One thing you should know ... if you have other 2.4 GHz devices (e.g., cordless telephone) they create interference.
Usually the router has an option to switch what channel it sends it out on... My Linksys router has the option to slightly change the frequency so it doesn't inter with my cordless phone. My microwave causes more interference than my router does .
Usually the router has an option to switch what channel it sends it out on... My Linksys router has the option to slightly change the frequency so it doesn't inter with my cordless phone. My microwave causes more interference than my router does .
AJ
The problem is the other way ... you can't control the frequency used by the cordless phone. It can cause the router to effectively slow down as it starts to drop packets. The slowdown may not be noticeable if the effective router speed is not the bottleneck, i.e., it remains faster than the internet connection speed. A signal strength indicator won't show this but if you have a signal quality indicator or a dropped packet report, it'll reveal this.
The problem is the other way ... you can't control the frequency used by the cordless phone. It can cause the router to effectively slow down as it starts to drop packets. The slowdown may not be noticeable if the effective router speed is not the bottleneck, i.e., it remains faster than the internet connection speed. A signal strength indicator won't show this but if you have a signal quality indicator or a dropped packet report, it'll reveal this.
Its because of random things like this that I intend to stay wired through the router for the most part. Plus surely there will be better quality/speed connection through a wired connection (I use my laptop as a semi desktop for the most part so being connected to a wire isn't an issue)
BTW am I right in thinking your internet speed will be slowed with two people connected through the router?
Well after four frustrating hours I finally got the router working. What I need to know now is what level of wireless securty do you guys use/recommend? I have these options (and haven't really got a clue what each is):
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key)
WPA2-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key)
Thats what I use I guess. You just enter in your password to connect.
Its also a good idea to set the router to not broadcast your ssid. The networks could still be found but it wont be by casual users.
Thanks RRidgely, having read up on the difference between WPA and WPA2 on Wikipedia (HERE) I've gone for the WPA2-PSK one as its supposed to be considerably more secure and hidden the SSID
Had a bit of a scare installing the network card on gf's laptop. After installing it I went to reboot and got the old style shutdown/reboot/logoff window, it restarted and got the Windows sign on screen asking for a password. Thankfully it hasn't got a password so clicked enter and Windows loaded.
Went to 'User accounts' to try to change it back to how it was and got access denied due to MrvGINA.dll. A quick Google found lots of Netgear owners having the same problem either with the card or after updating to most recent drivers. Thankfully that led to me finding a semi-official (no mention of it at all in Netgear knowledge base) solution on the Netgear forums here.