is picking up the router signal.
You may also see the wireless connection icon beside the clock. Double clicking on this should bring up a window that displays any wireless netowrks near by. It should show your router here.

above applies to laptop only i take it ?

rhonin

irishh_bob wrote: »

above applies to laptop only i take it ?

Yep. Although the same would apply if you had a wireless card on your PC but sounds like you connect the PC directly to the router using a cable.

irishh_bob

rhonin wrote: »

Yep. Although the same would apply if you had a wireless card on your PC but sounds like you connect the PC directly to the router using a cable.

when i turned on my laptop , it did find the new network ( wireless modem ) and i installed it , however , i then got a message stating that i require a network key ( also known as WEP key ) in order to proceed with internet connection

????

rhonin

irishh_bob wrote: »

when i turned on my laptop , it did find the new network ( wireless modem ) and i installed it , however , i then got a message stating that i require a network key ( also known as WEP key ) in order to proceed with internet connection

????

Yeah that is the security key to prevent just anybody accessing your broadband connection.
Check on the bottom of the wireless modem. The network key might be printed there.

hearny

So your service provider sent out the router.

The WEP key may be located on the base of the router, if its not see if the default address / username / password are written there.

From a quick online search the username is Administrator and the password is blank but this may be incorrect.

If there is no default address click on the start menu -> click run, type cmd and press enter.

type in ipconfig and press enter in the black screen that pops up

The output should list a default gateway something like 192.168.1.1 this is the address to use below

Open a web browser and type the routers address in the address bar at the top (not any search bars like in google).

Once you login using the username and password you should find the wep key by navigating around in he wireless settings.