Building A Wireless Home Network for Windows 98/ME

Because this is a two-part article, we won't repeat the instructions on attaching a wireless router to your network. If you need help with that process, please refer to Part 1 of this recipe. For now, let's jump ahead to installing a network interface card (NIC) in your customers' Windows 98/ME machines.

Ingredients

Step 1: Install

Do not plug the wireless USB NIC into your PC yet! First, insert the installation CD-ROM included with the wireless USB NIC into the computer. You'll see the following Welcome screen appear.

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Click on Setup. Then click Next to begin the installation process. You must agree (by clicking the 'Yes' button) with the End User License Agreement before proceeding with the installation.

The next screen will show you the folder where the files will be installed. Click Next. You will be asked if you are installing the wireless NIC in Ad-hoc or Infrastructure mode. Choose Infrastructure. Then click Next.

The next screen will ask for the SSID of your wireless network. This is similar to a workgroup name on a traditional network. The default is usually good enough, but you can name your wireless network anything you wish; just remember to configure the wireless router to match. However, by purchasing all of the wireless components from the same manufacturer, sticking with the default SSID will result in one less thing for you to go back and configure on the wireless router or other wireless network adapters. For this reason, I recommend leaving the default setting here for the time being. (You can change it later once you get everything up and running.)

A quick technical aside: SSID is short for Service Set Identifier. It's used to differentiate one wireless network from another, by giving each wireless network its own unique name. Of course, it takes at least two computers to make a network, so not only must the computers have a unique name on the network, but the network itself also needs a unique name. As long as your customer has no other wireless networks within 300 feet of this wireless router, the default SSID name should do the job just fine. For security purposes, the SSID should be changed to a unique name after you get everything up and running smoothly.

Back to the installation. Click Next. The screen that appears will summarize and review the settings you have just selected on all the previous screens. Click on Next to start copying the required files to your computer.

When the installation has completed, a screen verifying this will appear saying, "Congratulations! Your Wireless USB Networking Adapter has been successfully configured!"

Now click Exit. At this point, a screen will appear requesting that you restart your computer before you can utilize the software you just installed. Select "Yes, I want to restart my computer now" and click the Finish button. The computer will now reboot.

Once the computer has finished rebooting, plug the wireless USB NIC into any available USB port on the computer. Use the USB cable provided with the wireless USB NIC.

Windows will automatically detect that you have plugged something in. The operating system will begin to automatically load the NIC's drivers. During this process, you may see the message, "A file being copied is older than the file currently on your computer. It is recommended that you keep your existing file. Do you want to keep this file?" If you see this message, click the Yes button. When all of the drivers are loaded for the device, there may be a slight delay while Windows completes some internal configuration settings. Your cursor will probably become an hourglass icon until this process is complete--be patient.

Once this process is complete, look in the system tray (it's in the lower-right corner of the screen, next to the clock). You should see a small blue computer icon. This means you are within range of your wireless router. If the icon is red, then your system cannot locate the wireless router's signal.

Step 2: Configure network settings

Click the PC's Start button, then Settings, and then Control Panel. Double-click the Network icon. Make sure you have Client for Microsoft Networks, your wireless adapter, and TCP/IP listed in this window. If you plan to share files and printers with other computers on the wireless/wired network, then you must also have File and Printer Sharing loaded. No other clients, protocols or services should be listed here. Use the 'Add' and 'Remove' buttons on this window to configure your computer to match one of the examples shown here.

If your computer has a modem, your settings should look like this:

And if your computer does not have a modem, then your settings should look like this:

Next, set your Primary Network Logon to Windows Logon, as shown in the example above. Then double-click TCP/IP for your Wireless USB Network Adapter.

Now let's configure the network settings. During the next steps, please do not click the 'OK' button until instructed.

1. Under the IP Address tab, select "Obtain an IP Address Automatically."

2. Under the WINS Configuration tab, select "Use DHCP for WINS resolution."

3. Under the Gateway tab, make sure all fields are empty.

4. Under the DNS Configuration tab, select "Disable DNS."

5. Under the Bindings tab, make sure all items listed have a check in the box next to them.

6. Under the Advanced tab, set the value of "Allow binding to ATM" to No. At the bottom of the window, ensure there is a check in the box next to "Set this to be the default protocol."

7. Ignore the last tab, and click "OK."

8. Click the File and Print Sharing button as shown in the example above. Make sure both options have a check placed next to them. Click "OK."

9. Click OK once more. If your computer wants to restart after this process, allow it do so before continuing.

Step 3: Configure the wireless NIC

Now double-click the small computer screen in your system tray next to the clock, as shown:

The wireless signal strength and link quality will be displayed on the screen. Take a moment to move your wireless USB NIC around and adjust its antenna for the best possible reception.

Next, click the Connections button. On the next screen, you will see the network name listed under the SSID heading. Click once on the network name. Then click the Connect button as shown:

Now click once on the Profile Setting button. Your screen should match the example below:

After your network is functioning properly, you will want to enable 128-bit WEP security on the wireless router and the wireless network adapters. You can access the WEP settings for the wireless network adapter by clicking the Advanced button on this screen. WEP stands for Wired Equivalence Privacy and is an encryption method for WiFi networks; it prevents others from using your wireless network without your permission.

Note: The Profile Setting option available with the Linksys wireless network adapters lets users configure different wireless networks, then save them as separate Profiles. This is particularly handy for users of laptops who need specific WEP security settings and SSID for a wireless network at one location, such as the office, and a completely different WEP security setting and SSID for another location, such as at home. It is much easier to simply change profiles than it is to reconfigure your network settings each time you switch networks. If your customer's computer is a desktop PC, or if they do not plan on using other wireless networks besides their own, then they will only have, and only need, one profile.

Back to our installation. Click the PC's Start button, then Settings, and then Control Panel. In the Control Panel, double-click the Internet Options icon. Then click the Connections tab. Click the Setup button in the upper-right corner. Select "I want to set up my Internet connection manually, or I want to connect through a local area network (LAN)." Click Next. On the screen that appears, select "I connect through a local area network (LAN)" and then click Next.

On the next screen, place a check in the box next to "Automatic discovery of proxy server (recommended)." Leave the remaining two boxes unchecked. Now then click Next. You'll then be asked if you want to set up an Internet e-mail account. Select No, and then click Next. Finally, click the Finish button. Internet Explorer should now be able to access the Internet.

Step 4: Wrapping up

To let your customer share their C: drive on the wireless network, double-click the My Computer icon located on the desktop, right-click the C: drive, and select Properties. Next, click the Sharing tab and select "Shared As." Then click the OK button.

If your customer plans to let others on the network print to a printer plugged into this computer, double-click the Printers icon in the Control Panel. Right-click on the printer you wish to share, and select Properties. Click the Sharing tab, select "Shared As," and click the OK button. You can find more details about file and printer sharing on YouthTech.com.

Your wireless network setup is now complete. After verifying all network functionality, enable MAC Filtering and 128-bit WEP security on the wireless router, and enable the same 128-bit WEP security on every wireless network adapter. You can find details on wireless security and tips can be found at the Linksys site.

Congratulations, you are done!

This is Part 2 of a two-part Recipe. In Part 1, I explain how to build a wireless home network with Windows XP.

Author CAREY HOLZMAN is president of Discount Computer Repair in Glendale, Ariz.