Wireless Home Networking - Index of

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Part III: Installing a Wireless Network
Windows Vista Wireless Network Setup
Figure 7-4:
The
Windows
Vista
Network
and Sharing
Center.
Windows Vista has incorporated wireless networking into the standard networking
built right into the OS. You no longer have a separate application
and Windows to work in to manage your wireless network connection —
though you still have a lot of windows to navigate through.
In Windows Vista, everything takes place in the Network and Sharing Center.
From this one location, you can work with any of your network connections
and get any information about those connections — from your IP address
and your available bandwidth to troubleshooting connections with problems.
To get to the Network and Sharing Center, follow these steps:
1. Click the Windows Start icon — the Start button of XP has been
replaced with a round Windows icon button — in the lower-left
corner of the screen. Select Network from the right column.
The Network dialog box appears.
2. Select Network and Sharing Center from the links bar — this is just
below the menu at the top of the screen.
Once inside the Network and Sharing Center (see Figure 7-4), the default
network you see is your wired network. To connect to your wireless network,
you need to use the link on the left menu, Manage Your Wireless
Networks link on the left menu. The list is blank by default because you
have not set up a wireless connection at this point.