golfwrx tech heads...I need your help!

[whmims1]

Getting Road Runner installed Sunday...don't want to get shafted

Fellas,

I will be honest and tell you I have been bumming of my neighbors internet for the past five months. I think they moved this week and haven't been able to get on a reliable network from my laptop :) .


So I am having Time Warner Cable come out and install Road Runner Sunday. I just don't want to be paying for crap I don't need.

In forecasting of this day months ago, I already have a brand new Netgear 802.11b Cable/DSL Wireless Router. I signed up for "Home Networking" but is going to be 9.99 a month after six months. Which they will be bringing a modem.

What I need to know from my golfwrx heads are what I true need to be wireless? My IBM has centrino, so I know I don't need a wireless card, or I wouldn't be able to bumb internet to begin with.

If there is stuff I can buy before they come out Sunday...so I can do it myself and tell them that I don't need the service or equipment........that is what I am mainly looking for.

I have a really good tech head friend who could set everything up for me, I just need to know what I truely need or what i can buy to cut out cost.


thanks a million fellas.....don't let me go unconnected from my favorite site!


p.s. My friend JUST e-mailed me and said get a 802.11 "G" incase I want to upgrade my laptop. But I think that current one I got should be ok for the time begin. He just said that is all I would need. None of that other crap.

[Gxgolfer]

If you have a newer laptop, it has a centrino wireless card that should be a/b/g compatible. Its very straight forward:

 

1) Cable modem plugs into wireless router

2) Wireless router should be configured for basic security on the wireless and admin side.

3) Wireless card configuration for wireless access (Yours is built in but you will need to configure WEP keys)

 

The whole process should take about 15 min.

 

 

As an aside, if someone really want to "bum" your wireless Internet, cracking WEP keys can be done by searching google...

[HipCheck]

Not sure what the 'home networking' charge of $10/month is for. Sounds like a way they can get $10/mo. off of you for nothing...

 

Anyway, I assume your RR service includes a modem. Your cable line will run into your modem, then your modem will connect to your router, which you already have.

 

From there you can 'hardwire' your computer to the router and go wireless. To set up your router, you'll might have a 'getting started' cd to view, which will lead you through it. It's pretty simple.

 

If you don't have a cd, you can simply type the default router address into your browser. Here's a listing of brand-specific IP addresses. These will bring up a web page for your administration of your router settings.

 

The internal, LAN-IP address is normally set to a default, private number. Linksys routers, for example, use 192.168.1.1 for their internal IP address. D-Link and Netgear routers typically use 192.168.0.1. Some US Robotics routers use 192.168.123.254, and some SMC routers use 192.168.2.1. No matter the brand of router, its default internal IP address should be provided in documentation. Administrators often have the option to change this IP address during router setup. In any case, however, the private LAN-IP address remains fixed once set. It can be viewed from the router's administrative console.

 

It's really not difficult to set up at all. Here's a good article on setting up your home network.

 

About.com Home Networking

 

Oh, and to prevent people from getting on your network (like you did), set your WEP settings to 128-bit encryption and specifically add the MAC addresses of the PCs you want on your network to the router settings. This isn't tough to do, but it'll make it tough to crack. You also can do this right from your router settings.

[whmims1]

Fellas,

 

you guys really helped me out. I believe my basic RR comes with a Modem. If not, I will go out and buy one and cancel that Networking Junk!

 

Thank you....now I will be cruzin legal.......straight to golfwrx!

 

WHM

[Gxgolfer]

You will still need a home router to share your internet connection and/or use it wirelessly. You can get a linksys, D-link, or other brand from $50-$100.