Gainesville State College Wireless Access Tutorial

 

Before we go any further, you need to have the following requirements:

 

-         Laptop with a 802.11 a/b/g wireless card

-         Microsoft Windows 2000/XP

 

Follow the next steps to insure a wireless connection to the network.

 

  1. Check to see if your wireless card is installed properly. Just like any other device on the computer, you need to make sure the drivers are loaded correctly. You can check this by going to:

 

Start à Control Panel à System à Hardware à Device Manager

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                            Fig. 1

 

Look under Network Adapters(Fig. 1), and you should see your wireless card installed. If you see any Exclamation points or Question Marks, the card may be not installed properly. Try to reinstall the driver.

 

  1. After you have verified that your wireless card is installed properly, you need to configure the connection. Many manufacturers like Dell and HP will provide you with a third-party program to use your wireless card. The next step is to find this program. Try to look for a program that says Wireless Utility or anything that has to do with the card. For example, my wireless utility is in the Start Menu à All Programs directory. Also, look at the System Tray at the bottom right of the screen. Some wireless utilities are set to automatically start when the computer starts.

 

If you are unable to locate it, try looking up your model of laptop on the manufacturer’s website. They should provide you with a guide that pertains to your model. If the laptop you bought did not come with a wireless card, but you bought a retail card like Linksys or D-Link, then you need to check their website on how to setup your card.

 

Once the client utility is found and started, try scanning for an available wireless access point. In (Fig. 2), my wireless utility displays two found networks. Notice the names under the Network Name column. These are called the SSIDs(Service Set Identifiers)

 


Fig. 2

 

The SSID is the name that identifies the network you are trying to connect to. Select a network with the best Signal Strength. If you cannot scan for networks ask the IT department or instructor for the network SSID. Also, keep in mind that some networks are encrypted and require a password. So unless you know the password, you will not be able to connect.

 

 

  1. Once you are connected to the network, you should see a green bar at the bottom right of your screen in the system tray indicating a connection.(Fig. 3)

 

 


                                                                  Fig. 3

 

  1. Finally, fire up your internet browser. The page below(Fig. 4) should be displayed. Gainesville State students are redirected to a GSC login page. It asks you for your 924 number and password. After you sign in, the page should redirect you back to your start up page. Now, you should be browsing the net.

 

Fig. 4