Setting up Wireless network for a 4 labtops and 1 desktop

[amanua]

I have a small office and want to setup wireless network.
Currently, there is one desktop which is connected directly to the ISP modem for internet connection but wants the labtops to connect to the internet using the wirelss setup.
What devices do I need to buy so that all the labtops can connect to the internet and print to a printer attached to the desktop.
All the systems running windows vista.

 

[SiriusBlackOp]

Is the ISP cable or dsl? (only important in setup)

Use a combination 802.11g Wireless Router and 4 port switch such as a LinkSys WRT54G. Plug the Modem into the WAN port on the Linksys. Plug the main pc (other are optional as well) into one of the 4 ports on the back of the LinkSys.

From there follow the directions on the LinkSys Instructions on how to log into the LinkSys from the main computer via the web browser. You can now start ot configure the Wireless Router/Switch. If you are using DSL, then you may want to disable the PPPOe session login on the DSL modem and enable it on the LinkSys Router so that it handles this from now on. (I have found it to work better this way) Else if it is Cable, don't worry about it. Do Not leave the wireless in an Open configuration, else everyone can access it. Try to setup WPA-PSK to protect the network (hopefully all of your PCs and wireless gear will support this, they should).

Once the network is running, simply share the printer on the main computer. Then from a laptop, go to Start\Run and type in "\\MainPCName" and click Ok where MainPCName = the name of the Main computer. Once the window opens, right-click the shared printer and click Connect. Once done, you should be able to print to that printer from the laptop.


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