New Powerbook - can I connect to windows??

W

waxposse

Registered
Hi there.

I've just pruchased the new Powerbook 15" with built in airport extreme and was wondering if anyone could help me. I wanted to connect to the internet using the wireless connection that the Windows PC's use in my house but haven't got a clue where to start. Do I need a base station? Is it possible to connect to a wireless windows connection? And can I use the mac to connect to wireless internet in those places that have them (some cafe's, hotels etc...)

ANY help would be very very much appreciated.

Neil C
 
You need to supply more information.

How does the PC get it's connection?
What type of Internet connection do you have? Cable, DSL?
How is it connected? Wireless access point? ISP Modem?
 
Basically the Windows PC's are connected via a wireless cable connection. There are currently two Windows Laptops that use the wireless internet connection in the house. Do you need anymore info??

BTW Thanks for the quick reply!!
 
bobw said:
You need to supply more information.

How does the PC get it's connection?
What type of Internet connection do you have? Cable, DSL?
How is it connected? Wireless access point? ISP Modem?
Click to expand...

Basically the Windows PC's are connected via a wireless cable connection. There are currently two Windows Laptops that use the wireless internet connection in the house. Do you need anymore info??

BTW Thanks for the quick reply!!
 
Yes

Exactly how are they connected?
How do you supply the wireless connection to the Laptops?
Do you have a wireless router?
Is it High Speed? Cable or DSL
 
bobw said:
Yes

Exactly how are they connected?
How do you supply the wireless connection to the Laptops?
Do you have a wireless router?
Is it High Speed? Cable or DSL
Click to expand...

Hmm now I'm not too sure about this but I believe there is a Linksys Wireless Router that connects everything up. As far as I know this beams around the house so that people can connect via their laptops. The internet connection itself is 1Mb Cable

PS Sorry about the double post before - wasn't sure if I had replied to your post or added a new one!??!
 
Look in the Menu Bard for the Airport. Click it and it should show you the wireless network, Just move your mouse down to it and you should be online, unless the wireless router is set up for access just to machinces via their MAC address.
 
bobw said:
Look in the Menu Bard for the Airport. Click it and it should show you the wireless network, Just move your mouse down to it and you should be online, unless the wireless router is set up for access just to machinces via their MAC address.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought it would be. However, I've tried doing that but the Airport is greyed out and there are no network connections showing. Do I need to configure IP addreses etc? Also, I think the Wireless Connection may have a secure password for access - would this affect the Powerbook being able to see the network?

Again - many thanks, being a bit clueless about this whole thing!
 
waxposse said:
That's what I thought it would be. However, I've tried doing that but the Airport is greyed out and there are no network connections showing. Do I need to configure IP addreses etc? Also, I think the Wireless Connection may have a secure password for access - would this affect the Powerbook being able to see the network?

Again - many thanks, being a bit clueless about this whole thing!
Click to expand...

When you say the Airport icon is greyed out, is the icon a solid grey wedge with a thin black border or a grey wedge with faint concentric lines on it?

If it's solid grey then the problem is that your airport card is turned off. If this is the case, go to system preferences/network, select the location as "Automatic" and go to show: network port configurations. You should see a list of your possible network connections (airport, ethernet, firewire, etc.) Make sure that the check box next to Airport is checked and drag Airport to the top of the list. Click on apply now and look at your airport icon again, if it's changed to an icon with concentric grey lines on it then this could be your problem solved, click the airport icon again and see if your network shows up now.

If the airport icon is already showing the icon with concentric lines then airport is on and this isn't your problem. Whilst you may have to change your IP settings this shouldn't be stopping the network from showing up at all. Neither should a password being set on the network. The only thing I can think that would do this is if your router is being run in a "stealth" or hidden mode which means it doesn't advertise itself to anyone looking. If this is the case then you'll need to find out the name of your router before you can connect to it. This should be somewhere in the network settings on one of your PCs. Once you know it, click the airport icon to bring up the menu again, click the option to connect to another network/network which isn't shown (can't remember the exact wording, sorry), enter the name of your network and password (if applicable) and you should hopefully be connected.

These are the two simplest answers I can think of so try these before you try anything else. If you're not too sure about networking settings and what they should be, then it's probably an idea to note down the original settings before you make any changes.
 
Big thing: Make sure that if you have MAC address filitering you add your mac's MAC address (wow, redundant). To find out, go to Big Blue Apple -> About this Mac -> More info -> Network -> Airport
 
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