How to Use a Netgear Wireless PC Card
- 1). Install the Netgear software. Insert the software CD into the CD-ROM drive of your laptop and wait for the installation wizard to automatically load. If the CD does not automatically load, open Windows Explorer to browse the CD and double-click the "autorun.exe" file. On the main page of the installation wizard, select "Install Driver and Utility" to begin the installation process and follow the on-screen instructions. Click "Finish" when prompted, then restart your computer to complete installation.
- 2). Insert the PC card. After you have installed the driver and utility, insert the PC card, face up, into one of your laptop's CardBus slots (usually found on the side of the laptop). Wait for the "Found New Hardware Wizard" screen to appear, then click the "Install the software automatically" radio button and click "Next." After you select your country, you will see the Netgear utility icon appear in your system tray. This icon will allow you to access and configure your wireless PC card's settings.
- 3). Use the Netgear utility to configure the PC card to connect to a wireless network. Double-click the Netgear icon in your system tray to open the Netgear utility. The Netgear utility will allow you to configure a connection to a wireless network within range of your wireless PC card. To log on to a wireless network for which you already know the SSID (the network name), select the "Settings" tab, type in the SSID, select the type of security setting the network uses (WEP, WPA or WPA-PSK), if any, and enter the password/passcode. If you do not know the SSID of the network you wish to access, or if you want to see all available networks in range of your wireless PC card, or if you are trying to use a public wireless access point, such as a Wi-Fi hot spot, you can make the Netgear wireless PC card scan for available wireless networks in its range. To do this, click the "Networks" tab, scroll through the drop-down menu of available wireless networks, and select one of the wireless networks. If a network is password-protected, you must know and enter its password in order to connect to it. Click "Apply" to connect to the network.
- 4). Test your wireless connection. Once you click the "Apply" button after you finish configuring your wireless card, determine whether or not you are connected to the Internet. To do this, watch the status bar at the bottom of the Netgear utility screen, which will tell you the strength of your signal and your signal speed. You can also check the color of the Netgear utility icon in your system tray to determine if you are connected to the network. If the icon is red, you are not connected. If it is green, you have successfully connected to the network.
- 5). Save your configurations. Using the Netgear utility, you can name and save the configurations of several networks so that you do not have to re-enter the information. To do this, simply click the "Save Profile" button on the "Settings" tab after you have entered all of the necessary network information.
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