The following discussion assumes you are using a router that is either manufactured by Linksys or works like a Linksys router. It also assumes you are using a Windows PC. Macintoshes may work similarly, but I don't know.
The steps below explain how to get access to a wireless router. They can be used to set up a network for the first time, or to repair one whose settings need to be changed.
Disclaimer: I have only used Linksys routers, so I'm not sure if they all work this way.
Routers, like so much in our lives, are really little computers. First you must find a way into the router's control panel. This is not the same as the Windows Control Panel.
First, use an ethernet cable to connect the router and the computer.
Then, if the router has ever been set up before, reset it to its original factory settings. Find the Reset Button and hold it in with an unbent paper clip for 15-30 seconds, while the lights go nuts. You can let go when the lights settle down and stop blinking like a holiday display.
The router is connected to your computer using an Internet Protocol (IP) address, much the same as those that identify the locations of remote sites on the internet. So the next task is to find out the local address
On Windows XP, 2000 or NT you click the Start button, then click Run, then type cmd.
If you are running an earlier operating system, I think you type command.
In the box that pops up, type the following three commands, and note what the responses are. After you type each command, press the "enter" key on your keyboard to send the command.
ipconfig ⁄release
ipconfig ⁄renew
ipconfig ⁄all
The first command releases any IP address the computer is connected to. One or the other or both of the other two commands will cause the computer to get a new IP address, which you can use to talk to the router.
For more information on how to enter these commands
North Carolina State has good step-by-step illustrations of ipconfig for Windows 2000 and XP.
They also have a nice tutorial on ipconfig for Windows Vista.
About.com has a good discussion on all the parameters of the ipconfig command.
After giving the "renew" or "all" command, look for a response that gives the Gateway IP address. This will be a string like 192.168.1.1. Make a note of it.
Close the Command window.
Open your favorite internet browser, Internet Explorer, Opera, Firefox or etc. Find the box where you would type an address, like www.lvsonline.com, to go directly to a website. A lot of browsers are going to have some kind of additional toolbar, where if you type an address and it searches for all occurrences of that address. Do not use that box! The real address box is at the top of the browser window, such that if you type in a web address and press the Enter key on your keyboard, you will go straight to that address.
Type in the string of numbers for Gateway IP that you determined in the Command Prompt. When you press the Enter key, a box will pop up asking for your user name and password.
Because of the little stunt with the paper clip that you did at the very beginning of this exercise, the router is essentially unlocked. There is no user name, and the password is admin.
Leaving the user name field blank, type in the password, admin. The control panel opens up for you. Now you can change any of the router's settings. You can click on the various tabs to bring up menus for setting the name of your network, the network key (which is the password to join your network), the type of encryption the key uses, and many other characteristics of your wireless network.
You should take the time to secure your network, or else you may wind up providing internet access to people driving by your house. That may seem charitable, but it can open up your computer to malicious intrusions. Remember: Good fences make good neighbors!
If this discourse on computer junk is making your eyes glaze over (possibly from boredom), perhaps you'd rather visit the first web page I made for this class.
If you have any feedback or criticisms on the instructions so far, please email me.
The rest of Ellen's web pages for Build 1. (This is Lesson 2.)
Lesson 1,"Dogs of My Life".
Lesson 3, "Font Properties".
Lesson 4 "Images".
Lesson 5, "Margins, Padding and Tables".
Lesson 6, "Put it all together".
Return to home.
