168.1.1 to connect to the router.
Now, in theory, Vista should do all of this for you when you use the Obtain
an IPaddress automatically option described later in this chapter, but this is
notorious for not working when the subnets don??™t match. If you suspect this
is the problem, try setting a static IP address on your PC, at least temporarily,
until you can connect to your router and reconfigure it to use the 192.168.1.x
subnet.
352 | Chapter 7: Networking and Internet
Firmware updates typically fix bugs and improve performance,
and substantial updates may add support for newer
encryption protocols like WPA2 (discussed later), so don??™t
skip this step!
10. Next, go to your router??™s wireless setup page, like the one shown in
Figure 7-6??”you can get there with either a link in the main menu or a
tab across the top of the page??”and choose a new name (SSID) for your
wireless network. (Note that the SSID should not be confused with the
Windows network name used in Chapter 8.)
The only way Vista distinguishes one configured network from another
is the SSID, so choose a unique name for your network. If you were to
use a generic name like ???wireless??? or leave the default name (e.g., ???linksys???)
intact, you might run into a problem later on. For instance, if a
neighbor has a WiFi network with the same name, you might not be
able to see your own network. Or, if your home network has the same
Figure 7-5. Most routers use a web-based setup, meaning that you can configure your
router from any computer, running on any platform, as long as it has a web browser
Build Your Network | 353
Networking and
Internet
name as the one at work, yet both have different encryption settings (set
later in this section), Windows may not recognize both networks as
unique without a lot of hassle.
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