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General discussion

Procedure Order for Installing a Router??

Nov 12, 2004 7:18AM PST

At my workplace, we use the Netgear 814MR router, so I already have the appropriate wireless card for my laptop. I just moved into a new apartment, and I bought my own 814MR router, as my plan is to set up a wireless network there using the same security configurations (server name, encryption key, etc) as are in place at my office so that my connection settings will never have to be changed.

With the router in my possession, and a working DSL connection in my apartment, what order of steps should I follow to get my home network up and running?

Specifically, if step A is installing router software on my computer, step B is downloading upgrades/patches from the Netgear website, step C is physically connecting my router to my internet connection, and step D might be a step that I am not aware of, in what order should steps A-D(or others) go?

Thanks for your help.

Discussion is locked

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Re: Procedure Order for Installing a Router??
Nov 12, 2004 8:40AM PST
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Re: Procedure Order for Installing a Router??
Nov 12, 2004 3:09PM PST

Thank you for pointing me towards Netswitcher, and I will definitely check it out. However, I am definitely a novice when it comes to networking, and I could really use assistance in establishing the very basic procedural steps for installing a router at home, given that I already have the notebook adapter card and that I know all the security/network name/password options I want to put in place.

Holding all that aside, if you were advising someone on how to install a router from the moment it is purchased at the store, specifically what is the appropriate order of the various steps that are necessary? I have been told that I need to download upgrades/patches from the Netgear website, to install software on my computer, and to physically connect the router, but I am not sure of what order to complete these steps.

Any help in that regard would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Re: Procedure Order for Installing a Router??
Nov 12, 2004 9:03PM PST

The procedure I follow in setting up a home network is:

1) Attach the modem to the routers WAN/Internet port. Hopefully your modem has an ethernet port.
2) Attach a CAT5 cable from the router to the network card of your PC. Even in a wireless setup it can be easier if you use the hard wired port to initially setup the router parameters.
3) Power up the modem/router/PC in this order allowing ten seconds or so between devices.
4) Type the routers IP address into your browsers address bar to open the routers setup window.
5) From here it is just a matter of entering the connection type (PPPoE, Auto DHCP, Static IP), user name and password. Enable your wireless functions. Set your security as needed (WEP/WPA/Mac filtering).
6) Shut down the PC, disconnect the CAT5 cable from it and restart the PC. Hopefully your wireless card will pick up the routers signal.

"I have been told that I need to download upgrades/patches from the Netgear website, to install software on my computer, and to physically connect the router"

Firmware for your router can be upgraded at this point following the makers instructions. I have never needed any router software on the PC to make this work. Physically connecting the router was done in step 2.