Wireless Router setup

[Stephen Beesley]

Okay so I know this should probably go in the Wireless section but...

I am thinking of setting up a wireless network at home and wondering about connecting a wireless router (netgear MR814 router) to my d-link 502T adsl modem. What I am wondering if, once I have done the initial configuration of the router using a wired connection can it then operate without a computer having a wired connection to it at all.

So the set up would be something like:

Internet - adsl modem - wifi router ----- computer with wireless adaptor.

I am sure this probably sounds like a dumb question, but I just cannot quite get my head around it.

Any comments appreciated!

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Yes, it will work the way you think. That's the way my home network is configured, though I kept the wired connection since it's convenient for the occasional debugging (a firmware upgrade fixed my case of connection dropouts, but once bitten as they say...).

I've got two laptops, two PDAs and my home computer hooked up to this network, with my main PC the lone wired connection. The rest connect fine without it though, since all the settings are configured anyway. Be sure to get the tightest security you can - WPA keys, MAC filtering, whatever necessary.

[SteveHoward999]

Ditto that. My router sits in a different room from all the computers - PC, Mac, 2 laptops, two PDAs - so no need for a hard-wired connection for day-to-day use.

[Stephen Beesley]

Great stuff - thanks for the comments.

Looks like I am off to my local "Dick Smiths" (local reference: Oz electronics chain) at lunch to pick up a router!

[SteveHoward999]

By the way - under most circumstances you can perform necessary Admin work on the router via the wireless connection too. I don't think I even used a wired connection to set up this router. It's all done through a web interface.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

For the most part yeah, the setup is pretty painless and most routers will work out of the box. Still a wired connection can be useful when things are acting up - like the time I turned off DHCP by mistake, LOL!

[Stephen Beesley]

Once again, thank you both for your comments.

I have been really worrying about this for a few weeks now. The house I just moved into only has one phone connection and the cost of adding a second connection near my computer is far more than getting the router and usb wifi adaptor.

I have been wanting to set up a wifi network for some time anyway so that I can lounge around and surf on my Pocket PC while the computer is being used by somebody else.

Now that I know it will work as I hoped I am pretty keen to get going. Just need to make a phone call to my ISP to find out if I need to put the ADSL modem in bridge mode (I suspect I do) or if there are any other things I need to do.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

Apart from bridge mode (no need to call your ISP - yes, you have to) there's not a whole lot else you'll need.

[Stephen Beesley]

Well - after working pretty much straight out of the box at first, this setup is now driving me MAD.

Everytime I set it up it seems to work fine at first. I get an excellent signal strength and am able to connect without problem (whether I use the built in XP wifi networking utility or the Netgear configuration utility). I then launch a browser and it will usually go straight to my home page (google) - but that is where things start to go haywire. From there on my internet gets very flakey sometimes it will go to the page I request but a lot of the time I just get "this page cannot be displayed" usually with the DNS error page showing. Same thing if I launch my email program - sometimes it will connect but other times it will not.

I have tried with and without WEP enabled and using channel 11 and 13 but it still seems to happen. Very very frustrating.

BTW this does not just affect my desktop but also when I try to connect with my Pocket PC.

I am thinking this is either some sort of interference or maybe a problem with the wireless router (netgear) interfacing with my modem (d-link 502T) and getting through to my ISPs DNS. I have it set for automatic DNS but I do have the DNS address, maybe I should try to set it manually.

Any suggestions welcomed.

[Nurhisham Hussein]

I'd get your service provider to give you their DNS server addresses, and use static DNS rather than auto. You could also try checking your router and modem both have the latest firmware - I had problems with connection drops until I upgraded the firmware on my router.

[Stephen Beesley]

I'd get your service provider to give you their DNS server addresses, and use static DNS rather than auto. You could also try checking your router and modem both have the latest firmware - I had problems with connection drops until I upgraded the firmware on my router.

Thanks - I will try both of those suggestions when I get home tonight!