So I'm looking towards becoming a liberated man and freeing myself fom the smoke-free confines of my desktop pc. I was looking into the router and card fix for hooking up an older notebook in the man-cave.

Is it really as simple as a cheap router and usb adapter to get this antique notebook into wireless mode? I was checking out the cheapest Linksys router and usb adapters at Wallyworld this morning but thought I should check in before purchasing. All I want to do is access the internet and keep tabs on you guys while enjoying a stick in my converted man-cave in the garage. Would this cheap solution suffice? :-)
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Yupper...semi-decent USB wifi adapter and a wireless router is all you need..check slickdeals.net there are usually some good tech finds/deals on there. Worst case scenario is that you go to their coupon section and print one out for bestbuy or something.
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Thanks, Bao.

All those nasty things everyone else posts about you are obviously untrue.

Hope to see you all from the darkness of the cave in the coming days.
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Well lets not jump to conclusions just yet brother.. :-)

Also...depending on where the man cave is from the house..you may be able to get a really long cat5e wire and just hard wire the man cave. :-)
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Err, it may not be as simple as you think it is. Can you give us the make and model of the notebook?
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The other option is a PCMCIA card that would fit into the slot on the side of your laptop... :-)
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The laptop is a Compaq Presario 1260.
The desk top is a Presario 6000.
Cable modem.

Hard wiring could be an option. Probably 50-75 feet from the modem to the garage.
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If the desktop is already hardwired there in no reason to buy a wireless card for it, IMO.

PM me your address, I have an extra PCMCIA wireless card laying around that should work with your laptop. Then all you need to buy is a router.
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PM sent.

Thanks for the kind offer, Andrew.
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It's me, the dumb guy again.

So I've got the router and the card (thanks, AD720) installed and have a connection, only to find the laptop has Windows 98 for an operating system. It has Office XP, so I assumed it was an XP opereating system. Not so. :-)

Here's my current dilemna. Internet Explorer 5 only allows for a dial-up connection in the set-up. Is there any upgrade available that runs on Windows 98 that would allow a wi-fi connection? Do I need to upgrade to XP? If so, is there any way I can pull a setup off my other pc which has XP? Any other comments or solutions you smarter IT guys can think of?

I'd appreciate any help.

Thanks,
tp
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Tim - did you try installing the software that came with the wireless card? Win 98 (as far as I know) does not have built in wireless support but the software that came with the card should do the trick.:-)

Let us know what you come up with.


edit -

try this link for the windows 98 drivers...hopefully the utility is in the same download.

ftp://downloads.netgear.com/files/wpn511_setup.exe
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Thanks again, Andrew, but the problem has been solved. The problem was Windows 98 (or Internet Explorer 5.0) did not allow a connection without a daial-up. Didn't play well with my cable modem. The card and router worked fine, I just could not connect to the internet. My wife got tired of listening to me sigh everytime everything I tried didn't work, she traded in the old laptop for a new one. I'm in now. :-)
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Excellent. :-)
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Now you're finally learning when it comes to getting what we want. Do alot of sighing,,,gritting your teeth,,,cussing and you end up getting a great upgrade. One of the things men need to do to get what they want.


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Very nice! I'm glad it is up and running. If you find yourself having issues with the wireless, send me a PM. I would be happy to send you a rather long cat5 cable.
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Thanks for the offer, but things are running smoothly. Yee Ha.:-)
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