# Key Post: Home network?



## oilean buyingtolet (14 Mar 2005)

Where would I startto set up a small (wireless) home network

I recenlty had trouble with my laptop (power cord died) and I have taken it as a warning to have a back up plan

I currently own a laptop and am planning on getting a basic desktop from Dell to leave at home

I have broadband and a printer at home which I use at present connected to the laptop thourght a USB hub

Could I set up a network to link the laptop (when at home) to the other computer and still have broadband and printer facilities on both

I presume I need a wireless router?/network hub? and at least one wireless pcmia card or wirless usb dongle but I am guessing

Thanks
Stuart


----------



## ClubMan (14 Mar 2005)

*Re: Home network?*

*Could I set up a network to link the laptop (when at home) to the other computer and still have broadband and printer facilities on both
*

Yes.

This Howstuffworks.com tutorial might be of help in terms of getting a quick overview.  is a real example of this stuff in action and might be worth reading. There are a few other topics in this forum dealing with home networking, wireless and otherwise, which might be of use too - you should be able to find them by browsing back through the contents of this forum.

*I presume I need a wireless router?/network hub? and at least one wireless pcmia card or wirless usb dongle but I am guessing*

That's one setup. Another would be a wireless _PCI_ card for the desktop _PC_ rather than a _USB_ dongle or else a wired ethernet _10/100BaseT_ _PCI_ network card that connects to a port on a wireless router/access point/switch. Note that you will still need your broadband modem/router since and this will connect to your wireless router with your individual _PCs_ connecting to this (via wireless or wired connections) and thus being able to share the broadband link. The printer and any folders you need can then be shared between machines as required (i.e. the fact that there is a wireless network involved is irrelevant at this level).

Does that make sense?

There might be some more useful info over on boards.ie including [broken link removed].


----------



## oilean buyingtolet (18 Mar 2005)

*Home network*

Thanks for all the info Clubman

I think I am going to go for a [broken link removed] from [broken link removed]

It is a reasonable price and I think it suits my needs

I can connect it to a desktop situated beside it through an enthernet cable and still run a remote laptop/desktop from it using a [broken link removed]

That is, I think, the hardware sorted

THe configuring of the network should be manageable based on How stuff works - Configuring Wi-Fi tutorial

Is there anything I am missing, with computers there usually is

Stuart


----------



## EAMONN66 (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Home network*

there are other hardware setup options.

wireless router connected to desktops network card via ethernet cable - no need for additional usb dongle.

desktop - usb dongle  , laptop - wifi card, - enable internet connection sharing on the desktop so the laptop can share its existing broadband connection - no need for router but the dektop must be left on


----------



## ClubMan (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Home network*

*I think I am going to go for a Linksys Wireless -G Broadband Router from komplett.ie

It is a reasonable price and I think it suits my needs*

ITDirect in _Parliament Street, Dublin 2_ are selling these for €78.57 including VAT just in case that works out cheaper than the _Komplett_ when _VAT_ and/or _P&P_ are included. Most other places around town seem to be charging €99.  I've used a few of these devices and they are pretty good.

*I can connect it to a desktop situated beside it through an enthernet cable and still run a remote laptop/desktop from it using a Linksys Wieless Card Bus*

That's the way I run my home network and it works very well. Does your desktop already have a _10/100 ethernet_ for connecting to the router's switch/hub port? Don't forget that you will neet an ethernet cable for this.

Don't foget to configure the security of your wireless router. See  for some tips.


----------



## oilean buyingtolet (18 Mar 2005)

*Desktop and ethernet*

I was considering buying the basic desktop from Dell, that they have at €299 plus vat

It does have a 10/100 port

Thanks
Stuart


----------



## ClubMan (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Desktop and ethernet*

* I was considering buying the basic desktop from Dell, that they have at €299 plus vat*

Really? Where's that? What spec? Excluding keyboard/mouse/monitor? Couldn't see it on their website myself.


----------



## BlueSpud (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Desktop and ethernet*

Key in an e-value code of 305 - D03241, and choose the basic support and the price is 299, there is currently no delivery charge on that either. Janey, I might buy a couple myself....


----------



## ClubMan (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Desktop and ethernet*

That value code brings up a system for €507 when I try it.

Hopefully the same thing that happened last time _Dell_ had a "too good to be true" offer doesn't happen this time...!


----------



## BlueSpud (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Home network?*

Did you tick the reduced service option?, 9if so, it should come down to 299+vat


----------



## ClubMan (18 Mar 2005)

*Re: Home network?*

OK - I didn't realise that you had to tweak the configuration to get the price down to €299. Thanks for that.


----------



## oilean buyingtolet (19 Mar 2005)

*Re: Home network?*

If you reduce the service option and upgrade the monitor to a flat screen it is a very good offer

A decent new computer with a flat screen for €419+vat

if anyone knows of a better offer please post as I intednd buying one next week otherwise

Stuart


----------



## stuart (9 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

I managed to get the router delivered by DHL from Elara, a painfull experience at best but then maybe it was because I was waiting on it

I have te router working while wired to the laptop

I have the wirless working when laptop not wired to router but it is painfull slow

Are there settings I could try and tweak on the card that might help?
Or are there settings on the router that I should check


----------



## eamonn66 (9 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*



			
				stuart said:
			
		

> but it is painfull slow



there shouldnt be any noticeable diff between wired and wireless when you are using the internet. if it is slow to connect initially, you could try setting up a static ip address on your laptop instead of dhcp. Also disable the wep security stuff and make sure the router is set to 54mbps or 11mbps only, whichever your laptop supports.  apparently the automatic option can slow things down.
I have wireless myself and just use the mac address filtering option so the neighbours cant piggyback for free.


----------



## ClubMan (9 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

_Stuart_ - your post is not that clear so could you post more detailed information about your setup and what works OK (fast enough) and what does not. My home setup is as follows and works a dream even with a pair of _TV _signal senders competing for the 2.4GHz band!




_UTV Clicksilver _broadband
_Creative ADSL Blaster _from _UTV_
_D-Link DI-524 802.11g _router & 4 port _10/100 ethernet _switch (US$30 refurbished model from _Fry's_ _USA_!)
_D-Link _box connected to _Creative _box via ethernet ports
c. 5 year old _[broken link removed] Athlon _1.2GHz desktop _PC _running _Windows 2000 _connected to one _10/100 ethernet _port on the _D-Link _box
_Sony Vaio PCG-K23 _laptop (US$950 end of line offer in _Fry's_ _USA_) running _Windows XP Home Edition_ with built in _802.11g _wireless connected wirelessly to the _D-Link _box
_D-Link _box configured for _WPA-PSK _encryption and other security features switched on
_D-Link _box configured for _802.11g _channel 11 and _TV _video senders configured for channel A in an attempt to keep them at opposite ends of the 2.4GHz band spectrum - and it seems to work OK.
No perceptible difference in (local and internet) networking speed using the laptop versus the desktop.
IrishISPtest site reports c. 850Kbps download and 95Kbps upload which is more or less consistent with what would be expected from the 1Mbps/128Kbps (automatically upgraded to 1Mbps last week from 512Kbps/128Kbps) _Clicksilver ADSL _link.


----------



## stuart (10 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

Eircom broadband with a netopia Cayman 330 series

I previously had this cnnected to a USB hub and the hub into the Laptop, Compaq Presario 2100

Everything fine

I purchased a Linsys wireless kit [broken link removed]

Thought getting the router and wirelss laptop card might prevent stupid problems with fixing settings

When connecting netopia box with ethernet cable to linksys router and then with ethernet cable into laptop everything works the same as it did by going through USB port

But when I try to go wireless something goes wrong

It seems I either have messed up the wireless settings or there is inteferance

I have disconnected the cordless phones, even though it is 1.88 to 1.9Ghz, but it does not change anything

The signal being picked up by the computer from the router fluctuates greatly and sometimes disconnects

I'll have a go with playing around with the wireless card settings and see if it changes anything


----------



## RainyDay (10 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

How close is the computer to the router? Could there be something physical blocking the signal? I had to move my router from a bottom shelf in the hall table to the top of the hall table to get a signal.


----------



## ClubMan (10 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*



			
				stuart said:
			
		

> I purchased a Linsys wireless kit [broken link removed]



This is very reliable kit so, all things being equal, I would not expect any problems using it.



> Thought getting the router and wirelss laptop card might prevent stupid problems with fixing settings



I don't understand this.



> It seems I either have messed up the wireless settings or there is inteferance



What settings did you change from the factory defaults on the router and laptop card?



> I have disconnected the cordless phones, even though it is 1.88 to 1.9Ghz, but it does not change anything



You can reconnect these - there is no way that they can interfere with 802.11b/g which operates in the 2.4GHz band. I presume that you're not running any other 2.4GHz equipment (e.g. a microwave oven) continuously?



> The signal being picked up by the computer from the router fluctuates greatly and sometimes disconnects



Quite possible that this could be caused by a driver/firmware problem. Have you ensured that you have the latest firmware for the _Linksys _router and the latest drivers for the laptop card? I know that with the _D-Link _router that I have the latest firmware was actually totally unreliable and I had to roll back to the previous version. With the latest version wireless networking disconnects were occurring every few minutes but with the older version connections are reliable. Obviously this is all specific to the _D-Link _router that I havd and not applicable to your _Linksys _one but just pointing out the sort of thing that can occur when the firmware or drivers are buggy.

I also had to play about a bit with the security settings (e.g. encryption, _MAC _address filtering, _SSID _broadcast - _Windows XP _wireless zero config doesn't like this being switched off etc.) to get things working reliably.

Also - as _Rainyday _says making sure that the router placement isn't a problem is worth checking. Mind you mine is not ideally placed but I get a perfect signal all through the house (haven't tried it outside yet) although I 
don't live in a mansion! 

Any possibility that you can borrow other wireless gear (e.g. another wireless laptop) from a friend/colleague to do some more process of elimination testing?


----------



## stuart (20 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

I have being doing a little internet searching I think the problem is related to lcearing the ARP Cache

Reason being that's what the computer tells me when I try to repair the connection

I have come across this site but was a little wary about trying some of the solutions, not knowing any of the contributors

[broken link removed]

Any opinions on the site contact would be appreciated

Stuart


----------



## ClubMan (20 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

Why do you think that clearing the _ARP _cache is the problem? As far as I know the _ARP_ cache does not persist across power cycles on most if not all equipment (routers, _PCs _etc.) so if you simply switch all of your gear off and then back on again and the problem persists then the _ARP _cache may not be the problem at all.


----------



## stuart (20 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

Whenever I try to run "repair" when the network disconnects it gives me a warning that the "ARP cache could not be cleared"


I tried googling for this warning and stumbled accross that website which seemed to be giving tips on he same problem I had

I really am a novice when it comes to networking, I can use simple excel/word etc on a PC/laptop and can usually solve simple problems but networking is a complete puzzle to me

stuart


----------



## zag (21 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

An arp cache is a transient thing (or it should be in any normal networking environment) which can be deleted at will without doing any harm.

It is possible to have a static arp entry, but this would be very very not-normal.

Go to a command prompt and type arp -a and you will see that all the entries are dynamic - this is normal.

It is amazing how weird the advice is in that 6differentways site - I wouldn't trust any of it.  I don't think most of those guys have even the vaguest clue what they are talking about.  It sounds like a group of guys discussing how to fix a lightbulb, and coming up with suggestions like - oh, you'll need to replace the wiring all around your house, I did and it worked for me or - try changing all the fuses in all the plugs all over your house and you'll be sorted.  Slightly mad.

z


----------



## ClubMan (22 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*



			
				zag said:
			
		

> It is amazing how weird the advice is in that 6differentways site - I wouldn't trust any of it. I don't think most of those guys have even the vaguest clue what they are talking about. It sounds like a group of guys discussing how to fix a lightbulb, and coming up with suggestions like - oh, you'll need to replace the wiring all around your house, I did and it worked for me or - try changing all the fuses in all the plugs all over your house and you'll be sorted. Slightly mad.





I think that a key issue here is that don't assume that error messages are always meaningful! In many cases applications, operating systems, drivers etc. can generate error messages which are misleading.

As I mentioned earlier



> Any possibility that you can borrow other wireless gear (e.g. another wireless laptop) from a friend/colleague to do some more process of elimination testing?



perhaps you could do this in order to try and isolate the problem to the router or the client? As ever diagnosing the causes of problems like this is a process of elimination and investigation. 

On a more general note I really don't know how many non-technical users manage to get/keep their _PCs _and network setups running at all. (By the way, this is an implicit criticism of the technology and not the users! _PCs_ and related gear are far from consumer devices even now. When was the last time you had to power cycle or reboot your _TV_, microwave, fridge, toaster...?). I do know that I and most of my work colleagues spend a good chunk of our own time doing technical support for family and friends but that can't account for everybody with a _PC _setup these days!


----------



## stuart (22 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

Thanks for the replies, I will get there eventually and maybe stay of those websites (and I am not talking about "those websites")

Cheers
Stuart


----------



## zag (22 Apr 2005)

*Re: >>Home network?*

Stuart - the best advice above is to borrow or use some working wireless stuff.

For example, if your friend has a working home wireless network, bring your laptop there and try to join their network.  If it works then you need to focus on your wirelsss device at home, if it doesn't work then try bringing their laptop to your house and see if they can join your network.  Try to narrow the range of possibilities down by using someone elses equipment which is known to be working.

z


----------

