Hooking Up a Wireless Laptop to the Internet

**SusieQ** · January 8th, 2009, 10:42 AM

I purchased a Dell laptop and want to hook it up to the internet. Currently, my friend has a DSL modem, speedstream through Bell(Canada). I cannot seem to hook it up correctly. Do I need to purchase some kind of adapter? I can get it run on my wireless network at home just fine. Any suggestions.

**NooNoo** · January 8th, 2009, 11:32 AM

So you are just hooking up directly to the modem? USB or ethernet connection?

**SusieQ** · January 8th, 2009, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by NooNoo

So you are just hooking up directly to the modem? USB or ethernet connection?

She had a hookup using the less expensive Bell sympatico system and a computer with win98SE,,,
I had thought that I could hook this one up by just using her configuration and plugging the modem into the USB port as it was before. No such luck. The computer does find my wireless network here at home and I have updated and downloaded a number of things for her. This laptop has XP professional and IE7.

**NooNoo** · January 8th, 2009, 04:15 PM

Ok, I think I see how you are confused... the modem she has does not supply wireless internet.

You have to load the drivers in for the modem on to your laptop, then connect the modem and then if you are unlucky, it still might not connect because she might have the sort where the pc the modem is connected to is authorised and identified by its mac address.

If it does work, then you won't connect using the wireless connection, you connect via the modem.