Need help connecting

Hi everyone,

I've just switched to comcast high speed internet. They didn't tell me over the phone that I would need a router to connect wirelessly through my laptop (which I was doing with the other provider). My neighbor gave me her linksys router but I have no idea how to connect this thing and get it up and running on my laptop. Can anyone walk me through it? My laptop is wireless capable so I don't need to do anything to *it*. I'm a little aggravated that they didn't tell me this when I signed on for the bundle they offer.

Reply to
tonita
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Did you connect the wireless router to the modem and turn them on ? Next turn on your pc and see if it can find any wireless signal

Reply to
RBM

Yes, I connected the router to the modem and nothing. I'm reading some instructions that I found online for the model Linksys router that I have, but it is confusing to me.

Reply to
tonita

what model router do you have?

Reply to
RBM

Reply to
tonita

Here is the URL to the Linksys site where you can get the quick install guide and the user guide. I would first get the user guide and reset the router to its defaults, not knowing how your friend had it set up. Then do the quick install and see what happens :

formatting link

Reply to
RBM

That is an 802.11b router. I have that make and model.

If you reset the router by unplugging it pressing the reset button and plugging the router back in while HOLDING THE RESET BUTTON FOR AT LEAST 30 SEC, you will reset it. Use an RJ45 cable between the WAN port and the modem.

Once it is reset, wireless encryption will be off, it will have gotten a DHCP address from your modem, the broadcast ssid will be 'linksys', and its configuration interface will be at 192.168.1.1.

Set your browser's address line to http://192.168.1.1 and you should see a login request. Leave the user name as blank - the password will be 'admin' (without the ' of course). At this point, you should change the password, but first play around with the built-in web site. Other things you should change are the essid and you should use WPA encryption with a strong password, but get used to the configuration pages first.

Larry

Reply to
Larry Finger

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Reply to
tonita

Typically your desktop, being immediately adjacent to the router, is wired - that's faster and less finicky/trouble-prone than wireless. And most desktops don't have wireless unless added by the user.

The wireless is used for your roving laptop(s) and/or desktops in other parts of the home.

Art

Reply to
Arthur Shapiro

No, there is no connection to the computer. Connect it like Larry Finger describes in his reply, but reset it first, as he describes

Reply to
RBM

Thank you Larry and RMB. Ok, I did the reset but if I change the connection from the computer to the router, I won't be able to get to the internet to do the rest of the procedure right? Why is this so complicated or is it just me? Gosh, with my other ISP, all I had was the modem, plugged it in and I was connected wirelessly. This seems like a lot of work and I'm a little aggravated that they didn't tell me this when I subscribed, especially when I asked if I could connect wirelessly with my laptop and he said "yes". Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!

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Reply to
tonita

Reply to
tonita

Your other company must have had a wireless router built in to the modem, or some don't use modems. You can always plug the ethernet cable directly from the modem to the computer, and get online.

Reply to
RBM

Once you reset the router, then connect it to the modem, it should broadcast a signal which your wireless card in the computer should find, and get you connected

Reply to
RBM

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Reply to
tonita

None of the stuff I told you needs the Internet!!! The web interface that you will be browsing is totally contained within the router.

The connection should be as follows:

modem router ~~~~~~ your laptop Ethernet WAN radio Cable

If you have a second ethernet cable, you may also connect

modem router laptop WAN LAN

The second choice is the more foolproof.

If the router is plugged into the modem correctly, and it is functional, it will get an Internet address from the modem. Similarly it will dole out addresses to the computers that are connected to either the LAN ports, or to the wireless.

Don't get flustered and throw up your hands, or whatever you are doing. This is not brain surgery.

Larry

Reply to
Larry Finger

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laptop

Reply to
tonita

Relax. Yes, the phone line stays plugged into the modem. The router knows nothing of putting the signal onto a phone line. In fact, my router is connected to a cable modem - a completely different transformation process.

We will start at square one again. What are the interconnections that you have? Make the kind of simple drawing that I did. What capabilities do you have? Is this how you are getting to the Internet?

Larry

Reply to
Larry Finger

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laptop

Reply to
tonita

We are a little out of sync. Did you connect to the router home page (192.168.1.1) with a wire, or wirelessly?

Larry

Reply to
Larry Finger

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