WLAN and sharing internet connection, XP and Mac

HI, I've read Nickspohn's lengthy and informative sticky several times, and I'm still confused.

I have: 1) a Desktop PC using XP (with an Intel pro 100M integrated PCI NIC card, which I guess is just an ethernet connection?)
2) a Lenovo R61 laptop using XP with a wireless g card:
3) a MAC OSX laptop with a wireless n card
4) a DSL modem
5) a just-purchased Linksys WRT110 router.

What I want to do is:

1) Connect my XP-PC to my XP laptop (g card) - I guess this would be a WLAN. I want to be able to share files, a printer, etc. just between those 2 'puters.

2) Then I want to share a DSL internet connection with those two PC's and my housemate's MAC laptop, OSX (n-wireless card), and the above 2 XP PC's.

I will probably use the ethernet cable (I'm using now to connect the DSL modem to to the desktop PC) to connect the desktop PC to the router; the other two will be wireless.

AND, do I need a wireless card in the desktop XP machine for the WLAN, or does the wireless router with an ethernet cable to the desktop suffice.

And, when it comes to firewalls, I'm totally in the dark.

thanks for whatever info/links you can provide.

Rex

 

You've got everything that you need. Plug the modem and desktop into the router, and you are good to go. Your laptop and desktop will talk to each other "through" the router.

Some caveats (in order):
1) Setup the router + modem through a wired connection (i.e. your desktop) first. Once you have internet access on your desktop, keep going with your setup.

2) Depending on the age/quality of the wireless cards in your laptops, some may not support the latest and greatest encyption protocols (i.e. WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc.) So, when you setup wireless on your router, make sure whatever security settings you use will be compatible for all your laptops.

3) As far as connecting your XP laptop and desktop together goes, make sure they are part of the same workgroup, then enable file and printer sharing. You can try doing this by running the network setup wizard (start -> all programs -> accesories -> communications) or by following one of the many excellent guides found through a Google search.

Good luck!

 

Your setup is very simple,
modem -> router -> desktop pc
11g/n -> R61 and MAC

You are not required to run the Connection CD, the setup can be done manually and normally works. Most setup CD do not generate good WPA Keys.
Just make sure your desktop work before moving on. Do all setup with the wired connection only. Wireless is dropped when the routers does certain functions during setup. DSL normally use PPPoE connection. This info must be put in the router for all user to have access if the desktop is off.
Then setup your R61 wireless. I find it easier to do this wired. Connect to the router's admin page (192.168.1.1 on most). Login and migrate to the wireless section.
Change the default SSID to something unique.
Since you have 11g and 11n both you may find that performance will be better with 11g only.
Select WPA2 AES Personal. I use keys generated by www.grc.com All printable chr. You need a min of 20 chr of all printable chrs to be secure so you do not need to worry about someone cracking. Copy to a notepad for future use (OSX). Paste the key into the router. Save settings.
Have your R61 search for the SSID if it did not find it when you were setting up the router. When prompted for the key, paste it in.

Save the Note pad with the key. Copy to a usb pin drive.

Take it to the Mac select your SSID then past the key when prompted.

You should be good to go.

Now you can setup the desktop for file & printer sharing.

 

GKHartman - thanks for you very useful post. It raised another question" - your post says:

[2) Depending on the age/quality of the wireless cards in your laptops, some may not support the latest and greatest encyption protocols (i.e. WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc.) So, when you setup wireless on your router, make sure whatever security settings you use will be compatible for all your laptops.

How do I check to see if the security settings are compatible? The Lonovo XP one is about 9 mo. old with a "11abgWiFI WL LAN USEULAANZ" card according to the packing list; and the MAC OSX is probably 1-2 years old with an n card of unknown type - I don't have access to it now.

Many thanks!

Rex

 

It sounds like they should both support WPA2 - I'd go for that. If they don't support WPA2, they'll see your network, try to connect (after prompting for a password), but fail to establish a connection.

If that happens you'll have to change the wireless security settings on your router, then on your laptops delete any saved settings associated with your wireless SSID (network name), re-scan for networks, and attempt to connect again.

The last part (removing the old settings associated with the SSID) can sometimes be tricky/difficult, hence my previous caution. You won't break anything by trying to use an encryption method your laptops don't support, but could potentially increase the difficulty and aggravation associated with getting your wireless setup correctly.