how can I get on the internet

I now have my son's PC and cannot get on the internet. I can access the internet with my own laptop and my wife's laptop through the dlink router set up in the basement. I get an icon on the lower right of my taskbar that indicates the strength of the signal (low, very low, good, very good, excellent). I don't get any of these on my son's desktop PC. The PC has a Vista operating system. How can I determine whether the PC is set up to receive a wireless signal? thanks for any help you can give. this is probably way too easy for your tech group and I apologize but my computer skills only go so far.

Hi dconant1, If your son's machine is a desktop computer then these are not fitted, at the factory, with a wireless network adapter
(unlike a laptop, where one is normally installed at the factory.)

The main exception to this is the "all in one" desktop computer (where the computer is present in the inch or two space behind and integral with the VDU…there being no separate tower, or computer box.

Whats to be done therefore?

There are 4 main choices that are worth considering:

1 Connect an Ethernet cable twixt the router and the computer…… this is a simple quick and efficient method of connecting, it preserves Internet speed but does mean that you will have to route the cable from the basement to the computer…..or perhaps better…site the computer next to the router if you have to route the cable twixt basement and may be the ground or ist or 2nd floor then this will be easy or difficult depending on your DIY skills…..

2 Use a Home network plug that utilises the homes electric wiring circuits to convey the Internet to any electrical outlet socket within the home, they are available from about GBP £28 for two…here's a link to give you the idea:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Value-200Mbps-Home…e/dp/B001AIKBB4

3 Buy a USB wireless network adapter, install the software from the cd and then plug it in to a USB socket…….. here's an example of one you can usually get for around GBP £8 to £12
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Netgear-WG111-Wire…r/dp/B0002LHX8O
this will enable your desktop to connect to the router wirelessly in a similar fashion to your laptop computers.

4 Buy a PCI wireless network adapter and install it, this is similar to 3 above but involves installing the PCI board to the inside of your computer, (rather than just plugging into a USB socket) so before taking this step you should be familiar with the personal safety and ESD (anti static) precautions necessary when opening your computer's casing.
here's an example:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/b?ie=UTF8&node=430541031

If you want to have a wireless connection for your desktop computer and want a quick easy and cheap solution then number 3 above is well worth considering….. for a better signal plug the wireless network adapter into a USB extender cable (a pound or so or a dollar or three) rather than directly into the back of the computer where the signal may be shielded somewhat by the metal in the tower.
Regards
paws

thanks much for ur quick response. I'm trying #2. I have a Netgear XE102 plugged into the wall upstairs with the cord plugged into the desktop PC plus I have another XE102 downstairs plugged into the wall and the cord plugged into the router. I still don't seem to get a signal on the computer. Any ideas about that?

my first questions would be, do you have separate electrical plug circuits for up stairs and down stairs? from what i've heard you americans wire things weird. over here in the uk all plug sockets are usually on a single ring circuit but not over there from my understanding. so to check if they are connected to the same circuit you'd switch off(pull a single fuse) the plug circuit at the main fuse box and if both upstairs and downstairs plugs stopped working then yes they are on the same circuit and whatever the problem may be it's not a circuit one(unless of course you have a secondary fuse box where the plug circuits may be split), just a setup one probably.

The circuit in the basement and the circuit upstairs at the desktop PC are both part of the same plug box (known as circuit breaker box over here). When I switch off the main circuit (known as the main circuit breaker in the US) on the plug box, both the upstairs & basement circuits all go off. So I don't believe it is an electrical issue.

good that rules out one source of problems.

sorry, can't really help you with troubleshooting networking problems but this topic mentions installing an encryption utility, also requiring a password to connect to the unit connected at the router end.
his problem was actually a gateway address problem, but maybe reading it will give you some ideas on where to look for your problem until someone comes along with a better understanding of network troubleshooting anyway.
http://forum1.netgear.com/showthread.php?t=39538

maybe an idea to connect the laptop to the one upstairs, disable it's wireless device then see if it connects to the internet, if it does at least you'll know the plugs work fine and it's a pc specific problem.



i also found this that mentions they won't work if your plugging them into any type of power surge device.

you'll have to avoid surge protectors because they strip out network data as if it were a power surge.

http://reviews.cnet.com/bridges/netgear-xe…tml#reviewPage1

Hi dconant1 Here's how to check if you have the Netgear XE102, set up correctly….. Use a laptop that you know can access the Internet wirelessly….. and connect it with an ethernet cable to the Netgear XE102 on the upper floor of your house…. Can you connect using the Ethernet and your LAN this way?….. if you can then, your Netgear XE102's are working Ok and we need to investigate further the desktop computer's IP configuration….to help with this please connect your dektop computer to the Netgear XP102's and run this procedure: Open a command prompt with elevated priviledges (run as administrator) and type in the following command cmd /c "ipconfig /all > postme.txt & ping bbc.co.uk >> postme.txt & notepad postme.txt & del postme.txt" Note you must get the syntax exactly as set out above….. copy and paste is best…. Post back the output you receive. If your laptop wont connect via the Netgear XE102's and your LAN then we know that the liklihood is that the Netgear XE102, are not working….. Let us know how you go Regards paws

OK Paws, it's been such a busy week, so sorry I didn't get back earlier. Here's what I've done and the subsequent results: 1. I tried the XE102 on my laptop on the 2nd floor. From the control panel, I disabled the network connections on the laptop then connected the Home Network plug to my laptop and to a wall outlet (not through a power strip). The laptop could see the network and allowed me to surf all over the place. So we now know that the XE102 Home Network plugs work fine. 2. I tried your first option above - I carried the (Vista) Desktop PC to the basement and connected it directly to the router. Guess what? It works fine. I get on the internet just with no need for password/keyword and anything special. It just works. But, unfortunately, I don't want to use the computer down here in the basement. 3. I tried the XE102 (network plug from your option from #2 above) - while still in the basement I connected the home network plug to the computer on one side and to the wall outlet (not running through a power strip) on the other side. Now this was different. I'd put in www.google.com and see a screen that said "CONNECT" - when I'd click connect it would then ask me for a user id and a password. I have no idea why. And of course, I have no idea what the user id/password should be. I did originally set up my router with a 10-digit alpha-numeric number asked for by the dlink user manual. But using that number in either user id or the password doesn't help me much either. So this is where I am. It's alot closer than before as I now the XE102 works, the Desktop has a wireless capability (which I wasn't sure of before trying 2 above. It's just that I need to somehow move the computer back to the upper floor and see if I can make it work up there. I hope this all helps in determining what might work next.

When I tried the ipconfig option you suggested here's what I got back: Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : ANDREW Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : maine.rr.com Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : maine.rr.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® 82562V 10/100 Platform LAN Connect Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-19-D1-46-B8-ED DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::88e3:60de:29b9:9d3e%9(Preferred) IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.105(Preferred) Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, October 16, 2011 12:08:21 PM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Sunday, October 23, 2011 12:08:20 PM Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e76:2c24:64a:3f57:ff96(Preferred) Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2c24:64a:3f57:ff96%8(Preferred) Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : :: NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : maine.rr.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 6TO4 Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Pinging bbc.co.uk [212.58.241.131] with 32 bytes of data: Reply from 212.58.241.131: bytes=32 time=121ms TTL=241 Reply from 212.58.241.131: bytes=32 time=108ms TTL=241 Reply from 212.58.241.131: bytes=32 time=100ms TTL=241 Reply from 212.58.241.131: bytes=32 time=101ms TTL=241 Ping statistics for 212.58.241.131: Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss), Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds: Minimum = 100ms, Maximum = 121ms, Average = 107ms

Hi dconant1
Well done…
we are making a little bit of progress, but there's still a good way to go….

So this is where I am. It's a lot closer than before as I now the XE102 works, the Desktop has a wireless capability (which I wasn't sure of before

1 I'm still not sure about the wireless capability you mention……
When you carried the desktop computer down to the basement and connected it to your router are you say ing that you connected wirelessly? ie you have no physical connection twixt desktop computer and router?

2 I got the impression that you had connected the desktop computer whilst in the basement to your router by an ethernet cable….is that right?

3 The output from the Windows Ipconfig indicates that there is no wireless connection (or one is not visible on the output) it also indicates that your Internet connection is working!….. Are you sure that when you initiated the Windows Ipconfig procedure (by using the command I gave you) you were connected via the XP102…? ( as per the directions)

4 When you connected to the XE102 with the laptop were you asked for a user name /password….?.( if you were, then this indicates that you have set up your Netgear XE102 with encryption…

please post back with your comments and we will take it from there
Regards
paws

paws, 1. when I hooked up the desktop in the basement I did so with an ethernet cable from my computer on into the router itself. When I did that I was able to connect to the internet. 2. yes - your right. I used the ethernet cable. So, I think I can see that if I'm connected directly to the router my desktop isn't getting a wireless signal. And that's what you're saying as well, correct? 3. I can't remember when the desktop was connected through the XE102 or not so I repeated the command prompt option with the desktop connected to the XE102 (versus ethernet cable connected directly to the router). I received the message which is printed below #4. 4. No. When I was on the laptop (on the 2nd floor) I disabled my wireless connection and attempted to connect to the internet through the XE102. It worked fine .. but I had to disable my wireless connection in the control panel/network connections area. I could surf the web very nicely using the XE102. The user id/password screen comes up when I try to use the XE102 plug in the basement on my desktop computer. Down there it always gives me a screen that has a 'CONNECT' button and when I click it the next screen asks for my user id and password. Here's what I got for information after doing the ipconfig: Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : ANDREW Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcast IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : maine.rr.com Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : maine.rr.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel® 82562V 10/100 Platform LAN Connect Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-19-D1-46-B8-ED DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::88e3:60de:29b9:9d3e%9(Preferred) IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.105(Preferred) Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, October 17, 2011 7:30:38 AM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, October 24, 2011 8:50:49 AM Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1 NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : maine.rr.com Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.maine.rr.com Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 6TO4 Adapter Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0 DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes Ping request could not find host bbc.co.uk. Please check the name and try again.

Hi dconant1. This is indicating that your desktop computer is not wireless equipped…double check this by having a look in your Device Manager, scrolling down to network adapters….. check that none of your adapters mention "wireless" in their name. The fact that your desktop computer connects to the Internet Ok when plugged directly into your router but not when using the XE102 indicates that we should try and establish if the XE102 is working OK in the basement….. Please repeat the connecttion with your laptop in the basement, connecting the ethernet cable twixt your laptop computer and the XE102 and see if you can connect to the Internet (you may have to disable your laptops wireless network adapter to do this(as before)….. then repeat the experiment with the Desktop computer, still in the basement and using the same socket and XE102 that you used for the laptop….. The fact that the desktop computer works Ok and connects with the Internet when its plugged directly into the Router is encouraging Regards paws

paws, check that none of your adapters mention "wireless" in their name - I did as you requested and there is no adapter with the word "wireless" in their name. I connected the XE102 to the laptop in the basement with the other side connected to a wall outlet. It worked fine. I was able to get on the internet and surf around quite well. so the XE102 is working fine. Then I removed the XE102 plug from the laptop and plugged it into the desktop and again, wasn't able to get onto the internet.

So it looks like the XE102 in the basement is OK but the desktop wont connect to the Internet via the XE102 in the basement but will when its plugged directly into your router….. is that right? Regards paws

PAWS, yes, that's correct.