[sasera]

Ok...forgive my igorance here...but I have a question regarding setting up a wireless network.

I have a G5. I have COMCAST highspeed cable internet access.

What I'd LIKE to do is set up a wireless home network so that me and my kids can surf the net from anywhere in the house. I have no desire to share files between the computers.

The kids have PCs (laptops) and I have a Compaq laptop.

This may not even be a Macintosh specific question. I don't want my G5 to be wireless (it is currently directly connected to the cable modem and I'm fine keeping it that way). I just want to be able to access the internet from the laptops, wirelessly.

I have purchased a Linksys WRT54GS router. Is it possible to hook this up directly to the modem and set it up? It doesn't appear as though I can do that via the G5 (the file is an .exe).

The laptop I have does have a built in wireless card. Perhaps I should set it up from there???

Sorry for the stupid questions.

Thanks.

Sasera.

[ghporter]

You've gotten a good wireless router. Start by pluging a cable from your G5 into one of the LAN ports of the WRT54GS. Now (with the router ON) open Network Preferences, select your built in ethernet adapter and select "Renew DHCP lease." That will let you connect to the router. Now open Safari or whatever browser you prefer and enter 192.168.1.1 in the address bar and hit Enter. You'll get a password box-ignore the user name and enter 'admin' (without the quotes) in the password space and click OK. You're there-follow the setting instructions in the manual and you won't have any real problems. Especially simple is telling the router you're connecting to a cable modem...

You can leave the G5 connected this way, without any trouble at all. You will need to do a few settings to get your wireless network set up and secure-slightly boring stuff, but not difficult.

One thing to note: NEVER change a wireless router through a wireless connection. Some boxes just won't take the changes, and others can screw up badly. Remember-you could be changing the very connection you're using and thus get quite lost.

And the stupid questions are the ones you DON'T ask. No prob! Oh, and WELCOME to the MacNN Forums!

[b33faroni]

Question, im moving off to college soon and have a Dlink Di 524 wireless router that I want to hook up to an old G4 Powermac to route Verizon DSL to a Toshiba laptop and my Powerbook. Will the Dlink also work, I got it for cheap and didnt know if it was mac compatible or if I had to use my old 400 MHZ pc to act as a server. Thanks guys

[ghporter]

Any WiFi compliant device will work with AirPort. And any OTHER WiFi compliant device. The DI-524 is indeed WiFi compliant. Apple is typically better than most other computer companies in complying with standards, especially in networking, so "Mac compatible" isn't an issue. Further, just about all current networking equipment uses a browser interface to configure it, so if you have a browser, you can set it up. (Apple is the lone standout here; AirPort Base Stations require an application run on a computer to configure them, but at least Apple has software versions for both Macs and PCs.)

[b33faroni]

Ok, just making sure because a USB Linksys wireless card was not recognized before

[ghporter]

Not recognized by the network or by the computer? Many USB wireless devices require drivers that are supplied with the device (or downloaded from the manufacturer's site) and must be installed in a specific way; you MUST follow the installation instructions carefully. And there are a bunch of USB wireless devices that are NOT supported by OS X. That's the difference between the wireless standard being supported and specific devices being supported. Which is it with your situation?