Is this a good deal?

Simon · Nov 05, 2007, 22:35:40

A friend wants to go wireless, and this seems like a good deal to me. Thoughts, anyone?

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/119374

Rik · Nov 06, 2007, 00:15:38

If you don't need the dongle, Simon, DSL Source are a bit cheaper:

http://www.dslsource.co.uk/details.aspx?idProduct=737

Simon · Nov 06, 2007, 08:13:40

He needs the dongle, or would have to buy a wireless network card. This is a home built machine, and it wasn't required at the time.

Rik · Nov 06, 2007, 10:39:29

Personally, I'd go for the network card, but dongles do have some advantages if they come with a lead and can be moved about.

Simon · Nov 06, 2007, 12:55:50

Hold on, I've just had a horrible thought. The machine currently has no network card. Does it need one? If not, how does one initially set up the router?

Rik · Nov 06, 2007, 13:11:10

On your machine?

Simon · Nov 06, 2007, 13:23:50

No, on the machine that the above package is intended for. There is currently no network card, so if we need to buy one, we might as well buy a wireless one and not have the dongle.

Rik · Nov 06, 2007, 13:33:56

I was just thing that, if you wanted to save going down that road, Simon, you could set the router up on your machine, then do the rest with wireless.

Simon · Nov 06, 2007, 13:39:28

Oh, would that work then? So after the initial set up, no network card is required?

Adam · Nov 06, 2007, 14:20:14

Quote from: Si6776 on Nov 06, 2007, 13:39:28
Oh, would that work then? So after the initial set up, no network card is required?

After initial setup of the DG834G it is possible to access the admin interface using a wireless connection. It may even be possible to do this before initial setup if the router ships with no security enabled by default, I can't remember if the DG834G does or not.

Rik · Nov 06, 2007, 14:42:18

TBH, neither can I, Adam, but I think that the wireless connection is off by default, and then has no security when turned on. It's a while since I set one up, though, and that was from a cabled machine.

Simon · Nov 06, 2007, 16:26:32

Hmmm... I can't access the DG834G from my laptop, which is wireless, but I can from my desktop, which is Ethernet wired.

I think I might look for a cheap network card on eBay, just to be on the safe side.

Rik · Nov 06, 2007, 16:35:02

It would be the easiest solution, Simon.

ducky22 · Nov 11, 2007, 23:13:40

You can definitely configure the DG834G via wireless right out of the box. The factory defaults have no security and an SSID of 'NETGEAR'.

Simon · Nov 12, 2007, 00:03:56

Thanks Ducky

Is that just via a USB dongle though, or through a wireless network card? I still can't get my head round whether a network card is still required, if there is not one already installed, or whether the USB dongle does everything in it's place.

ducky22 · Nov 12, 2007, 01:13:10

Not sure if I follow... (sorry its late and I've been working for too long without a break :-P).

A wireless dongle and a wireless network card are both going to do the same job. One is internal, one is external - that's the only difference. You can use either to connect to the router wirelessly for the initial setup. You only need one or the other.

Hope I followed correctly.

Simon · Nov 12, 2007, 17:05:02

Yes, you did follow correctly, and have explained in an exemplary fashion, something which I couldn't get my head round until now. Thanks - worth a karma!

Rik · Nov 12, 2007, 17:11:55

Sorry, Simon, I thought you were talking about a wired network card.

Simon · Nov 12, 2007, 17:22:18

I probably didn't explain it very well, Rik, but it's not a problem as I can return the network card unopened, if it won't be needed.

ducky22 · Nov 12, 2007, 20:47:37

Quote from: Si6776 on Nov 12, 2007, 17:22:18
I probably didn't explain it very well, Rik, but it's not a problem as I can return the network card unopened, if it won't be needed.

No, it definitely won't be required.

One thing to help tho....... When you go to setup the wireless, make sure you change the SSID, select WPA and then enter a Network Key before clicking 'apply'. As long as you do all 3 things at the same time, you won't be stuck with the hassle of editing wireless profiles (Windows XP is a pain for that!).

hehe - thanks for the karma!

Simon · Nov 12, 2007, 20:49:36

Done!

Didn't need to use Windows Networking, as the USB Dongle software sorted it.

ducky22 · Nov 12, 2007, 21:00:23

Quote from: Si6776 on Nov 12, 2007, 20:49:36
Done! Didn't need to use Windows Networking, as the USB Dongle software sorted it.

hehe brilliant! i personally never liked the netgear software. I prefer to stick to the windows built in wireless config.

Glad you got everything working!

.

Simon · Nov 12, 2007, 21:33:48

Have to admit, the Netgear software wasn't as user friendly as Windows, but it worked.