New to wireless??

"p.mc" hath wroth:

Any particular model number TP-Link card?

Also, duz the new PC have a manufacturer and model number?

Oh, I get it. It's a guessing game. You supply the abbreviated specs and I guess the product model number. Is it one of these?

Do I get a prize?

Software? Well, you start with an operating system. Something like Ubuntu, Fedora Core, SUSE, Debian, etc. One of these:

If desperate, perhaps one of those things that Microsoft sneaks into new computah might work. It's also possible that your new computah came with one of these. Look for the square stickers usually plastered all over the front of the machine.

Once you've selected an operating system, you get to find and download the drivers for the unspecified card that goes with your unspecified operating system. Start here:

It will help you identify what's inside your computer so you don't appear totally inept and incompetent.

Hi Jeff

1...WinXp Sp2 ("Sorry" I did add it to my sig below, but had to ammend then left it out..."Ohh! the irony"). 2...model # TL-WN650G. 3...Sorry no prizes... Just the satisfaction of helping out a newbie :-). 4...It's a bespoke system from pcspecialist.co.uk 5...Also I have the drivers, although I'll check out the latest from your handy link. 6...Nice advisor.

Would it be best for me to get this router?

At the moment I use a "Sagem" ADSL modem (Broadband) from "Tiscali". Also I do use P2P program "Azureus" (incase it has any bearing on what type of router??) Don't forget I am a newbie, so please excuse any daft questions.

"p.mc" hath wroth:

Ok, that makes finding the driver easy.

Grumble....

Ok, so it's not a "name brand" system. Not a problem, but make sure you get a fairly good list of what's inside the machine. Also, copies of the drivers. I've seen far too many clone vendors shipping machines without manuals and driver disks.

There is no way you can buy anything these days and be sure that the latest driver is in the box. You might want to check for manufacturers updates for the BIOS, video card firmware, video card drivers, LAN drivers, etc. Windoze Update takes care of some of these, but doesn't get everything. Updates are the curse of modern computing.

Yep. I use it for inventory control. Sure beats asking the customer for what's inside the machine. Note that it displays the version numbers so you can also use the report to determine if the drivers are up to date.

I have no idea. I'm in the Peoples Republic of Santa Cruz California and we don't have any of those around here. It looks fairly generic and I don't see anything missing from the specs. If you can get a good price on it, it should work well enough. The only thing that bugs me is that I can't tell if it has a removeable antenna. That's desireable if you're going to play with aftermarket antennas.

Sorry. Wrong side of the pond. I'm not familiar with either.

Well Azureus and other Bitorrent problems are a potential problem. They open large numbers of simulateous streams and sockets, which use up huge amounts of buffer space in the router. That can easily crash a router. If your router locks up and hangs, see:

This list of routers for Bittorrent is seriously out of date, as most manufacturers have issued firmware updates that at least reduce the problem:

However, it might give you a clue as to what to look for. In general, simply limiting the number of connections will prevent a hang on any router.

Thanks Jeff for your time and input :-))

"p.mc" hath wroth:

Suggestion. Don't put anything important in the Subject, Header, or Signature. Each of these has their purpose, but none of them should be used for burying information necessary to answer a question. My newsreader automatically trims off the signature when composing a reply. Since I read your message AFTER I started to reply, I never saw the equipment list in the signature. The equipment list belongs in the body of the message.

"Ahh! Right"...I got used to putting sys specs in the sig for forums, but as you say if your N/R auto trims sig on replies then that would be a problem for me. I use "OE6" and it does have the option to trim sig with replies but I don't check it.

router?

Looks decent. Latest FW version does WDS and WPA radius, so that's a good sign of increased function.

Most people here will recommend going with a model that has a bit of a track record in the US and will, optimally, take replacement firmware if and when more features are needed.

Two cheap (~ $60 usd) routers on that list are the Linksys WRT-54GL (L is important) and the various Buffalo WHR-XXX routers. See DD-WRT wiki for a list of compatibles.

Steve

"Thanks for the info and link steve", I'll need to do a lot more research before committing, as you may well know, there's nothing worse than jumping into something only to find later on what a boob you've made.

I'm in no rush at the moment as I'm still trying to get the optimum out of "Azureus" with XP Sp2's crap, 10 only simultaneous tcp connections. ( Vista only has 8!) I've patched it to 1000 half connections but it's like quantum physics trying to get decent speeds. I've found you have to work out your upload speed and use an on line calculator (for azureus program) to get the best number settings to apply to the azureus settings, even then it's still trickled along, compared to the

7000'ish tcp connections you get with "Xp Sp1" It makes Sp2 look like a snail. It's supposedly to stop the spread of worms!..More like a cap if you ask me. I believe it's worse on a network.

I remember there was a quick fix that you run to correct that XP tcp connections limitation. Was it only 10? I have used Shareaza (to the degree that Satellite allows it) and I think they have a utility in their help, I forget where I saw that.

I do like Shareaza and recommend it for P2P, though for my connection (Satellite) P2P is hopeless.

I can't believe that adjusting the tcp connection limit is as complicated as you are saying, but maybe there's something weird about Azureus...

But, I digress. Back to routers. If they are availible for a fair price where you are,then the Buffalo WHR-HP is a good bet for a cheap, reliable router with good range that could be upgraded (if needed) to DD-WRT.

Steve

Avoid D-Link like the plague.

DIR 615 failed in less than 60 days. It had to forced to clone the MAC address one to two times a day. It finally completely quit. Tech support indicated the ROM chip was gone after one of their tests. Their software does not allow you to block or schedule individual ip's on your LAN. My wife mislaid the original sales receipt, and they will only send a reconditioned unit as a replacement. We have to package and pay for shipping to them. IMHO, their RMA policy is sad. They had repeated email and tech support case numbers to reference. I guess they think I stole the thing. My previous limited RMA experiences sent me a new unit and I returned the dead soldier in their packaging at their expense (I do believe I had to give them my credit card number to keep me honest).

I learned a valuable lesson. If any computer part is even a little flaky, return it to the vendor within their return policy. Do NOT depend on the manufacturer to be honorable or to correct software problems.

Hi Ste

Is this it?...Wow! it's dirt cheap. "Thanks"

BTW was this the quick fix? If so that's what I used.

Set to "6000" connections when patched and all is well.:-))