If you've got a laptop with an integrated Wi-Fi card, follow these three steps
before you install an additional adapter:
1. Read the instructions.
2. Disable the Wireless Zero Configuration utility.
3. Disable your wireless radio.
If your laptop has no integrated wireless capability, then you can (obviously)
skip the final step -- and if you've got a PDA, then you can skip the last two --
but the first item applies to one and all. In the following sections, I explain
each step in detail.
Read the instructions
Steven Wright, one of my favorite comedians, once said: "Experience is some-
thing you don't get until just after you need it." While that's true to a certain
extent, at least you can benefit from the experience of others. I've learned
(after enough repetitive "lessons") that manufacturers print these instructions
for a reason. These days (finally) I read the instructions -- completely --
before I begin the assembly or installation of anything. Pretty radical, isn't it?
But reading the instructions can head off some frustrating or annoying sur-
prises, because you start off knowing
Whether or not your operating system is compatible.
Whether you need to install the drivers before inserting the card, or vice
versa.
What needs to be turned off and what needs to be running.
That you're going to need a cup of coffee before you start.
Addressing the Wireless Zero
Configuration utility
Windows XP provides a Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) utility to manage
the connection of PDAs or laptops to wireless networks. That is, the utility
displays the wireless networks in range, along with their status, and performs
the computer gymnastics necessary to make a connection to your network of
choice. It also remembers the network and any configurations, like a security
password or whether or not you allow an automatic connection.
Unfortunately, WZC doesn't always work well with wireless adapters. For exam-
ple, it seems to work well enough with the Buffalo Technology WLI-CB-G54A
adapter -- but if your adapter is a SMC2532W-B, you may note that the user
Part I: The Wonderful World of Wireless Fidelity
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