network

[19mick73]

Hi, i have just purchassed a wireless router to enable a friend to use his laptop through my internet connection. I have managed to obtain an internet connection on my pc but his laptop wont enable internet access through my aol. The router is a belkin adsl modem wireless g. Any suggestions will be much appreciated.

[Ethel]

Is the laptop wi-fi enabled?

Have you installed the AOL software on the laptop?

Have you configured the laptop by connecting it by wire to the router in the first instance?

[Mouse0_0]

You don't need to install AOL software on the laptop too, as long as the router is connected to the internet then neither PC nor laptop need AOL to connect up... you'll only need it if you want to use the AOL's browser and email facilities as opposed to IE/Firefox and Outlook Express or similar.

Open a browser on your PC (IE is probably best for this) and type into the address bar 192.168.2.1 and click Go. The router's web interface will appear. Login with your password (if you've set one, just click Submit if not) and have a look at the top right of the screen, right-hand side of the blue bar. Does is say "Connected" in green, or "Not Connected" in red? If the latter, click Connect and see if it changes to "Connected" in green.

If you can't connect the router to the net, then it's those WAN settings you need to look at. AOL will email you the appropriate settings if you call them up. If the router's connecting ok then it's the laptop's internet settings that are the problem. You could try the Home Networking Wizard to make sure the laptop's looking to the wireless card as its internet gateway.

One thing to note is that you can sometimes get a "Connected" notice on the router but no functionality. If this is the case then you need to tweak the WAN settings. Again, AOL will send you through the correct settings.

[Mouse0_0]

Just as an addition to the above: this may seem obvious but to some novice users it's not (not saying you're a novice by the way!).

You shouldn't have your old AOL broadband modem hooked up at the same time as the router... the router is now your modem and needs to be the device that's connected to the internet if it's going to share the connection. Your AOL software on the PC (if you want to continue using it) should be configured to connect via your LAN from now on, not through the modem that came with your package.

[19mick73]

Hi ethel and mouse0_0, thanks for both your answers. Managed to get both the desk top and lap top to enable internet access but now the problem lies with using both at the same time, will not let the lap top use the internet when the desk top is turned on for some reason. I have platnum broadband as i'm lead to believe that aol silver will not enable 2 users at the same time. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks.

[Mouse0_0]

Are you sure it's the internet it's having trouble with, or just signing into AOL?

Try just loading up Internet Explorer on the machine that you're not signed into AOL through. You might find that it connects no problem. In fact, if you can get away with it, don't put an AOL disk anywhere near your laptop!

I have to say I really have problems with AOL as an ISP, the software gets its claws into a system and very often refuses to let go... and it tries to be a 'mini-internet' in itself, which is really unnecessary in my opinion. Having said that, however, I have had AOL connecting through a wireless router to several PCs at once, and that was just their standard run-of-the-mill package. And that's without AOL's unnecessary software on any the PCs too, just accessing the regular world-wide-web et al through Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.

Once you have the router connecting properly, the only limit you should have on the number of users that can access the net through that connection should be imposed by the router itself, not AOL.

[19mick73]

Hi mouse0_0. I entered the ip address and the routers web interface appeared but dosen't say connected. I am sorry for my ignorence but do i have to set up my desk top to enable a network to exist? Tried internet explorerer to no avail. When clicking on the acer icon in the bottom right task bar it shows a diagram, of which computer, router and other icons are shown and says that internet connection is enabled. Any thoughts?

[Mouse0_0]

You have to set up your computer to recognise the network, and tell it where on your network the Internet is coming from (the gateway).

You can do this by running the Home Networking Wizard or Setup Network Wizard (do a quick search in Windows Help to find out how to get to it on your computer). The wizard will take you through the process step by step.

It's a bit worrying that your router doesn't say "connected", as this will be your gateway, and no computers will be able to access the internet via your network if this isn't connected. If your main PC is connecting then it's likely that this is via the route you connected before you bought your router (e.g. via ADSL modem), rather than through the network.

You're going to need to use the router's web interface to change the settings under the WAN heading according to AOL's specifications. You'll need your AOL username ([email protected]) and password and the type of ADSL that AOL uses (PPPoA I believe), and also a few other bits and pieces that you'll need to set: VPI = 0, VCI = 38 and MTU = 1400.

Try those, and hit the Connect button. Hopefully you should see a "Connected" logo in green at the top right of the router's web interface after you do this.

You'll then need to configure AOL not to try to connect through the modem you used to connect with, but rather through an existing network connection. I have done this before, but it's been a while so you might want to get advice from AOL on how to do this, or go to their Help section.

Good luck!