Skip to main content ↑ ↓
Topic: Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains (Read 4551 times) previous topic - next topic

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

ok,, i have a few piece parts i bought to make the house wireless with respect to everything ****NON INTERNET

please take a look and see a few of the issues i have had and if you can help or suggest a different layout

my goal i want,,,,,
my wifes desktop
mason's desktop
chances sony viao laptop
my company laptop

TO>>>>>>>>> see a network via wireless
and
TO>>>> print to one common printer in the house via wireless
and
TO>>> allow the boys to game against eachother via the network
and
NOT>>> use this network as interneit since i am dial up , no other options.

here are the parts i have
Encore Network card 10/100  (wifes desktop)
Linksys wireless g router broadband router
wireless-g usb adptor ,looks like a thumb or flash drive (masons desktop)
Edimax wireless print server


ok,,,
Encore network card
This card came out of the box and i installed it.  windows suddenly detected it and set me up with a driver.  IM like,, humm,, so i toss in the cd to load the actual driver and from what i could see, there were three folders there with three different drivers.  The cd did not auto run , it just sat there like it was a burned cd with these drivers.  I didnt know what to do with the files so since windows already noticed the new card,, i didnt bother going forward. 
No driver was installed.  so far so good


Linksys wireless g router broadband router
I hook up the router to power and cat5.  I hooked up the cat 5 from the ethernet card to port 1 of the router.  this put the wifes desktop on port one. the input (traditional internet from the ISP is empty).  Windows detected it instantly and told me i had a connection.  Im like,, ok,,,
then i decided i better install the cd,, so i stuck it in and upon step 3 of install,,, it appeared it was leading towards reconfiguring my internet connection from dialup to ethernet or high speed dsl.  I called a buddy of mine and he said i was right and that i better not install the cd or im gonna have all my dialup settings hosed.  I stopped.  NO CD INSTALLED but windows seemed to be ok with everything so far.


wireless-g usb adptor ,looks like a thumb or flash drive (masons desktop)
Mason installed the cd, plugged in the device and it instantly saw the router.  Chance booted his laptop up with wifi and was also able to see the network.  My wifes desktop was also able to see the network so we all connected to it.  We tested things out by sharing files to eachother.  So far so good.


Edimax wireless print server
Im having a bitch of a time configuring this sucker.  The cd is polluted with different model nubmers and once you know yoru model number and figure out that the huge ass PDF file name on your cd is is associated , you suddenly figure out which of the 10 manuals you need to look at.
I found the manual , opened it and was reading ,, notice i forgot to mention my manual is 114 pages long.  Following the instructions in the manual i suddenly realized the network architecture layout showed two cables coming from the "server"... IM like wtf,, this is suppose to be wireless.  Later on i found out i should start on page 72 for my "wireless optional application",,,,:mad:
SO,, the wireless print server is not installed yet.
its on hold.


RESULTS.........
I shut down the server,, (wifes desktop and reboot).  Everyone lost thier connection ,,good,,, reboot the computer and proceed to dial up.  IT!!!  i cant dial up cause something is hosed.  I figured it out,,,,,  My network card i installe is trying to take over from my modem some how.  The network card is preventing me from connecting to the world but i do here the software dialing from the modem.
So,, i finally figure out that i have to manually disable the network card,,, reboot,,, then i am able to connnect to the internernet via dialup.
If i leave the router / ethernet cable plugged in even with the network card disabled, i am unable to dial up.  I have to manuall disable the network card and unhook the ethernet cable,, then reboot.
Im thinking i would be better off getting rid of the (wifes desktop) network card and use a wireless usb adaptor.  This way the wifes is the same as masons desktop computer.  He sees the network so why not. 

Last night we all connected to the network, wifes desktop, masons desktop and chances laptop.  Mason decided to see if he and chance could game against eachother on Diablo 2 lord of distruction.

Chance launched the game and selected multiplayer TCP/IP.
Mason ran upstairs and booted up the game and clicked "join game"
His computer asked for "Please type in host IP address".  Chances computer was setup as "auto" and there was no ip addy under his connnection.

I think i have to create a new newwork place,, correct,, Then i can take a look see at the IP so mason can join correct?

also,, should i just delete the ethernet card installed on the wifes computer and hook her up with a wireless USB?

In the long run,, also,, i would like to allow everyone to print to a common printer wireless as well but thats going to be next.

sorry so long but details help.
if anyone could explain this better by phone,, which im am all for,,, call 304 772 4082.


A picture is worth a thousand words,, so i did one up.
scott

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #1 –
I dont' have the time to read this right now but later tonight I'll have something to help you... I've set up home networks like this in my sleep.
One 88

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #2 –
I'm not clear on which side of the Linksys router you connected the wife's ethernet card to? You won't use the "broadband" or WAN part of it, only the LAN ports. You also shouldn't need to install anything from the CD. No matter how you connect it though you're still going to lose the dialup as default when you install another adapter in it. MS assumes no one who actually has an Ethernet card would be dumb enough to not use it for Internet access and assumes the default route is through it. You can change this but it's tougher than right clicking and disabling your NIC. Put a shortcut to it on the desktop and do this before you dial the modem. Your IP addresses for each box on the network can be either static of your choosing from the ones that won't pass routers (private IP space) or from a DHCP server, probably on the Linksys box.


I've been reasonably happy with one of these... make sure you get the newer one with the G wireless (WiFlyer+ I think). It has a printer port on it as well where the older one doesn't. http://www.wiflyer.com/aow/index.php?page=productInfo I think the newer one cost me $150 or so before shipping.

I connect my "main" machine to the Ethernet port that's on it and get the same deal on using my modem but I can access the Internet from it using the WiFlyer and the same process as a wireless machine connected to the AP. Te modem sits there as a backup mostly or if I need to use Outlook Express to empty my mailbox on the server. Obviously the kids won't be gaming over dialup but each machine will be able to access the dialup connection through it if desired (and allowed by security settings). The transfers between my laptop and the desktop machine are fine, the games should be ok too unless there's something in the construction of your house that interferes with the signal.

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #3 –
see adjustments to my wording and a pic

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #4 –
Quote from: CougarSE;156040
I dont' have the time to read this right now but later tonight I'll have something to help you... I've set up home networks like this in my sleep.


cool beans,,

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #5 –
Won't change the behavior of wife's computer. Wireless adapter will just be default in place of Ethernet card. You'll still need to manually disable it or change the default route in TCP/IP settings before you can switch from the LAN to dial up.

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #6 –
i like your "create a short cut" work around.  that seems simpler.

do you think it would be best to get rid of thw ethernet card in the wifes computer,,, like i described?  then just hook her up with a wireless usb deal?

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #7 –
6 of one, half dozen of the other... I like to have one Ethernet connection just for troubleshooting purposes if nothing else but I'm old and set in my ways. :) The wireless connection will function exactly the same when all is working right and may even be faster than the hardwire if it's only a 10M card. If something goes wrong with the AP you'll need to install the card and cable to connect to the Linksys box to fix it.

And using the shortcut... be sure you do the disable before you start the modem dialing. Took me months before I got in that routine and having to hang up, disable LAN and reconnect will just aggravate you after the 6th or 7th time you do it. ;)

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #8 –
any ideas if im on the right track as far as gaming goes?

its in the thread up there..

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #9 –
You should be fine on the games. The only factor will be the speed of the wireless adapters and the AP. That can be affected by some things but if the distances are short between them it's usually not a problem.

Upon further review... there could be one other choke point and that's the usb interface for the wireless adaptors. If it's not USB 2.0 you may notice some throughput issues with games. The game producers always want you to have the bestest, fastest hardware there is and they write the code assuming that you do. The newer the game the farther they're going to push the hardware envelope.

I've got one other problem...
Quote from: jcassity;156037
....RESULTS.........I shut down the server,, (wifes desktop and reboot).  Everyone lost thier connection ,,good,,, ...


Each machine here should be "independent" of the others. If Mom's machine (and/or your laptop) is shut down then mason and chance should still be able to share files and play games. Did I interpret that wrong? Did you mean they lost the connection the the file share on Mom's machine but the network connection was still ok? If so, then I'm not confused anymore, at least for the time being on this issue. ;)

One other suggestion... If mom's machine or Mason's desktop runs all the time or if either of these are the primary user of the printer you could just connect the printer to that machine and share it for everyone else to get to. The print server will obviously be on all the time but if the printer gets light duty it really isn't a necessity.

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #10 –
in my top illustration, there is an ethernet cable hooked up to the wireless router.  When i shut down the wifes computer, i thought everyone lost thier connection.  ill have to double check that.

as far as setting up the network,, i have to go to

my network places / set up a home or small office network / next / next / select a connection method (option 1) / select your internet connection (current dial up shows with ethernet card) / give this computer a description and name / work group name / next

and so on,,,,

correct?  the above was a screen by screen on my XP sp2 wifes desktop.

thank you again for helping.
 

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #11 –
I'll be honest I haven't set up but a couple of XP workstations and one of those was an upgrade so I don't know the exact, step by step without being in front of the machine. The basics of what you need is a DHCP server, a unique name for each machine and each workstation set up to use the same workgroup name and acquire it's IP address automatically. The DHCP is probably already running on the Linksys. If the wireless machines are connecting to the AP they probably have an IP address already. Open a command window (cmd.exe on Nt/2000/XP) and type ipconfig /all to confirm they do, it should be something like 192.168.1.100. The wired connection should work the same way if the adapter is configured right. The name server function should be provided by Windows ie, making a file share connection to \\momsmachine\filesharename should work but if it won't try \\198.162.1.101\filesharename assuming momsmachine is at 198.162.1.101. The games may need the IP address to connect if they only depend on DNS to work or you can use a hosts file (ancient but works).

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #12 –
well,,
masons computer has a DNS so i cant see an ip.
after i went into dos like you mentioned, i see he had no ip there either.

went into my wifes computer the same way and i could see her ip.

chances laptop looks just like masons desktop, no ip visible there in dos

i wonder if my wifes computer (the one im on now) is only showing one cause im hooked up to the internet and the ip its logging is because i am connected.

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #13 –
yep,, the only reason my wifes computer showed anything on the ip is cause its connected.

no biggie.

wonder what happens when i log onto the network and use that comand?

humm
brb

Going wireless in the house,, dialup remains

Reply #14 –
Quote from: jcassity;156310
...

wonder what happens when i log onto the network and use that comand?

humm
brb


Nothing unless there's something out there to provide the IP address to them. That's what DHCP is for, it's the easy way.  Dig around in the Linksys manual or the config settings and see if you can flip it on. If for some reason the Linksys doesn't have DHCP capability you can assign static IPs in the network properties of each device on the net. Use 10.10.10.1, 10.10.10.10.2, 10.10.10.3, etc with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and they should work. Linksys and print server too. Then edit %systemroot%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts on each machine to include all the others. hosts is a text file and examples are in the file that's there. Watch that your editor doesn't add an extension to it... Turn off any DNS if you go this route. LMHOSTS in the same directory can be used to provide Windows name services if the aformentioned \\momsmachine\filesharename doesn't work.

I'm headed out for the weekend and don't usually get online much at home so I apologize if I'm slow to answer... I'll be out in the garage and I don't have my wireless network functioning out there yet. :D