Wireless Home Networking - Index of

Chapter 7: Setting Up a Wireless Windows Network
PC Cards and mini-PCI cards
Nearly all Windows laptops and some Mac laptop computers have PC Card
ports that are compatible with these cards. Belkin, Linksys, NETGEAR, D-Link,
and others offer an 802.11n/g PC Card wireless network interface adapter.
Most such devices already come preinstalled in portable computers and in
some desktop computers. Many new laptops have DisplayPort adapters that
are similar to PC Card slots. Don’t confuse the two; even though they look the
same, you don’t want to jam a PC Card into a DisplayPort socket.
Most PC Card wireless network adapters require that you install the software
drivers before inserting the PC Card for the first time. This is very important.
Doing so ensures that the correct driver is present on the computer when the
operating system recognizes that you have inserted a PC Card. Installing the
drivers first also ensures that you can configure the wireless network connection
when you install the device.
If you’re installing a PC Card in a Windows-based computer with a PC Card
slot, use the following general guidelines and don’t forget to refer to the documentation
that comes with the card for detailed instructions. (See Chapter 8
if you’re a Mac user.)
Even if you received a CD with the PC Card, checking the manufacturer’s Web
site for the most recent drivers and client station software is a good idea.
Wireless networking technology is continually evolving, so we recommend
that you keep up with the changes.
To install a wireless PC Card in your computer, follow these steps:
1. Insert the CD that accompanies the PC Card into the CD-ROM drive.
If the setup program doesn’t automatically start, choose Start➪Run (in
Windows) or open Windows Explorer to run the Setup.exe program on
the CD.
2. Install the wireless client software.
During this installation, you may be asked to indicate the following:
• Whether you want the PC Card set to infrastructure (AP) mode
or to ad hoc (peer-to-peer) mode. Choose infrastructure mode to
communicate through the AP. We talk about the difference between
infrastructure and ad hoc modes in Chapter 2.
• The SSID (network name).
• Whether you will use a network password (which is the same as
WPA2 encryption).
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