New To Wireless Please Help

All routers and wireless cards come with instructions. The new linksys routers come with a feature called Easy Setup. You will probably need a wireless card for your old computer. The rest should come with the router.

Linksys has a tutorial at their website on such questions.

Thank You Very Much for your reply...:)

Do they have a wireless card for my old desktop that connects external USB?

If you have an available USB port you don't need an wireless card for your old desktop. I have an older desktop that has a Belkin USB Wireless-G adapter connected via a cable (2-3 ft long) plugged into a USB port (actually a port on a USB hub). One thing this provides is the ability to locate the adapter/antenna in different locations to get the best reception. If you have a wireless card you are stuck with the reception found at the back of your computer.

Typical setup:

Internet ---- Cable/DSL Modem ---- Broadband Router ~-~-~ computers

---- wired
~-~-~ wired and/or wireless

WIRED:
To make a wired connection to the router, your computer needs to have a wired network adapter (sometimes called an ethernet adapter, NIC, 10/100 LAN card, Gigabit adapter, among others). All new computers should have a built-in adapter for making this wired connection. You may have to purchase a 10/100 Network Interface Card (NIC) for your old computer.

WIRELESS:
New notebooks usually come with a 10/100 network adapter and wireless network adapter (typically a wireless-b/g adapter).

You can purchase a USB, PCI, PCMCIA (PC-card), or mini-PCI wireless network adapter for just about any computer that doesn't have a wireless network adapter.

As others have stated, you can download the quick setup instructions to look at before you purchase the router.

Thank You !!!! I have a good understanding now of what I need..Everthing should be here next week.

So, most wireless routers out there can be connected both to a notebook via wireless AND to a desktop PC via ethernet cable AT the same time?, any suggestions on a GOOD, reliable router with good range?, thanks a lot!!!

Router with good range? Depends on how far you need to go. MIMO/Pre-n routers from the major mfgs. usually have the best range for the small office/home office market. That would be Linksys, D-Link, Netgear, Belkin.

Linksys MIMO and Netgear RangeMax MIMO routers have been getting good reviews.

Long distances, thick walls, other obstructions, and radio frequency interference affect the reception/strength of all common wireless routers. If this is the case, many will add a wireless access point (WAP), a range extender/repeater, or a stronger antenna to an existing router.

You are correct.

Many of todays small office or home WIRELESS BROADBAND ROUTERS have at least 4 ports to make wired connections to any networkable device (desktop, notebook, printer, network storage, network video camera, etc.). At the same time the wired ports are being used, the wireless router is able to make multiple wireless connections to wireless devices.

I rec'd a printer server (Linksys)and a wireless adapter (Motorola) from my son-in-law for Christmas. I wanted to be able to use my second printer from across the room. After I installed the adapter I realized I needed a router. (Which I had asked my son-in-law about but he didn't think I needed one) I purchased a router (Linksys) yesterday. I am confused now about the set-up. My adapter directions said I could use a thumb drive to download the settings of my different peripherals and then connect back to my desktop. My second printer has only ethernet ports. My printer server directions say to connect it first to my desktop and router and then to disconnect and connect to my printer. (I think, I am at my other job as I write this) Is there an easy way to get all these working to gether. I just want to be able to access the printer across the room without running wires across the room. This also might be a stupid question, but is it possible to use a monitor without connection to the desktop, wireless monitor? Sorry this is so long. I've never submitted a question before. I try to read up first but I'm past beginner questions but don't know enough about this not to have to ask.
Thanks

You've come to the right place, but...

You might benefit from creating a NEW DISCUSSION in this forum. Sometimes hiding your topic/problem within another thread gives you less answers. There are lots of folks here who will answer your questions. Make sure you include the model numbers of your network hardware and your computer operating system.

I was just wondering is there a limit to how many wireless things can be "connected' to one router? Or can you just "connect" as many as you want but the speeds will just be slower?