does anyone know where i can get cheap Wi Fi equipment and what equipment i i am going to need to connect a laptop and desktop togither for boradband and file sharing both useing xp sp2
To get a wireless network going you're going to need the following.
1) A wireless hub or router to connect the devices.
2) A wireless card for your PC, either PCI card or USB based
3) A wireless card for your laptop if one is not built in. A USB or PCcard based one will be best if it's not built in.
As you want to file share, it's probably worth getting 802.11G cards and hub to get the additional performance. If it's mainly internet browsing, cheaper 802.11b only cards etc may be sufficient as your broadband connection will probably be the bottleneck instead of the wireless network speed.
If you already have broadband (adsl/cable) connectivity then just a wireless hub will do the job to add wireless connectivity and share it to the PC and laptop.
If you don't have anything, check to see what will work with your local Telco and see if there's an option like a combined ADSL Router with Wireless hub built in. I use one of these and it saves the cost and hassel of two separate devices.
Most of the devices have reasonable manual these days. Just remember to
1) Change the default passwords on your router
2) Use at least WEP encryption on your wireless network to stop someone easily using your network.
3) If you're realy paranoid you could use WPA as it's better than WEP but this takes more work and involves updates to XP etc to get the support going. May not be worth it for you.
As for where to buy the gear, I'm based in NZ so have no real knowledge of the UK market at the moment but I'd assume its the same as here, on-line is almost always cheaper- just ask around friends and see who they use to find a reputable place to deal with.
If you are new at this, try and buy cards and router all of the same brand. It might cost a few dollars more than getting the cheapest of each type but it will make things much simpler when following the manuals on the installations. And you knwo it should all just work together nicely.
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