How to Install, Connect, and Configure Your Wireless Base Station (810955)

SUMMARY

This step-by-step article describes how to install, connect, and configure your wireless base station.

Important You must follow these steps in the order that they are written. Install the software before you connect the base station. This takes advantage of the software ability to detect your current Internet and system settings, and then use that information to configure your wireless network.

Note You may want to print this article for use as an offline reference.

Part 1: Before You Start

You need the following:

• A broadband connection to the Internet and the appropriate hardware. For example, cable-based Internet access that uses a cable modem that is provided by your ISP.
• The Microsoft Broadband Networking Setup CD-ROM.
• The Microsoft MN-500 Wireless Base Station.
• The Ethernet cable that came with your base station.
• The AC power supply.
• The blank floppy disk.

Check the following:

• On computers that are running Microsoft Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP, you must be a member of the Administrators group to set up a network. If you cannot run Setup, click Log Off on the Start menu, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, and then log on with as an administrator.
• Turn off any firewall or Internet connection sharing software on your computers. Your base station replaces these functions. The Setup Wizard cannot continue if they are enabled.
• Do you have a Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) Internet connection or a static Internet Protocol (IP) address? The Setup Wizard prompts you to type your user name, password, and service name for a PPPoE connection. For a static IP address, you must have the IP, subnet, and ISP gateway addresses. If you have one of these types of connections, gather this information from your ISP.

Part 2: Install the Software and Connect the Hardware

1. Insert the wireless base station Setup CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. If the Setup Wizard does not start automatically, click Start, click My Computer, double-click the CD-ROM icon, and then double-click Setup or Setup.exe.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.
3. In the second part of the installation, select the option to set up the wireless base station, and then continue through the rest of the Setup Wizard.
4. When the Setup Wizard instructs you to connect your wireless base station, position the wireless base station close to your modem and computer, and near the center of your intended network area. If you want to set up the wireless base station vertically, attach the included stand.
5. On the back of your computer, unplug the Ethernet cable that connects your computer to your broadband modem. Leave the other end of the cable plugged in to the modem.
6. Plug the cable in to the "To Modem" port on the back of the base station. The base station is now connected to your modem.
7. Plug one end of the blue Ethernet cable that came with your base station in to the Ethernet port that is labeled 1 on the back of the base station. Plug the other end into the Ethernet port on the back of your computer. This is the same port from which you just disconnected the modem cable.
   
   Important The modem must use its original Ethernet cable or one of the same type to connect to the base station.
8. Plug one end of the power supply that came with your base station into the power jack on the back of the base station. Plug the other end into an electrical outlet. The power indicator light on the front of the base station should turn on.
9. Return to the Setup Wizard, click Next, and then go to Part 3 of this article.

Part 3: Configure the Base Station and Network Settings

Continue to follow the instructions on the screen to configure your wireless network settings:

1. Setup prompts you to enable wireless security (WEP). Microsoft recommends that you enable WEP.
2. Setup prompts you to save your network settings to a floppy disk for use in later installations. A blank floppy disk is provided for this purpose. If you do not save to a disk, you receive a list of network settings to print or write down.
3. Click Finish to exit Setup, and then remove the Setup CD-ROM from the CD-ROM drive and the floppy disk from the floppy disk drive. You can use the same CD-ROM and floppy disk to set up additional computers on your network.

Part 4: Test Your Network

1. View the status of your network in the Broadband Network Utility (BNU). Make sure that you can see your base station and the computer that is connected to it in the BNU status screen:
   1. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then double-click Microsoft Broadband Network Utility.
   2. View the information on the Network Status screen.
2. If your broadband Internet connection is being shared through your wireless network, start your Web browser program, and then try to visit a Web site. If your network is working properly, you have access to the Internet from the computer you just set up.

Part 5: Alternate Setup Methods

There are other ways to set up your wireless base station, depending on your computer and network characteristics.

• The Microsoft Wireless Base Station is designed specifically for use with an external, broadband Ethernet modem. If you have a modem with both USB and Ethernet connections, you must use the Ethernet connection to connect to the base station. To change your USB modem to an Ethernet connection, replace the USB cable between your modem and computer with the Ethernet cable that came with your modem before you run Setup. If you do not have this cable, see your modem documentation or contact your Internet service provider to determine if you must obtain a standard or crossover Ethernet cable for the modem. Make sure that your Internet connection is working through the Ethernet cable before you start Setup. If your modem does not have an Ethernet connection, you have three choices:
  • Obtain a new modem that has an Ethernet connection.
  • Set up a network with only wireless adapters and no base station.
  • You may be able to set up the base station as a wireless access point only.
• You may want to use your wireless base station as a wireless access point. The wireless base station is designed to work with an external Ethernet modem. If you do not have one, you cannot run the Setup Wizard or share your Internet connection through the base station. If you do not want to share your Internet connection through the base station, and you are comfortable with configuring your base station through the Base Station Management tool, you can use the base station as an access point for your wireless network only. To set up the base station as only a wireless access point:
  1. Plug one end of the blue Ethernet cable that came with your wireless base station into the Ethernet port that is labeled 1 on the back of the wireless base station. Plug the other end in to the Ethernet port on the back of your computer.
  2. Plug one end of the power supply that came with your base station in to the power port on the back of the wireless base station, and then plug the other end in to an electrical outlet.
  3. Use a pointed object to press the reset button on the back of the base station, while you watch the power indicator light. Hold the button down until the light starts to blink green and orange (for about five seconds).
  4. Release the button, and then wait for the light to turn solid orange and then green. This may take up to 60 seconds.
  5. Configure the wireless base station by using the Base Station Management tool.
  Note To set up the base station as a wireless access point if none of your computers have Ethernet ports:
  1. Attach a wireless network adapter to your computer by following the manufacturer instructions.
  2. Plug one end of the blue Ethernet cable that came with your wireless base station into the Ethernet port that is labeled 1 on the back of the wireless base station. Plug the other end in to the Ethernet port on the back of your computer.
  3. Plug one end of the power supply that came with your base station in to the power port on the back of the wireless base station, and then plug the other end in to an electrical outlet.
  4. Use a pointed object to press the reset button on the back of the base station, while you watch the power indicator light. Hold the button down until the light starts to blink green and orange (for about five seconds).
  5. Release the button, and then wait for the light to turn solid orange and then green. This may take up to 60 seconds.
  6. Configure the wireless base station by using the Base Station Management tool.