54 Mbps Wireless PC Card User Guide 0530-0309-000
Page Table of Contents l. ll. lIl. IV. V. Introduction Technical Support Operating Modes Installing the PC Card Installing the Software Windows 98 and 98SE Windows Me Windows 2000 Windows XP VI. Installing the Configuration Utility Windows 98, 98SE, Me, and 2000 VII. Setting Infrastructure Mode Windows 98, 98SE, Me, and 2000 Windows XP VIII. Setting AdHoc Mode Windows 98, 98SE, Me, and 2000 Windows XP IX. Configuring File and Print Sharing Windows 98, 98SE, and Me Windows 2000 Windows XP X.
Introduction Thank you for purchasing the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC card. This Wireless PC Card is easy to setup and easy to use. If you’re tired of all those messy wires needed to connect a laptop to your home network, take your networking to the next level with the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card. You’ll be able to have full access to your network and share files, printers and even your High-Speed Internet access wirelessly from anywhere within your home. This card uses Wi-Fi5 (a.k.a. IEEE 802.
Contacting Technical Support Actiontec Electronics prides itself on making high-quality, durable, highperformance products. If you need assistance, the Actiontec Technical Support Department is available seven days a week from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Mountain Time) to provide professional support. Actiontec Electronics, Inc. 760 N. Mary Avenue Sunnyvale, CA 94085 Phone: 1-719-884-8300 E-mail: techsupp@actiontec.
Operating Modes The Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card can be set to operate in one of two modes: AdHoc mode or Infrastructure mode. AdHoc Mode When configured for AdHoc mode, the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card is able to operate in an environment where a wireless network consists of a number of stations using additional 54 Mbps Wireless Cards without access points. They can share files this way, but are not able to access Wired LAN (Local Area Network) resources.
Infrastructure Network You may reconfigure the 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card at any time by following the steps in this manual.
Installing the 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card 1. Your computer can be on or off, it will not affect the installation process. Locate an available Type II or Type III PCMCIA slot on your laptop. If you are not sure where the slot is, please consult your laptop’s user manual. 2. Insert the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card into the appropriate PCMCIA slot. Your hardware is now installed.
Installing the Software Windows 98 and 98SE 1. Upon restarting Windows, the “New Hardware Found” window will appear. 2. Insert the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. Click Next. 3. In the “Add New Hardware Wizard’ screen that appears, select the option “Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended)” and click the Next button.
4. A screen will display location options to look for the driver. Make sure the box next to “CD-ROM drive ” is checked and click Next. 5. Click Next to continue.
6. Click Finish to continue to complete the driver installation. Note: In Windows ME, the device manager will show a warning in regards to the driver and Windows Logo testing. This is normal. 7. Click Yes to restart the system. Note: Once the system is restarted, the 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card will display two flashing greet lights. Windows Me 1. Upon restarting Windows, the “New Hardware Found” screen appears.
2. Insert the PC Card Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive 3. In the “Add New Hardware Wizard” screen that appears, select the option “Automatic search for a better driver (Recommended)” and click Next. 4. Click Finish to continue to complete the driver installation. Note: In Windows ME, the device manager will show a warning in regards to the driver and Windows Logo testing. This is normal. 4. Click Yes to restart the system.
Windows 2000 1. After you have installed the PC Card, your computer will display the “Found New Hardware Wizard” window. Click Next. 2. Choose “Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended) and click Next. 3. Insert the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. Choose the “CD-ROM Drive” option and click Next.
4. When the appropriate driver is found, click Next. 5. Since the driver does not have a digital signature from Microsoft, a warning message may appear. If so, click Yes and proceed with the installation. 6. Click Finish to complete the driver installation.
Windows XP 1. After installing the PC Card, the “Found New Hardware Wizard” will appear. Insert the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card Installation CD into your CD-ROM drive. Choose the “Install the software automatically (recommended)” option and click Next. 2. A window displaying that the hardware has not passed Windows logo testing may appear. Click Continue Anyway to install the driver. 3. The wizard install the drivers automatically. Click Finish to complete the installation.
6. Right-click on the Networks icon in the task bar and select “View Available Wireless networks” from the pop-up menu. 6. Select the network you wish to connect to and click Connect. 6. A status window will appear over the network icon in the task bar showing the network name and signal strength.
Installing the Configuration Utility Windows 98, 98SE, Me, and 2000 1. After the system restarts, insert the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card CDROM in the computer’s CD-ROM drive if you have not done so already. The InstallShield Wizard will launch when drive door closes. If the InstallShield Wizard has not launched, look for the file named “SETUP.EXE” in the root directory of the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card Installation CD-ROM and double-click on it. 2.
Setting Infrastructure Mode Windows 98, 98SE, Me, and 2000 This section defines the process of configuring the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card in Infrastructure mode. 1. Under the “Profile” tab, select either of the options: New: Use this option to create a new network profile. Modify: Use this option to make changes to an existing network profile. Delete: Use this option to erase an existing network profile. 2.
3. Once finished, click OK. 4. Security Usually, infrastructure mode is used as an environment where Access Points are installed and maintained by an IT (Information Technology) staff. You must configure security to make sure that only stations with the appropriate keys can receive data. The Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card supports key lengths of 64, 128, and 152 bits. Encryption and decryption keys should be provided by your IT Staff. Windows XP 1.
2. Under the “Wireless Networks” tab select the network you wish to connect to. Click Configure from the “Available networks:” list. (If the network that you wish to connect to is not listed, click Add from the “Preferred networks:” list.) 3. Enter the SSID for the network you wish to connect. You can also set the WEP encryption and encryption key information for the network.
4. The “Wireless Network Connection Properties” screen will appear. Click OK. 5. You can also specify the types of networks to connect to by clicking Advanced in the “Wireless Network Connection Properties” window. Select and option and click Close. Any available network: will give priority to infrastructure mode networks but will also connect to an ad-hoc network if available.
Setting AdHoc Mode Windows 98, 98SE, Me, and 2000 To configure the Actiontec 54Mbps Wireless PC Card, click the right mouse button on the Wireless icon, then click on Configuration in the pop-up menu. Proceed to make changes to the Actiontec 54Mbps Wireless PC Card. 1. Under the “Profile” tab, select either of the options: New: Use this option to create a new network profile. Modify: Use this option to make changes to an existing network profile.
Network Connection: AdHoc. 3. You can optionally set up other properties, but because the duration of the AdHoc network tends to be limited, security features are not typically required and can be disabled. 4. Click OK when the properties are set correctly. The system needs to reboot in order for the changes to take effect.
Windows XP 1. Bring up the settings screen again by right-clicking on the networks icon in the task bar and select “View Available Wireless networks” from the pop-up menu. Select a network and click Advanced for more configuration options. 2. Under the “Wireless Networks” tab select the network you wish to configure and click Properties.
3. Select the “This is a computer-to-computer (ad-hoc) network, wireless access points are not used” option and click OK. 4. You can also specify the types of networks to connect to by clicking Advanced in the “Wireless Network Connection Properties” window. Select and option and click Close. Any available network: will give priority to infrastructure mode networks but will also connect to an ad-hoc network if available.
Configuring File and Print Sharing You can establish a network that will allow you to share files and printers. This is an easy method to set up a network in your home or small office. Please follow these steps to setup file and print sharing: Windows 98, 98SE and Me 1. On your computer’s desktop click Start, Settings and Control Panel. In the “Control Panel” window, double-click the Network icon. 2. The following “Network” screen should appear. Click the Add button. 3.
4. In the following screen, select “File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks” from the given list and click OK. 5. In the “File and Print Sharing” screen, make sure that both of the selections have a check mark beside them. If not, click on the box next to each statement and then click OK. 6. After you have clicked OK, you will return to the network screen from step 2. Click on the Identification tab. Computer Name: In this field you can type any name you want. (i.e.
7. Click on the Configuration tab. This will take you back to the screen from step 2. In the “Primary Network Logon:” box, located just above the “File and Print Sharing” button, make sure that Client for Microsoft Networks is selected. If not, click the down arrow and select it from the given list. Click OK. 8. A screen will appear asking you to restart your computer. Click Yes to restart the computer. If you do not see this screen please restart your computer manually.
9. After your computer has restarted and you entered a password and user name, you must enable a file or drive for sharing. Locate the file or drive you wish to share. (The easiest way to do this is using Windows Explorer.) Right-click on the File or Drive you wish to share. In the pop-up menu, select Sharing. 10. The following screen will appear. Select Shared As. This will enable other users on your network to see the file or drive you selected. Then you can chose the Access Type.
Full: This will allow other users on your network to read, modify, move and delete any information in the shared drive or file. You can further restrict their privileges by entering a user name and password. Depends on Password: This will allow you to set both Read Only and Full access on the shared file or drive. The level of access will depend on the passwords you enter in the appropriate field. When you are finished click Apply and then OK. 11. Next, you need to share your printer.
13. The next step will be to enable the sharing by selecting the Share As. This will automatically insert a default name for the share name. You can set a password for the printer at this time if you want to restrict who on the network can use this resource. You can also set the default printer settings by modifying information on the other tabs of this window. Windows 2000 1.
3. In the “Computer Name:” field, type a name that is different from the other PCs on your network. Then, in the “Workgroup” field, type the name that you are using to identify your network. This will be the same on each computer on your network. Click OK and you will return to the “Network Properties” window. Click OK again and even if you are not asked to do so, restart your computer. Windows XP 1. 30 Open the System Properties window by right clicking the My Computer icon and selecting Properties.
2. Select the “Computer Name” tab. Click Change... to rename the computer. 3. Enter a new computer name and workgroup name. Click OK when finished. 4. Restart your computer.
Troubleshooting This section provides solutions to common problems that may arise during the installation and operation of the Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card. If you are having problems, refer to the section below to find an answer. Please contact Actiontec’s technical support for further assistance. 1. My computer does not recognize the Actiontec 54 Mbps (802.11a) Wireless PC Card. Make sure the 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card is properly inserted into a 32 bit CardBus slot.
Frequently Asked Questions 1. How fast can I access my network? The Actiontec 54 Mbps Wireless PC Card supports all IEEE 802.11a data rates of 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps and Turbo Mode at 72 Mbps. 2. What is the range for network access,and how reliable is the connection? The range for network access is approximately 100 meters (300 feet) indoors and 300 meters (1,000 feet) outdoors. 3. Can I operate an 802.11b network in the same area or vicinity? Networks based on the IEEE 802.
Regulatory and Warranty Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
from shipment, or the remainder of the initial warranty period, whichever is longer. Software: Actiontec Electronics warrants to Customer that each software program licensed from it will perform in substantial conformance to its program specifications, for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase from Actiontec Electronics or its authorized reseller. Actiontec Electronics warrants the media containing software against failure during the warranty period.
tracking of the package. The repaired or replaced item will be shipped to Customer, at Actiontec Electronics’ expense, not later than thirty (30) days after Actiontec Electronics receives the defective product.
INDIRECT, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR FOR LOSS OF REVENUE OR PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF INFORMATION OR DATA, OR OTHER FINANCIAL LOSS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE, INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE, USE, PERFORMANCE, FAILURE, OR INTERRUPTION OF ITS PRODUCT, EVEN IF ACTIONTEC ELECTRONICS OR ITS AUTHORIZED RESELLER HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND LIMITS ITS LIABILITY TO REPAIR, REPLACEMENT,OR REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE PAID, AT ACTIONTEC ELECTRONICS’
