OT: Wireless Routers

[The Less Blob]

Sorry for using this as a tech forum, but most of you are pretty tech savy.

 

We bought the laptop, but not the router.

 

I see these aren't particularly expensive, under $75 at Staples or Bestbuy.

 

I have a cable modem (Cablevision). We have the dell wireless 1505 wireless-n mini card and blue tooth.

 

Am I in trouble because the laptop comes with vista (much to our dismay) and my desktop (which has the modem) is XP? I didn't want to buy WIFI for the laptop (and spend another $60/mo for wifi access)

 

Any suggestions on which of these cheap ones work the best? In theory we might have 3 computers at some point. we didn't buy the router dell was selling because it had some negative reviews.

 

one concern is i live in a big old victorian house. in theory, if i ever finish the basement or finish off the attic into another office, i might want this to go 2 floors (the computer is on the 2d floor).

[nmtg9]

Am I in trouble because the laptop comes with vista (much to our dismay) and my desktop (which has the modem) is XP? I didn't want to buy WIFI for the laptop (and spend another $60/mo for wifi access)

 

 

Shouldnt make a difference Vista is fine too

[whisp]

I would go with either D-Link or Linksys. Linksys is known for their wireless technology and thus why Cisco bought them out so Linksys might be your best bet along with they have very easy to follow setup disks. It doesnt matter what operating system is on what. Also if your cable is like up here in Canada it pretty much plug and play although with the wireless portion you will want to configure your wep/wpa key within the router so other wireless users cant connect to you and use your bandwidth. You may have to choose a radio button within the router to select cable but other then that dhcp is set to default on them and as long as your computer network properties are set to obtain ip atomatically then you should be good to go.

 

 

[Jayman]

Just a bit of advise as to the situation that happened with my sister. She bought her two kids wireless laptops for Xmas and a Linksys wireless router to connent them to their main computer. When they had trouble getting online after a couple of weeks, she called Comcast Cablevision to come and check it out. They told her they could not service the situation as she did not purchase the router from them. She wound up returning the Linksys router and getting the one from Comcast Cablevision. They came and they're up and running now.

 

Edit: I believe Linksys is a good product but in this case it was not serviceable!

[jordanscott]

I agree about enabling security on the router.

 

No need to encourage leeches.

 

Just write it down and put it somewhere you'll remember it.

 

I can't count the number of times people have asked me to help setup a new machine because they were having problems and it was just an authentication issue and they didn't know their own passwords!

[whisp]

Just a bit of advise as to the situation that happened with my sister. She bought her two kids wireless laptops for Xmas and a Linksys wireless router to connent them to their main computer. When they had trouble getting online after a couple of weeks, she called Comcast Cablevision to come and check it out. They told her they could not service the situation as she did not purchase the router from them. She wound up returning the Linksys router and getting the one from Comcast Cablevision. They came and they're up and running now.

 

Edit: I believe Linksys is a good product but in this case it was not serviceable!

 

Most ISP's will not support routers at all in the first place and will have you bring your system down to a standalone.

[Jayman]

I can't count the number of times people have asked me to help setup a new machine because they were having problems and it was just an authentication issue and they didn't know their own passwords!

 

Very frustrating when something can be fixed in like two minutes and you ask "What's your password?" and you get that (Deer-in-the-headlights look), "What password?"

[alphatrion1]

i would take the laptop back, and wait till windows 7 comes out

[whisp]

I can't count the number of times people have asked me to help setup a new machine because they were having problems and it was just an authentication issue and they didn't know their own passwords!

 

Very frustrating when something can be fixed in like two minutes and you ask "What's your password?" and you get that (Deer-in-the-headlights look), "What password?"

 

Thats what the reset button is for . So many times I have had to use it. Thats the good thing about cable is that you don't need to authenticate to get internet like you do with DSL so very easy to re setup cable. Then you just make a new router login password and assign a new wep key. Should be back up within a few minutes with basic settings. I prefer to use static IP's for my LAN and usally configure that all up. At the end of it all they get a printed copy of all their network info including passwords, isp phone number, login information if its dsl and whatever else and I tell them to put it in a safe place in case I need to come back. I always keep a copy on record to for myself since some of them seem to misplace it

[Comicsarefun]

I have Vista and XP laptops hooked up via wireless router. I bought a good N router (better than G), and had some trouble getting it to work, but all is well now.

 

My Vista machine "loses" the connection once in a while, and I have to unplug the router to reset it. Once the new signal hits, the Vista can pick it back up, but I have to go through the "repair this connection" process. One thing I notice about Vista is that is sucks, but it can repair itself.

 

Maybe it will take over the world?

[WEBHEAD]

I have Vista and XP laptops hooked up via wireless router. I bought a good N router (better than G), and had some trouble getting it to work, but all is well now.

 

My Vista machine "loses" the connection once in a while, and I have to unplug the router to reset it. Once the new signal hits, the Vista can pick it back up, but I have to go through the "repair this connection" process. One thing I notice about Vista is that is sucks, but it can repair itself.

 

Maybe it will take over the world?

 

Laptops with Vista are notorious for this.

 

WEBHEAD

[MR.COMICBOOK]

I have Vista and XP laptops hooked up via wireless router. I bought a good N router (better than G), and had some trouble getting it to work, but all is well now.

 

My Vista machine "loses" the connection once in a while, and I have to unplug the router to reset it. Once the new signal hits, the Vista can pick it back up, but I have to go through the "repair this connection" process. One thing I notice about Vista is that is sucks, but it can repair itself.

 

Maybe it will take over the world?

 

Laptops with Vista are notorious for this.

 

WEBHEAD

It`s a known fact most people like Windows XP over Vista, especially for wireless laptop connections.

[faster friends]

My laptop with vista disconnects sometimes also. I just hit the reset button on the router and it comes right backup.

I hated vista also till I bought more ram. You need at least 2 gigs.

My laptop came with 500 meg ram and it was sooooo slow

[bronze_rules]

FWIW, I don't know if they improved much, but I had a card in the computer and an older linksys router; they did not work together. I didn't want to change the router, because I had it in another computer (combo router/card). I had to return about 4 different cards to get it to work properly. Moral of story; make sure to get same manufacturer on card in wireless node and the router itself. Save yourself a lot of headache.

 

Getting WPA up and running is a pain, but you get used to the procedure after a while.

Just remember it is easy to reset everything and start over by using a pin or pen on the hole in the router body.

[ant]

i have 7 linksys routers here and all have givin out or been hacked by neighbor. i bought a net gear g wireless and not a problem yet. i run 5 computers, 3 xbox 360s, and 2 laptops with it and its never slow. the power went out the other day and when it came back on i didnt have to reset a darn thing, not like other routers that reset upon power cycle.

 

the net gear doesnt seem to change addresses as much either. even if reset

[whisp]

i have 7 linksys routers here and all have givin out or been hacked by neighbor. i bought a net gear g wireless and not a problem yet. i run 5 computers, 3 xbox 360s, and 2 laptops with it and its never slow. the power went out the other day and when it came back on i didnt have to reset a darn thing, not like other routers that reset upon power cycle.

 

the net gear doesnt seem to change addresses as much either. even if reset

 

I personally prefer D-link and what I use on my network. Net gear is decent if you get the right router. Linksys though is the leader for wireless home technology advancement and easy to use for new people and why I suggested it.

 

If you where getting hacked I doubt that had anything to do with brand but more to do with version/model and what wireless security options it had which maybe could have even been updated by updating the router firmware. Even some of the newer routers don't have all security features on the cheaper ones which is why you pay for what you get. I am going to guess you where using WEP instead of WPA in which you really should stay away from WEP since it can be hacked within a few minutes using a MAC. As for power cycling I see no reason why your routers where resetting since all routers I know of can be turned off and retain their settings let alone that is why they have reset switches. Its actually good practice to turn off your equipment when not in use for lengths of times.

 

As for address changing that has nothing to do with your router and has to do with the ISP and how they feed out their addresses to areas.

 

In the end its about what features the model has and usually the more features the bigger the cost for it and just like anything computer related you need to research the devices specifications before you purchase.

 

Research, read reviews, research some more then buy!

[Forbush-Man]

I <3 my router.

[slym2none]

My old Dell is hooked up with two laptops (one WinXP, one Vista) and I have no problems, other than my Netgear hub has a VERY weak signal. Within 20-30 feet, it's great. 35 feet? Not so great, and by 40 feet, it's as slow as my old 2400 baud modem from 15+ years ago.

 

 

 

-slym

[The Less Blob]

35 feet? Not so great, and by 40 feet, it's as slow as my old 2400 baud modem from 15+ years ago.

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Luckily the deck we're bulding will be right outside the window of the office as I would not mind doing some work outdoors when the weather is nice.

[szelim]

I've had my Linksys 54G router (with Hyperwrt Thibor firmware) up and running for years. By far my longest lasting wifi router (Netgear, Belkin, and Hawking each died in less than a year). My XP desktop and Vista laptop have no problems connecting.