A quick guide to using a router

Linksys WRT54GL Wireless-G RouterGetting yourself on broadband is nowhere near as difficult as some people would have you believe. Here's a quick guide.

Provided you have a PC with a network card installed (essentially any machine built in the last 15 years or so) you should not have any problems. Here's what you need.

  1. a broadband provider, BT and Sky are two of the well known ones.
  2. a router - go for a brand name, Edimax, Linksys or any of the many other manufacturers will virtually guarantee you get what you need.
  3. a length of Ethernet or Cat5 cable to link the router to the computer
  4. a length of cable to link the router to your phone line
  5. a filter so you can use your broadband connection and your telephone at the same time.

You should also keep the instruction manual or sheet that comes with the router.

Unplug your telephone at the line out box - the little white that the phone plugs into. Best to check this before you shell out for the kit. If you don't have a box now would be a good time to get onto your phone company!

Plug the filter into the line out box. The filter has two sockets for the router and your phone. Each cable will only fit into one of the two sockets.

The router will need power so much sure you can reach a plug without problems.

When the cable is plugged into the router, take the Ethernet cable, which should have come with your router and plug it into the rear of the router. You will find anything between one and six sockets plus a socket for the line from the phone.

Plug the cable into socket one - often colour coded yellow and then into the network card port on your PC. The cable should not fit anywhere other than the network card socket. It should click home and feel fairly secure.

Once your are connected take the CD that came with your router, unpack it carefully and then drop it in the bin! Honestly! There is no need for any added software here. The connection will be detected by the card in your machine and that's it. Everything else is just an attempt to link you to the company who sold you the device.Chances are you'll end up with Browser Helper Object BHO welded to your copy of IE (if you use it) so throw that CD away and it should all work just fine.

To control your router check the instructions for the browser address. The software might provide you with a link to do this but simply typing in the address you need is more elegant and one less piece of software to potentially cause you problems. The IP address is usually something like 192.168.2.1 This will fire up the control panel for the router.

If you have followed these instructions you should now be looking at your nice pristine broadband connection. Any problems or if you would simply prefer someone else to do the work, email me JLIB_HTML_CLOAKING

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