Wireless connection from Laptop to PC and then to Internet!

Ok, I've just bought a new laptop (Vaio Z1SP) which has a wifi 802.11b wireless card installed in it.
I already have a PC at home which has nothing wireless.

Now, I want to connect my laptop to the desktop Wirelessly and then connect to the Internet through my desktop 56k connection (I don't have broadband yet).

My desktop has Windows 2000 and the Laptop has Windows XP.

How do I make this work?
What equipment do I need?

I'd like to make an Ad-Hoc connection between both of them and then share Internet connection. Is this possible on Win 2k?
I'd also like to avoid buying a residential gateway by doing it this way.

Any suggestions?

 

Does the laptop have a nic in it. If so, then add a nic to your home computer and use ICS [internet connection sharing] and you will need a crossover cable for between the computers.

ICS for Win2000

 

Thanks Train, thanks for the link also, but

What is a NIC? If it is a wireless card, then I intend to buy a PCI adapter for the Desktop. The laptop already has a Wifi card.

This will then make both of the computers communicate wirelessly on an ad hoc basis.

Also, what is the point of having a cable between the two computers if I am intending on communicating wirelessly between the two and sharing the net connection.

 

NIC = network interface card. Can be wireless (like your laptop has) or wired (traditional card that uses cables and ends that look like large telephone connectors).

I have zero recent first-hand experience with wireless networking so there may be products I'm not aware of. Not many others on here who do much of it either. So for this you might want to try a forum that deals with lots of wireless issues. A google search for wireless networking forum will give you quite a few choices.

But in general, you are going to have to buy some additional equipment. How much stuff and how much money depends on the approach you decide on. At the very least, there will have to be some way for the desktop system to send and receive with the wireless laptop.

By far the simplest and least expensive would be a wired card in both desktop and laptop. Then all you'd need is a piece of ethernet cable that was wired "crossover" where the send and receive wires were reversed at either end. For a very valid (but obscure) electronic reason, you connect like devices (nic-nic, hub-hub/switch) using a crossover cable and unlike devices (nic-hub) using a straight wired cable.

From the research I did before replying here, I can't find any mention of a way to make a wireless NIC do crossover. There may be a way but I couldn't find mention of it. And even if it's possible, you still need some device to plug into the desktop that can talk to the wireless, translate, and talk to the desktop.

My guess is you will need a switch to handle traffic between the two PCs and a wireless access point connected to the switch to talk to the laptop. In that case, probably about as cheap to get a router/switch that does wireless. I know you said you didn't want a residential gateway but unless you are willing to put a wired NIC in the laptop, I'm not sure you can avoid a switch (or a hub - yuck) and at that point, you are spending nearly as much for switch & access point as you would for a gateway device.

So in answer to your question to Train about the point of having a cable between the two devices, simplicity and low cost.

 

Wireless Internet Sharing

I've been playing with wireless for several months now and it's really not complicated once you get a basic understanding. I can and do occasionally wirelessly share an internet connection between laptops (Apple laptops), but the situation with Windows should really not be a problem either.

With regards to unforeseeable hardware and software issues, you should be able to set up internet sharing on your non-wireless PC (a standard setting) and plug in a USB or ethernet 'wireless bridge'. Netgear makes a couple of versions as do D-Link and Linksys(Linksys not recommended in my experience). The bridge just acts as a translator, from your wired connection port on the PC, to a wireless transmitter/receiver. Look online at 'www.netgear.com' for the hardware. This would be my first suggestion because it's the simplest plug and play solution. If that doesn't work you have other more expensive options like buying an Apple Airport which has a modem built in and can share that connection natively. You will have to get involved in your own education on something like this (these BBS' are a great place to learn) but you will come out of it with a much better understanding of your computer in general.



Nate