How should I set up my home network?

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It's been so long since I set up my wireless network. The computer I set it up on has crashed and I won't be using it again. I have one pc hardwired, 1 pc wireless, and my laptop which is wireless. Over the weekend while using my laptop I clicked on my network, I noticed "lonnies computer" in my group. All the other computers were turned off except my laptop. I have no clue where the other computer came from. My question is, how do I keep Lonnies computer from accessing my network. Like I said it's been so long and I can't remember how I set up network in the first place, or how to see if it's password protected.
Thank you, Evelyn

Hi Leo- I have a home with three floors (basement, first and second). On the first floor, I have the internet broadband cable modem connected to a D-Link gigabit wireless router.
I want to get wired as well as wireless connection to the basement and the second floor.

To do this, I paln to run ethernet cable from the DLink wireless router (first floor) to a D-link wireless access point in the basement. This access point has 4 ports, allowing for 3 wired connections in the basement. The fourth port I plan to connect to a switch, from where I will run ethernet cable to the second floor. This will terminate in a wireless access point .
I know this sounds complicated, but with the way chases are run in the house, this would be the easiest way to run cable. Does that sound like a reasonable setup?

Leo- Thanks for that prompt response. Any tips on configuring the wireless access point (it's a DAP-1522 from D-link )? I've read that when you already have a wireless router upstream (D-link as well in my case), the access point may also try to function as a router, and you have to manually configure it to do otherwise
?

Hi Leo,

My daughter will be attending college and living in a dorm room. Most of the dorms do not have wireless yet. I purchesed a network printer and a laptop and assume that her roomate will also have a computer (most likely a laptop). The laptop and the printer are 1000M capable. My thought was to set up a small LAN in her room. Does it make the most sense to set up a wireless router in her room and would a N with 10/100/1000 be useful?

Hi Leo,

This is an excellent resource. In my situation, I work from home in the converted 3rd car garage which is seperate from the house by about 50 feet. I have DSL coming to the office connecting to an AT&T wireless router/modem(2wire). It his hard wired to my work computer. In the house I have a home computer with wireless nic but the signal is hit or miss. I am sure due to distance and walls. I have a Linksys wireless router sitting and doing nothing. Can I use this to attach to the current wireless network and provide more stable connection in the house? How?

Can someone tell me the cable confguration I have to use to connect a router to a lan card of my pc. I think that straight through cable will be required but someone says that this is not the case

when i try to connect to my internet it says wrong ip address what do i do to fix that?

Hi Leo,

I purchased a wireless laptop that run windows vista. I also have a desktop the runs windows XP. How can I connect both computers to one internet account using a mobile broadband device?

Hi Leo,
I just got a broadband wireless and it appears that it's not working properly. In some occasions it would tell me that "Windows has detected an IP address conflict, another computer on this network has the same IP address on this computer. This computer may have network connectivety issues. So Leo, I am wondering if someone trying to access my computer or what's going on. I've been seeing some weird stuff happening to my computer. Please let me know if someone trying to access my personal information and stalk what I do.

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