newbie needing help with wireless networking

[malcpatterson]

I have a fully functional wired network with 4 PCs and am struggling to add a laptop to the network via wireless.The main pc with internet access has a wireless notebook adapter MN-730 and the laptop has an 802.11g usb 2,0 dongle.Everything has loaded fine, I've redone the network wizard and in the connections page there is a wireless connection with the "status " connected and signal strength good. The ssid is the same ,mshome, as in the wired network.On both the pc and laptop the deails are the same and they are both set up "ad hoc, peer to peer"
Any help would be very welcome
Thanks,
Malcolm

[classicsoftware]

First, Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif forums.

Please explain your network in more detail.

Do you have a router? Do you have a hub/switch? Do you have both? Do you have a router/switch combination?

How do you get on line? ICS?

Please describe your setup in detail and we can help you..

[malcpatterson]

3 PCs and a laptop all connected via a hub with conventional rj45 wires.internet connection is ICS through the main gateway computer.Broadband connection via an external modem.The main gateway pc has a wireless adapter and the laptop has a usb 802.11g dongle.The wired network function perfectly but the wireless doesnt [the intention is to be able to take the laptop elsewhwere in the house and still be able to connect to the network and internet ] I went through the network connection wizard again to hopefuly include the wireless network.On the network connection page there is a wireless network now and when I go to " status" it describes the signal strength as excellent on both the pc and laptop.The network is called mshome and the wireless ssid is also mshome.There is no access point or wireless router , and both the pc and laptop when you look in the network connections page have "use windows to configure my network" checked and also both have "computer to computer [ ad hoc ] networks only " checked

[classicsoftware]

What you need to do is stop the ICS and get a wireless router. You can get one for very little cash these days. I personally prefer Linksys and so does PC Magazine (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1649775,00.asp).

What I would do is:

1) Turn off ICS
2) Turn off the PC & modem
3) Plug the cable that goes from the modem to the gateway and plug it into the WAN or Internet port on the Linksys router. Take the cable provided with the router and attach it to any of the LAN ports on the router and plug it into the hub.
4) Turn on the modem
5) Turn on the router
6) Turn on the PC's
7) Use the CD provided by Linksys in one of the wired pc's. Follow the setup wizzard and you should have the router set-up in no time. You may need a pen and paper to write down the encryption key.
8) Install the wireless card in the router and you should be able to pick up the signal.
9) If using XP, run the wireless networking wizzard on the laptop.
10) Enjoy