Installation Guide

Basic Setup 3-1
December 2004
Chapter 3
Basic Setup
This chapter describes how to install your NETGEAR Pre-N Wireless PC Card WGM511 and set
up basic wireless connectivity on your Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Advanced wireless
network configuration is covered in Chapter 4, “NETGEAR Smart Wireless Wizard” in this
manual.
What You Need Before You Begin
You need to verify that your computer meets the minimum system requirements and identify the
wireless network configuration settings of the WLAN where you will connect before you can
configure your wireless PC card and connect.
Verifying System Requirements
Before installing the NETGEAR Pre-N Wireless PC Card WGM511, please make sure that these
minimum requirements have been met:
• You must have a computer with a Pentium
®
300 MHz or higher compatible processor with an
available Cardbus slot.
•A CD drive.
• 5 Mbytes of free hard disk space.
• Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, or Windows 2000
• Some versions of Windows may ask for the original Windows operating system installation
files to complete the installation of the WGM511 driver software.
Note: Indoors, computers can easily connect to 802.11 wireless networks at distances of
several hundred feet. Because walls do not always block wireless signals, others outside
your immediate area could access your network. It is important to take appropriate steps
to secure your network from unauthorized access. The NETGEAR Pre-N Wireless PC
Card WGM511 provides highly effective security features, which are covered in
“Statistics Page” on page 4-7 in this manual. Deploy the security features appropriate to
your needs.