Wireless Ad Hoc Hetwork using USB Adapters - SUCCESS!

Hi, all.

For a number of reasons, I could not get a wireless router. I have been trying for months to get a wireless network set up using Zyxel USB WiFi adapters connecting my desktop (WinXP MCE wired to the WWW) and my NB (Windows Home). Yes, you can get it to work on mixed flavors of Windows.

After months of trying and reading and often giving up, it's finally working. With excellent results.

There's a lot of info on ad hoc networks out there (much of it conflicting, much of it esoteric, and for me, mostly useless). Very little of it is new - this type of network seems to be falling out of favor with cheaper wireless routers. However, there are situations (like mine) where it isn't practical or possible. I tried everything I could read. Got advice from networking gurus. Set up different "home networks". Nothing worked. Until today.

The only two things I've done differently than before (and they're tips I found buried in other forums) were:

1. Nothing but letters in the "computer description" field for the NB and the desktop. No numbers, no underscores for spaces, no characters. Just letters. (Right click My Computer, properties, Computer Name tab. I left my descriptions blank, and just named one brentnb and one brentdt.)

2. I bridged the wireless connection to the I394 connection on the desktop.

Maybe only one of those made a difference, but I don't care.

I'm now web surfing and typing this 15 feet away from my desktop, sitting on the floor with a nice mug of tea, not in complete line-of-sight of the adapter, and have a connection speed/rate of 94%. Which is fine for what I need.

It is so great to not have to plug/unplug the DSL cord from the desktop to the NB and vice versa. No wireless router sitting around, no wires, great speed, and the WEP and MAC address filtering security are working great. (That took another hour to get right, tho! )

Just wanted to post this for other folks thinking of trying ad hoc. You can do it. But I think it's one of those things where there can be enough variables between every computer and in every situation that what works for one or two, might not work for someone else.

I do want to thank folks who've posted here about what worked for them or didn't work for them. Sure it took a lot of time, but the feeling of figuring out the problem and successfully solving it is just terrific.

 

very nice.
i am happy that u can surf the web using this Great Technology.
i wanna say that i was used this tech since last year.
using XP SP2 (Pro) on Dell NB connecting to Server 2003 SP2 and surfing the web and transfer 1 Gig Files between them and of course watching TV programs using DVB while broadcasting on server 2003 and broadcast its picture on NB (Streaming Video) by Dell Mini Wireless up to 54mbps card and Level-1 USB Wireless dongle.

just using AD-HOC wireless technology presented by Microsoft .....no need to buy more device called Wireless Access Point (around 100 $).
it is so great.... Wonderful...thanks for Microsoft and Developers.

 

and just another post...
does anybody know this technology (AD-HOC wireless) is available on Linux or Free BSD and mac too or not?

actually i am not sure that can we connect 2 PC (i.e Microsoft Windows Vista + Linux Redhat Fedora core 8) together easily?