Wireless advice needed please.

[Clunk]

ah ha.

right got that sorted, although its wpa-psk not just wpa.

not sure if thats good or not?

[Clunk]

oops sorry mate, posted that last one before i saw your reply.

i am using a wired connection from the set top box/modem to the router and then another wire from the router to the main pc.

im not sure what was happening earlier, but i found an article on the microsoft website and followed that almost to the letter and it worked, but its not wpa, its wpa-dsk???

i have set up the firewall side of the router as well, that was quite comprehensive, but fairly simple, only thing left to do now is set it up so i can grab files from my main pc, and send files between the two.

so no rush now mate thanks

edit: although i could do with finding out what an acceptable signal is for this MSI router....in the same room as the laptop, the signal is reported as "excellent", but any more than about 15 feet away and the signal suddenly drops to "very low". im sure this isnt right, or maybe thats why it was cheap?

p.s. heres the article if anyone else suffers confusion in their mind like me

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u..._03july28.mspx

[FatalSaviour]

I've just been setting up a BT Voyager 2110 Router today, and the range on that was rather poor also.
Signal strength could be reported as low, but this is dependent on the speed it is operating at as well...
i.e. you could be running at 54mbps, and have the signal strength decrease rapidly.
On a lot of equipment, it will lower it's speed accordingly, as range increases, to give a decent wireless signal. If the signal is strong enough to maintain a consistent connection good enough to browse the internet throughout your residence, all is probably well.
It is possible to buy stronger antennae (not sure if the MSI router antenna is detachable), but these can sometimes be quite expensive.
You could also try changing the channel that the Wireless Router is on...you may be suffering interference from a cordless phone etc.

[EvilWeevil]

wpa-psk is what you're after.

AFAIK standard WPA requires a server to dish out keys to client machines.

[Clunk]

ok thanks chaps, the wpa-psk is working fine now, ill try a download tomorrow and see what speed i get when the signal is low.

im struggling with the file sharing part of things. all i want to do is be able to drag and drop files, and generally grab what i need off either computer while im using the other. i started by making my mp3 folder available to be shared by the network, but im not sure how to access it from the laptop, im sure its something simple that ive missed, but its late now and ive gone cross eyed.

cheers

p.s. cant you just tell that ive never tinkered with networking before?

[FatalSaviour]

Heheh, it doesn't help that Windows XP sometimes tends to be a bit of a pain in the rear when it comes to any sort of networking.
However with a bit of luck, we should be able to get you sorted.

First off, run the Network Setup Wizard (on both the laptop and the PC).
It's located in Start>Programs>Accessories>Communications.
Make sure when you run the wizard, that you enter the same network name for both PCs (it doesn't matter what you name the network, just as long as it's the same on both). Also make sure that you turn on file and printer sharing on both.
Complete the wizards on both machines, and then do a restart - it can't help.

Right, now, you should be able to see on your laptop any shared folders you've created on the Main PC, if you go to My Network Places. If you're not seeing anything, click on "View Workgroup Computers" on the left.


If this isn't working...it can just be Windows not playing nicely.

If you know the IP address of the Main PC, go to Start>Run. (If you're not sure how to find this out, it's in Network Connections....right click on the connected Network Adapter and go to "Status". Then Support. The IP address should be shown.


Then type in \\192.168....whatever the IP address is.

This should take you straight to the Main PC and you should see the folder's that you've shared.

My Network Places will then usually remember the shared locations.

I hope this doesn't sound too complicated....I'm probably not explaining it all terribly well...after doing it for a number of years, and writing this at 3am, you tend to forget a few of the things you take for granted .
If you have any problems, feel free to post again .

[Clunk]

thanks mate,

i did the network wizard on both of them and turned file and print sharing on. done a reboot but still not showing that mp3 folder. so i had a look in "view workgroup computers" and i get an eggtimer for about 30 seconds and then an error telling me that i dont have access and that the path is invalid.

so on to the next part i went, and i know the IP address, but im not sure where to type it into?

im wondering if i have shared the mp3 folder correctly.

hmmm

[EvilWeevil]

Stick it into the address bar in windows explorer. How did you share the mp3 folder?

[Clunk]

i tried it with firefox...i typed in \\192.168.*.* but it wouldnt connect.

i right clicked on the mp3 folder and then on sharing and security, then ticked "share this folder on the network"....the box that allows other to change my files in unticked.

was this right or a monumental error?

cheers

[FatalSaviour]

That's correct yes. I'm assuming you didn't type in the *.*, but 192.168.1.2 or whatever instead?
Not taking you for a fool, but it's worth checking at this early stage of troubleshooting .
Other things that might be throwing a wobbly....are you running firewalls on both computers? If so which ones?
Try disabling them both and then seeing.
For reference, you can also go to Start>Run
Then type in \\192.168.1.2 or whatever in there and press Enter.

[Clunk]

ta mate, its funny you should mention the firewalls. it was zonealarm configured wrong on the main pc that was causing the errors, ive reinstalled it and set it some new rules....but

on the laptop, if i look at workgroup computers, the laptop shows up and no main pc.

if i do the same on the main pc, the laptop is there but no main pc listed.

the firewall on the laptop is the one that was pre-installed and it is mcaffee security centre.

on the laptop, if i type in the ip address of the main pc it connects right away with no trouble at all...and vice versa, but no main pc showing in the workgroup part.

nearly there

[speardane]

regarding the signal strength, it is walls rather than firewalls that give the problems.

you need to look at the relative positions (and if going between floors consider what is in the way) A diagonal path for the signal to go through brick, metal etc. will degrade the signal more than a perpindicular one - so times a small movement of router or laptop will have a big effect. Borrow/ buy a signal strength meter and you will find locations quickly.

it may also be worth considering an aerial - these vary in price remarkably. The key thing to look at is the dB gain (it's logarithmic - so 10dB means twice as strong). It helps to have a longish lead.

[Clunk]

it was definately zonealarm that was causing my particular problem. originally it was just configured for a single user pc with no networking, as soon as i reinstalled, set it to include home networking, and allow it to accept connections from the other machine, everything was ok.

i was surprised though at how much windows says the signal has degraded just by leaving the room. it doesnt make too much difference to the speed of connection for downloading/surfing /grabbing mail etc.

last thing to do is set up the firewall side of things on the router, especially the packet filtering. looks like thats not going to be a quick job for me

cheers