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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Setting Up an Airport Base (Apple?) for both a Mac and Dell
chinalamb - Dec 9, 2005 - 7:27 pm
I need a explaination on setting up an Airport base with Powerbook G4(10.4.2) and Dell 600m Inspiron--I just received the DSL modom from Earthlink--need to buy the airport base, but which model?--how do I set up the Dell to work too, can't seem to get a straight answer from anyone--along with a iMac which is not wireless--Help--Thanks-Jill
baldprof - Dec 9, 2005 - 8:29 pm
I have set up an Airport base station for a mixed home network, so perhaps I can help.
As to which model, I recommend the regular , full size Airport Extreme basestation. It is more expensive, however, it has two advantages over the cheaper Airport Express model. You can attach an external antenna to it, which can help if you run into interference problems, or need to extend its range, such as when a computer is more than 25 feet from the base station. The other advantage is that it has two ethernet ports; one is labled a "WAN" port; it's where you would attach your modem. The other ethernet port is the "LAN" port; it's where you would attach a computer with a cable. While some would not agree, I think setup is easier and more trouble free if the setup is done with from a computer connected via ethernet.
The first thing to do would be to connect one of your Macs directly to the modem, and make sure the modem is setup properly. Exactly how to do this vaires according to the modem one has. I'll bet Earthlink has included a setup disk with a Mac setup program which will automate the process. My ISP, Bellsouth. did. If not, Earthlink is regarded as being Mac friendly, and probably their tech support can help you with this part. Of course there may be printed instructions which you can use.
Once you can verify that your DSL connection is setup properly, then it's simply a matter of running the Airport Setup Assistant; the basestation would include a disk with the latest version. Just install that, run the setup assistant, after first connecting everything according to the printed diagram that should be in the brochure which comes with the base station. Make sure that you set it up to "distribute IP addresses using DHCP". I cannot remember which setup screen that is on, but it's the default setting anyway, and I'll bet it's what Earthlink recommends, so if you don't change the defaults you should be successfull.
The only possible problem you could encounter is mentioned here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106836
I cannot recall if Earthlink uses "provisioning" or not. That page should help with that problem.
For setting up a Mac with a wireless card, first open System Preferences. Then click Networking. Make sure that "Using Airport card" is selected. If not, select it. Then click "Configure". then click TCP/IP. Where it shows "Configure IPv4", make sure that "Using DHCP" is chosen.Click Apply Now if you changed anything, then close system preferences, and restart. Your Mac should be able to connect using the Airport card.
As far as the Dell is concerned, I am going to assume you have XP Pro, which is what I have. However, XP Home and Win2k are similar. You would go to Start>Control Panel>Network Settings. (I think, I am not in front of my Windows PC right now) Then there's a choice to which I believe is "Join an Existing Home or Small Office Network". If you run the setup wizard, the setup should be painless (relatively). When I got a new XP laptop, the Wizard was able to connect to my Airport network with no problem.
There's a book you might find helpful. It's "Mac OS X, The missing Manual, Tiger Edition" by David Pogue. Our local Barnes and Noble carries it. Chapter 13 is on networking. It even shows screen shots for Windows XP settings. This may come in very handy if you want to go beyond sharing an internet connection, and want to share files and such.
Also, you need to consider network security. First get, your Airport set up and working without "closing" your network. Then consider requiring a password for wireless network access. I think Pogue's book will be a real help in deciding just how secure you want to be.
Let me know if this helps.
As to which model, I recommend the regular , full size Airport Extreme basestation. It is more expensive, however, it has two advantages over the cheaper Airport Express model. You can attach an external antenna to it, which can help if you run into interference problems, or need to extend its range, such as when a computer is more than 25 feet from the base station. The other advantage is that it has two ethernet ports; one is labled a "WAN" port; it's where you would attach your modem. The other ethernet port is the "LAN" port; it's where you would attach a computer with a cable. While some would not agree, I think setup is easier and more trouble free if the setup is done with from a computer connected via ethernet.
The first thing to do would be to connect one of your Macs directly to the modem, and make sure the modem is setup properly. Exactly how to do this vaires according to the modem one has. I'll bet Earthlink has included a setup disk with a Mac setup program which will automate the process. My ISP, Bellsouth. did. If not, Earthlink is regarded as being Mac friendly, and probably their tech support can help you with this part. Of course there may be printed instructions which you can use.
Once you can verify that your DSL connection is setup properly, then it's simply a matter of running the Airport Setup Assistant; the basestation would include a disk with the latest version. Just install that, run the setup assistant, after first connecting everything according to the printed diagram that should be in the brochure which comes with the base station. Make sure that you set it up to "distribute IP addresses using DHCP". I cannot remember which setup screen that is on, but it's the default setting anyway, and I'll bet it's what Earthlink recommends, so if you don't change the defaults you should be successfull.
The only possible problem you could encounter is mentioned here:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106836
I cannot recall if Earthlink uses "provisioning" or not. That page should help with that problem.
For setting up a Mac with a wireless card, first open System Preferences. Then click Networking. Make sure that "Using Airport card" is selected. If not, select it. Then click "Configure". then click TCP/IP. Where it shows "Configure IPv4", make sure that "Using DHCP" is chosen.Click Apply Now if you changed anything, then close system preferences, and restart. Your Mac should be able to connect using the Airport card.
As far as the Dell is concerned, I am going to assume you have XP Pro, which is what I have. However, XP Home and Win2k are similar. You would go to Start>Control Panel>Network Settings. (I think, I am not in front of my Windows PC right now) Then there's a choice to which I believe is "Join an Existing Home or Small Office Network". If you run the setup wizard, the setup should be painless (relatively). When I got a new XP laptop, the Wizard was able to connect to my Airport network with no problem.
There's a book you might find helpful. It's "Mac OS X, The missing Manual, Tiger Edition" by David Pogue. Our local Barnes and Noble carries it. Chapter 13 is on networking. It even shows screen shots for Windows XP settings. This may come in very handy if you want to go beyond sharing an internet connection, and want to share files and such.
Also, you need to consider network security. First get, your Airport set up and working without "closing" your network. Then consider requiring a password for wireless network access. I think Pogue's book will be a real help in deciding just how secure you want to be.
Let me know if this helps.
chinalamb - Dec 10, 2005 - 2:42 am
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! Your advice sounds great. I'm currently in the middle of several projects, so it may be until next week for me to try to set this up--I want to impress my college twins with my knowledge--just kidding--I will definitely let you now how it goes and will go look for the book--Thanks again, Jill
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