Have you ever wanted to print and share files at home? Ever wanted to know how to setup a wireless router?
It’s really not that hard. Let’s talk about how to setup a home network and what equipment you might need.
Home networks can vary drastically, so you can design yours according to your needs. In this example we will setup a Linksys wireless router, a network printer, and file sharing between 2 computers.
Home Networking Equipment
Basic equipment we will need to setup our home network:
- Wireless Router
- Wireless/Wired Network Printer
- Laptop computer (with XP/Vista)
- Desktop computer (with XP/Vista)
- Network Cables
- NAS Drive (Optional)
Some equipment can be personal preference such as the brand of printer or router you purchase. We will use a Linksys wireless router for this example.
Home Network Setup — First Things First
We are going to start with the setup of the wireless router because it will create the framework of our network.
1. First, you will need to physically connect the router to power and to your Internet connection using the instructions provided with the router. To do this, connect a network cable to your DSL/Cable modem.
2. Connect the other end to the WAN/Internet port on the back of the router.
3. You can now plug in your Desktop PC to one of the 4 switch ports on the back of the router using a network cable. You can use any of the 4 switch ports; there isn’t a magical port that is better than the others.
4. Now you need to verify that your Desktop PC has an IP address and is properly connected to the router.
- To do this in Vista, click Start, type “cmd“, and press Enter
- To do this in XP click Start, Run, and type “cmd“.
5. A command prompt window will appear. Type “ipconfig” and press Enter. This will display the IP configuration for all of your network adapters on your computer.
6. The default IP address range for Linksys routers is usually 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.255. If your computer shows an IP address in this range and a default gateway of 192.168.1.1, then you should be good to go.
Note: These settings are usually the default on Linksys routers. Check the documentation for your router for the correct IP address ranges.
Securing Your Home Network
When you take a wireless router out of the box and hook it up, there is absolutely no security or encryption setup on the wireless network.
You want to secure your wireless network and change the default admin password for the router as soon as you can. This will prevent unauthorized access to your Internet connection and your home network.
Most routers come with a setup disk and they can be helpful but are not always needed. I will show you how to setup the router without running the CD included with the router.
1. Open your web browser and type http://192.168.1.1 and press Enter.
2. This will take you to a logon prompt. The typical default username/password combination for Linksys routers is no username and “admin” as the password.
Note: Again, check your documentation that came with the router for the correct username and password for your router.
3. Now you should be at the setup screen for your router. You can modify just about any settings of your router by clicking through the different configuration tabs.
We want to focus mostly on securing the wireless network and changing the default admin password. To change the wireless settings click on the Wireless tab.
4. Now click on Wireless Security. Here you can select the type of encryption you want to use, and also set the key or passphrase.
WPA2 is the latest and greatest wireless security at the moment so I recommend using it when possible. Make sure to write down your wireless key or passphrase and save your settings when you are done.
5. Now let’s change the default password for the router. Click on the Administration tab, and make sure you are under the Management section.
Here you can change the default password for your router.
Note: You will need to log in with the new password after you save your settings.
But Wait … There’s More!
That’s all for today! Congratulations! You’re successfully setup your home network and secured it.
In my next article I’ll show you the steps to setup printing on your home network and setup file sharing between your desktop and laptop computers. Stay tuned!
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Very good… thank you
good and brief training,infact,its a kind of training i’ve been looking for,thanks.
Excellent….
Very Good Thank you for you time.
wow! I cannot wait until the next part posted. great
Thanks everyone for reading! Part 2 is comming soon…
Eric English
I have always had to clone the MAC address to the router from the PC originally attached to the cable modem to achieve internet access.. for DSL there is other considerations too.. is this to be in your later posts? so far you should have local access working..
wow thank u trainsignal!! tour the best i.t. store in the world!!
man from manila. arnie. peace!!
Hi,
I am an amateur and i am trying to figure out how to get my wireless printer back on my network. i changed the name and passcode of my router after i had difficulties with my router and now the printer is not attached anymore. should i go through the whole process again? for some reason when i ask “bluetooth” to recognize any devices in ranger it is not seeing my printer. do i have to to delete it from before and do the whole thing again?
thanks,
adria
Hi,
I really liked those nuggets and I want to order for those. Please let me know how I can do that..
Perveez
So strait and forward, i really enjoyed the short lesson . Great job
very helpful which is step by step,really i enjoyed it very much
Thanks! i am happy with this small job.
Am I missing something here? A network must, by definition, have at least two computers. This is supposed to be a guide to connect a desktop to a laptop. There are only two mentions of the word “laptop”, neither of which is related in any way with setting up. You only give the explanation for the desktop.
Totally useless.
I too am very new to the wireless age. We are old as well so we do not understand a lot of this. My problem is I Have a desktop computer in the sewing room / junk room that I got way back in 2001. Now we have a notebook/laptop on the kitchen desk. We changed over to a new Cox package where we get internet service, new phone system, and new TV channels. The young man sold us on getting a router for the new computer, so we did and he set it all up. The problem is the old computer no longer has a hard phone line because our phone is now cable. Someone told me I could buy something that I could hook up to the old computer through one of the usb ports. Then I could tie into the new router system and be able to use the old computer again. I would love that because I have a lot on that computer, after all it is almost 10 years old. But WHAT do I buy to hook up to it, so I can tie into the new router???
THANK