Setting Up Wireless

by Bob Seidel

One of my clients recently called me in a panic. She had taken her notebook PC on a trip, and attempted to connect it via a wireless network connection at a hotel. She had some difficulty, and had gone to some of the hotel people for assistance. They finally got it working, but when she returned home she found that her standard home connection did not work any more.

I am not sure what the exact sequence of events was, but her networking setup was messed up beyond my ability to comprehend. I was able to fix it (of course!), but I still wonder how anybody could have messed it up that bad. The people who did it were obviously technically adept, as they did a lot of fairly fancy stuff. But it was all wrong and useless, and I am actually amazed that they got it to work there at all!

The odd thing about all of this is that setting up a wireless connection is actually fairly easy and painless these days, as long as you have Windows XP at the Service Pack 2 level. Everyone should have this by now, as SP2 (as it is called) is years old by now. So, how do you set up a wireless connection?

The term "connection" in this sense is a Network Connection, as defined by Windows XP. You can see your Network Connections is the appropriate window, which you can get by Start / Network Connections or Start / Control Panel / Network Connections. When you open up this window you will see the network connections that you have defined, broken down into different categories. You should see connections for both your wireless connection (if in fact your PC has wireless) and one for the standard LAN (Local Area Network) connection. Both should be enabled - if the wireless one is not enabled right click on it and select Enable.

Once the wireless connection is enabled, Windows will automatically and constantly be searching for a wireless network to connect to - this comes from a Windows module called Wireless Zero Configuration. If it finds a new one, you will get a popup balloon at the bottom right of the screen. You can also force this by right clicking on the network connection you saw from before, and selecting View Available Wireless Networks.

All you have to do is to select from the list, and click Connect. There may be a few questions, but you will quickly be connected to that service. However, if the network is protected, you may not be able to connect to it unless you know the password. Try it some time, especially in a business area - you will be surprised how many wireless networks are around!

If you have to ask for help, do not let them tell you that you need to assign a fixed IP address. Do not let them set up a proxy server. Do not let them disable other adapters. Do not let them set up bridging. And especially ask them if any changes being made will affect the operation when back home.

If you are planning a trip, I would suggest that you first take your notebook to someplace with an open wireless network, such as your local coffee house, and checking it all out. If you can connect there, you should have no trouble connecting to any wireless network in any location, as long as you are in range.

Happy wireless connecting!

(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)