going slightly mad!!

hello, new to this, i am desperatly seeking help on setting up a wireless network. i have read all the networking forum over the past week and as far as i know have changed, tweaked and reinstalled the hardware, please help me as i am unable to do anything on my decorating list untill this is sorted - my wife is one step away from murder!!

ok this is the problem -

i have a desktop and a laptop which i want to network together, they are both running xp pro.
i have just bought a -wireless G access point (linksys) wap54g
wireless g notebook adaptor and pci card.

i have used a crossover cable from the pc lan port to the wap.
i cannot get anthing, the will not ping eachother. i cannot access the web based utility.

i ahve done all recommended by the forum.

have i bought the wright hardware?

do i have to use the lan port on my desktop if its suppose to be wireless.

any help really appreciated - many many thanks

darren

I removed your email address, as it'll only get picked up by spammers.

I'm not really sure why you have bought an access point. You want to create a wireless network between the two computers. Buying a wireless network adapter for each machine would allow you to create an ad-hoc network. An access point is used for allowing wireless clients to connect to an existing wired network, which doesn't exist in your house.

However, if you're connecting the computer directly to the access point (normally you would connect a switch, router or hub) you'll need to manually assign the NIC an Ip address which is on the same subnet as the AP. You'll need to check the manual to find the IP address of the AP. If it's something like 192.168.0.100 for example, then give your desktop an IP address of 192.168.0.1 and see if you can ping it.

hi many many thanks for your quick reply

so i jumped in without doing the proper research first not like me

do i need a router then? will that solve my problem?

if thats the case i will speak to overclockers tomorrow and see if i can exchange.

can i get away with taking the access point out all together and just use the 2 adaptors? - without a router

sorry so many questions but i do appreciate your help.

oh and thanks for taking out the email address.

A router would probably be more suitable. If you buy a wireless router, you will be able to connect the Internet, your wired desktop and your wireless laptop all together with one box and it should all work pretty easily.



Yes, you don't need anything else other than the two computers. If you're wanting to create a wireless network, just buy two wireless adapters and create an ad-hoc network. If you want to share the Internet in this network, you'll need to connect a modem to one of the computers and enable Internet Connection Sharing.

thanks for that

ive been in touch with overclockers and i am sending the WAP back and have ordered a router, so i should soon be in business.

spent most of last night trying to set up a ad hoc environment and only managed to ping the desktop so i hope life will be a little easier with a router.

many thanks for your help.

we all have to learn somehow, give me pc components and i will build you a system, give me networking hardware and i will ask silly questions and end up sending half of it back.

cheers for now

darren

Cool The router setup should be pretty easy, but just come back if you have problems.