[B Gallagher]

Hey all,
I've currently got a desktop PC (which has a LAN/Ethernet port which doesn't work - don't ask me why. All I know is I can't use it to transfer data). I'm planning on getting an iBook in a few months, and, rather than copying everything on DVD-RW and transfering it from the PC to the iBook, I was wondering, what would I need to do to my PC in order to allow the airport on the iBook to connect with it?

I figure I would need to add some sort of wireless card to the PC, but can anyone give me a bit more information than this? I'm a total n00b with WiFi and networking.

Also, I currently have a deactivated LAN port in my room (since the LAN port on the PC doesn't work). Would I be able to convert this into a wireless LAN port, so that I could use it to connect to my LAN when I get the iBook? What would I need to do?

Thanks all, much appreciated.

[ghporter]

Around here, I can buy a bulk PCI ethernet card for $15US any day of the week. They're easy to find (just do a little shopping), and it's easy to put one in a PC. It's even easy to configure an ethernet card in a PC if you get a few simple instructions. You can get those here.

I'd get a plain old PCI ethernet card, put it in the PC, and then use a plain old ethernet cable to transfer everything. Going wireless for this is sort of like using a 747 to go from one side of town to the other; it's possible, but very impractical.

[B Gallagher]

Thanks ghporter,
I already tried what you said, and, for whatever reason, it didn't work. The only thing that I can think of is that I might have left the onboard LAN activated in the BIOS, whilst trying to use the new PCI ethernet card.
I know this is a Mac forum, but would anyone here have any idea why this might be happening?

[ghporter]

Once you have the hardware in place, there's another step you need to complete to get the computers to talk. You have to assign them their own network addresses, and configure them both for file sharing. There are instructions in this post for how to do it.