[Closed] Most Basic Computer Help Required, Please.

Any fatal floors

I think you need a structural engineer, not IT advice.

Steve has the new laptop got wireless? If so I would use that to connect to the home hub instead

Does the hub and the laptop do wireless?

D'oh not quick enough

In reality, you shouldn't need the install CD.

Are you talking about connecting wirelessly?

Yes, wireless on both. Well, certainly on the Home Hub. I'm now in a cold sweat about the £400, brand new laptop.

Sooooo........what's the difference? I just assumed all laptops connected to the Internet while you could wander round the house aimlessly.

Thanks for the help so far.

Apologies for the poor terminology. Too late to edit it now.

Ok you only need to install any drivers if you have a USB modem, if you have a home hub it should be putting out a wireless connection already (assuming it's WiFi capable - it'll have a aerial), which the laptop (if wifi enabled and it's switched on) should already be able to connect to, now you just need the SSID key (assuming there some security set).
Easy eh?

OK starting to look good z1ppy, thanks very much. Home Hub has an arial sticking out of the back and the "Wireless" light has been on constantly since the day it was installed last year.
What's this thing SSID key to which you refer?
Thanks again. I know it's customary on here to hang the village idiot out to dry (God knows sometimes it's deserved and I think I might be just on the cusp now) but there's a very sweet, very excited 12 year old enjoying her birthday at the hell whole that is high school at the mo' and can't wait to get her laptop up and running.
It only got a quick glimpse of daylight this morning as she had to get the bus to school but there wasn't any arial or anything pointy sticking out of the laptop and nothing pointy in the box to stick in it.
I've bought a Norton Anti Virus CD for security if that means anything?
Not very good am I?
Thanks again everyone. I'll keep thanking you all 'til the job is done 🙂
You all rock, you lot do.

Down by the clock there should be a little computer with some "radio waves" expanding away from it. If you double click on this, the wireless network connection will appear. Hopefully a single Wifi network will be listed (BT home network???), high-light and press the connect button. If you have no security (and your neighbours have been happily hi-jacking you free broadband for the last 2 years) you should connect straight away and be able to open the web browser and be away...

If not you'll need to connect to the router using the computer (a wired connection to the home hub is required for security reasons), connect into the home hub and discover what your network's name is and the SSID password. It is easier to locate the manual to do this, as talking you through it here would take all night.

Thank Z1ppy! I'm at work and my lovely wife will be attempting all this in about half an hour with a very anxious daughter looking over her shoulder.
I'm guessing then that if the laptop DOES need to be connected to the Home Hub (assuming the security is in place - although I don't have a clue if it is or not), this is done by disconnecting the yellow lead (I forget it's name) from the desk top PC and plug it into the laptop while it gets set up?
The lady in PC World was talking me through it but it was over a month ago and I forget what she said but plugging a lead into the laptop just to get it connected for the first time was mentioned.
Thanks again, you're still rocking! 🙂

When you turn on the laptop does it pop up with a little balloon in the bottom right hand corner saying "wireless network detected" or something like? If so then it means your laptop has "found" the home hub (or your neighbour's home hub!). By clicking on this notification you will see the wireless networks that are in range. Hopefully one will be your home hub - the SSID is the name given to your home hub so wireless devices like the laptop can "see" and identify it. You then need to click on it to connect to it but it may ask for a password. This should have been provided with your home hub.

It is unlikely that a new laptop wouldn't have wireless capability so let's not worry about that just yet.

"this done by disconneting the yellow lead (iforget it's name) from the desk top PC and plug it into the laptop while it gets set up?"

you shouldn't need to plug the laptop in ever, unless you can't get the wifi to work, and then you'd only do it to get a connection to work.
No connection physical connecting it to the home hub is required to make it wifi work with the laptop.
Be aware some laptop have a 'switch' to enable and disable the Wifi (for battery life), make sure it's switch on, as the wifi connection will be in the taskbar whether the wifi is on or not..

One thing microsoft is good at is documentation*

[url= http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/wirelesssetup.mspx ]WIFI howto[/url]

* Some would argue because they make the damn things so complicated in the first place 🙂

Ahhh, this is getting better by the minute! Thanks stilltortoise. Loads of stuff for Lovely Wife(tm) to go at when she gets home and in a rare act of forsight, I DIDN'T throw away the password details that I used when the Home Hub was installed last year (or the year before).
stilltortiose now added to the list of STW forum memebers "You rock!" list 🙂
Thank you

Zippy reaffirms his joint place at the top of the list and mogrim makes a decisive entry on tp the list as well 🙂
Thanks guys.

my pleasure. Nice to be nice 🙂

Another little tip is that the WEP code and all the details you need are typed up on the back of the home hub.

When you search for the wireless network it should detect your network - probably something along the lines of: BTHomeHub-18T (Full name is on back of BT Hub)

Additionally the wireless key or password is written there too and should be 10 characters in length.

All in all should be a simple process and require no wires at all. Good luck 😉

ohhh good point archaic.

hope I've been helpful and not confusing or downright daft like normal.

Thanks everyone!

You all rock!

Lovely Wife(tm) is home, has a link to this thread and will be attempting the operation in the next few minutes. Birtdhay girl blows you all air kisses and hugs as well.

It's like waiting for a baby to be born 🙂

did it work?

Dunno' Snakie.....it's very quiet. No frantic phone calls from home yet.....

It's a...........INTERNET CONNECTED WIRELESS LAPTOP!!!!

12 year old and laptop are both doing very well. Currently building a profile and chatting with friends on Facebook, sat at the kitchen table. No wires involved.

It was a pretty seamless operation apparently, no gas and air, alcohol or shouting involved.

I feel like a brand new Grandad 🙂

Thanks everyone! You all rock!

phew!!!!