Hooking up computer to wireless internet.

[CBMatt]

This is probably something I should know how to do by now, but I've never set up any kind of broadband connection, so I really don't know what's required.  Basically, a friend wants me to take my computer (specs below if needed) over to his house and hook it up to his wireless network.  I'm assuming I need a wireless network card, which I believe my computer has.  If not, could I just hook it up with an ethernet cable or whatever cable it is that's used for this sort of thing?

What kind of configurations would I have to do to make this work?

I'm sure it'd be helpful if I provided information about the modem/network and whatnot, but my friend doesn't know anything about computers, so he can't really provide me with any information.  All he knows is that it's wireless and that his out-of-state uncle set it up.  Is there any chance of me actually pulling this off?

[GX1_Man]

His wireless network no doubt has 2-4 ports on the router so a Cat5e cable is all you need.

[CBMatt]

Really, that's all?  No special configurations?  Or is it normally taken care of automatically?

Lucky me, I just happen to have a CAT 5e cable lying around.  I've always wondered when it would come in handy.

[Raptor]

This is probably something I should know how to do by now

Yes! How highly inappropriate of you to register here, help others and then request assistance yourself. You should be very, very ashamed of yourself, mister!

but I've never set up any kind of broadband connection, so I really don't know what's required.  Basically, a friend wants me to take my computer (specs below if needed) over to his house and hook it up to his wireless network.  I'm assuming I need a wireless network card, which I believe my computer has.  If not, could I just hook it up with an ethernet cable or whatever cable it is that's used for this sort of thing?

Most wireless routers come with 4 Ethernet ports, (RJ45, most commonly used) and, of course, a wireless connection. So if he hasn't used all the ports for himself you should be able to connect with and without wires. You can do both at the same time, too.

What you need is as follows

• A wireless NIC of either B or G standard.
• His SSID and shared key phrase. Both of which he should have documented
• Optional - He may need your NIC its MACa dress if MAC filtering is enabled (One look at the router settings should be able to tell him)
• Possible - Some older NICs do not support the full range of modern security features, but you shouldn't have to worry about that if your NIC is new.
• Possible - You'll have to configure your NIC to either use DHCP or assign it an adress, once again, your friend should have this documented

It could be that your friend his wireless network has no security whatsoever and you can simply connect without doing anything but enabling DHCP or assigning an IP adress. If that is the case, I'd suggest that you steer clear of his network until he fixes it..

If you plan on connecting with a wire, all you need is a NIC with an RJ45 jack.

[CBMatt]

I feel like a bad puppy who just made poopy on the new carpet.

Thanks for the info, Raptor.  My guess is that he has no idea what the SSID and key phrase are, so we'll probably have to contact his uncle about that, as well as the security.  I'm not too sure if I'll be able to do this today (I'd like to test it with my sister's laptop first to make sure I know what I'm doing), but I'm gonna give it a try ASAP.

[GX1_Man]

Try with just the cable first. 

[computer]

not sure if this is the way you are supposed to do it or not, but the way that we do it at home, is to find a driver on the internet to install, then just let that search for a wireless connection. it usually finds one or two (if it's secure you may need a password for it)

remember....i have almost no idea how to do it as we use cable all the time, but i have seen a few come up in the search when we do it that way

cya

[CBMatt]

Thanks for the suggestions, everyone.

Try with just the cable first. 

Oh, don't worry, I plan on trying the simplest method first.  Heh.  It's just gonna take me a couple of days because I live out in the boonies and us hill folk don't see each other on a daily basis.