User manual BELKIN F5D6050

Wireless USB Network Adapter User Manual F5D6050 Table of Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Knowing your Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Quick Setup ­ Setting up your Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter . . . . . . 4 Placing the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Installing Windows 98/Me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Installing Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Installing the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Using the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Installing the Belkin SOHO Networking Software for Windows 98/Me . . . . 17 Configuring Your Windows 98/Me Computer Using Belkin NetSetup . . . . . . 18 Configuring Additional Computers Using Belkin NetSetup Software . . . . . . 20 Configuring Network Settings for Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Sharing Files and Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Accessing Resources on Other Computers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Glossary of Wireless Networking Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Glossary of Wired Networking Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-33 Introduction Thank You for purchasing the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter (the Adapter). Now you can take advantage of this great new technology and gain the freedom you need around the home or office without using cables. The Wireless USB Network Adapter works like a conventional network card, but without the wires. The easy installation and setup will have you networking wirelessly in minutes. Please be sure to read through this manual completely to be sure that you are getting the most out of your Wireless USB Network Adapter. Key Features · Adds wireless capabilities to virtually any USB-equipped desktop or laptop · Installs with the Plug-and-Play convenience of USB to have you up and running in minutes · Configures with wireless setup software · Connects to your PC's USB port--so you don't need to open your computer case · Transports easily with its small and compact design · Provides data and network security with 64-bit or 128-bit WEP data encryption · Offers interoperability with any 802.11b-compliant wireless device · Comes with a Belkin Lifetime Warranty and free technical support Applications and Advantages · Wireless roaming with a laptop around the home or office Offers the freedom of networking--without cables. · Difficult-to-wire environments Enables networking in buildings with solid or finished walls, or open areas where wiring is difficult to install. · Frequently changing environments Adapts easily in offices or environments that frequently rearrange or change locations. · Temporary LANs for special projects or peak time Sets up temporary networks such as at trade shows, exhibitions, and construction sites, which need networks on a short-term basis--also companies who need additional workstations for a peak activity period. 1 Introduction · SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) networking needs Provides the easy and quick small network installation SOHO users need. Package Contents · Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter · USB Cable · Installation Software CD · User Manual System Requirements · PC-compatible desktop computer or laptop with one available USB port · Windows®, 98, 2000, Me 2 Knowing your Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter Adjustable Antennas USB "B" Socket Status Light Indicates network activity and power 3 Quick Setup ­ Setting up your Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter Placing the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter A six-foot USB cable is provided with the Adapter to allow you to place it as high as possible. The best location is on top of your computer's monitor. Placing the Adapter on your desktop is acceptable, however, avoid placing the Adapter near metal objects such as a computer case or speakers. Any object that is metal has the ability to block the radio signals from the Adapter. Installing the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter 1. Insert the CD into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Plug the USB cable into an available port on your PC. Connect the other end of the cable to your Wireless USB Network Adapter. 3. Windows will detect that new hardware has been installed. Follow the directions on the screen to install the drivers. Windows will prompt you to restart the computer. Please do so. Install the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager software 1. Make sure the CD is inserted into the CD-ROM drive. 2. Access your CD-ROM drive and double-click on the "Setup" icon. 3. Follow the Installation Wizard to install the software. Setup the TCP/IP Settings of the Adapter 1. Go to the TCP/IP properties of the Adapter and select "Obtain IP address automatically". 2. Restart the computer. When the computer restarts, the Adapter will automatically get an IP address from the wireless network. All network resources should now be available. 4 Placing the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter A six-foot USB cable is provided with the Adapter to allow you to place it as high as possible. The best location is on top of your computer's monitor. Placing the Adapter on your desktop is acceptable, however, avoid placing the Adapter near metal objects such as a computer case or speakers. Any object that is metal has the ability to block the radio signals from the Adapter. 5 Installing Windows 98/Me 1. Insert the Installation Driver CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Connect your Adapter to an available USB port on your PC or USB hub. If you are connecting this device to a USB hub, the hub must be a self-powered hub (connected to a power adapter that is plugged into the wall). 3. Windows will detect that a new device has been installed and will proceed to install it. The following screen will appear. Click "Next". 4. Windows will ask "What do you want to do?" Select "Search for the best driver for your device (Recommended)". Click "Next" to continue. 5. The following screen will appear. Make sure that your Belkin CD is inserted into your CD-ROM drive and select "CD-ROM drive. Click "Next" to continue. 6 Installing Windows 98/Me 6. Windows will find the location of the correct driver files. Click "Next". 7. The following screen will appear. Click "OK" to continue. 8. The following screen will appear. Click "Finish". Windows may prompt you to restart the computer. If so, restart the computer. When the computer restarts, your Adapter will be installed. Go to the section called "Installing the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager" on page 10. 7 Installing Windows 2000 1. Insert the Installation Driver CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Connect your Adapter to an available USB port on your PC or USB hub. If you are connecting this device to a USB hub, the hub must be a self-powered hub (connected to a power adapter that is plugged into the wall). 3. Windows will detect that a new device has been installed. Click "Next" to continue. 4. Next, the following screen will appear. Under "What do you want the wizard to do?" Select "Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended)". Click "Next". 5. Select "CD-ROM drives" from the list below. Make sure that your Installation Driver CD-ROM is inserted into the CD-ROM drive, then click "Next". 8 Installing Windows 2000 6. Windows will find the appropriate driver. The following screen will appear. Click "Next". 7. The "Digital Signature Not Found" screen will appear. This does not mean there is a problem. Although the driver has not been certified by Microsoft®, the driver has been fully tested under Windows 2000 and will operate properly. Click "Yes" to continue. 8. Windows will install the driver. Click "Finish". Windows may prompt you to restart the computer. If so, restart the computer. When the computer restarts, your Adapter will be installed. Go to the section called "Installing the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter Manager" on page 10. 9 Installing the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager 1. Insert the Installation Driver CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. 2. Access your CD-ROM drive by double-clicking on the "CD-ROM" icon in the "My Computer" window. Double-click on the "Setup" icon to start the installation process. 3. The following screen will appear. Click "Next". 4. The installer will install the needed files to a folder named "C:\Belkin\Wireless USB Adapter". If you wish to change this, click "Browse" and select a folder. Click "Next" to continue. 10 Installing the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager 5. The installer will create a program folder called "Belkin Wireless USB Adapter". If you wish to change this, enter a name or select from the list below. Click "Next" to continue. 6. Windows will finish installing the software and inform you that setup is complete. You can now launch the Belkin Wireless USB Network Adapter Manager by double-clicking on the icon in the window on your desktop. Installation is completed. 11 Using the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager When you launch the Wireless USB Adapter Manager (the Manager), you will be presented with the screen below. 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Monitor Tab 1. Operating Mode Shows the current wireless mode the Adapter is operating in. There are two operating modes: Infrastructure and 802.11 Ad-Hoc. Choose infrastructure mode when connecting your PC to a Belkin Wireless Network Access Point or to a Belkin Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway Router. To change the mode, click "Modify" then click the down facing arrow next to the operating mode field. Select the mode you wish to use. To apply the change, click "Apply". 2. Channel Shows the current channel the Adapter is operating on. The channel number is automatically set when the Adapter connects to an access point or wireless router. In Ad-Hoc mode, the channel can be set by you. 3. SSID Shows the current SSID (Service Set Identifier) with which the Adapter is associated. The default (factory) setting is "Default" which will cause the Adapter to automatically look for an access point. To manually enter the SSID of a known access point, click "Modify" and type in SSID. 12 Using the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager 4. TxRate Displays the current rate of data transmission. There are five rate speeds possible: Fixed 11Mbps--Always transmit and receive at 11Mbps data rate regardless of signal quality Fixed 5.5Mbps--Always transmit and receive at 5.5Mbps data rate regardless of signal quality Fixed 2Mbps--Always transmit and receive at 2Mbps data rate regardless of signal quality Fixed 1Mbps--Always transmit and receive at 1Mbps data rate regardless of signal quality Auto--Adjust speed according to signal strength. This mode is the recommended setting. It will decrease the amount of transmit and receive errors by reducing the speed of transmission in favor of receiving error free data. Note that data being sent at 11Mbps with low signal quality will not necessarily get the data to the computer faster. This is because when errors occur, the data must be re-sent. When the signal quality is low, the chances for errors to occur at high speeds are greatly increased. Sending the data at lower speeds when the signal quality is low, will reduce the chances of errors, and thus data will get to the computer in the shortest possible time. 5. Status Displays the BSSID (in hexadecimal) of the access point with which the Adapter is associated. 6. Signal Strength Displays the strength of the wireless signal. 13 Using the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager The Statistics Tab The "Statistics" tab shows you how much data has been sent and received. Click "Reset" to start at zero. This screen is mostly for diagnostics. Note that the number of unsuccessful data and management frames is recorded. A large number of unsuccessful frames may indicate that there is a problem or interference in your area. The Site Survey Tab Clicking on the "Site Survey" tab will display a list of all available access points in your area. The following information about each is displayed: 1. BBSID The MAC address of the access point 2. SSID 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Service Set Identifier (wireless network name) of the access point 3. Signal Strength The signal strength of the related access point 4. Channel number The current operating channel of the access point 5. Encryption Will display "No" when encryption is disabled, 64-bit when 64-bit encryption is enabled, and 128-bit when 128-bit encryption is enabled 6. BSS Displays the mode that the access point is operating in: Infrastructure or AD-Hoc To check the area for more access points, click "Re-Scan". To exit, click "Cancel ". 14 Using the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager The Encryption Tab Select "64-bit" from the drop-down menu. You will notice when using 64-bit encryption there are four keys labeled "Key 1" through "Key 4". Only one key can be used at a time. Keys can be entered manually, but for ease-of-use, the software can generate keys using a "passphrase" that you enter. This passphrase can be easily distributed to wireless-equipped computer users in your network. For instance, creating a key using the passphrase "Passphrase" generates four keys in 64-bit encryption mode and one key in 128-bit encryption mode. A user of a laptop needs only to enter the passphrase and the key number into their computer's wireless management software to be able to communicate while using encryption. All computers on the network must use the same encryption rate and passphrase. The passphrase can be changed as often as desired. Setting 64-Bit Encryption 1. Select "64-bit" from the drop-down menu. 2. Select "Create with Passphrase". 3. Enter a passphrase and click "Generate". Clicking "Generate" will generate four keys that you can use. 4. Select the "Default Key ID" from the dropdown menu. These are labeled 1 ­ 4. Click "Apply". 64-bit Encryption is now enabled. Each wireless equipped computer (client) that needs to communicate on the wireless network must be set to the same encryption settings. 15 Using the Belkin Wireless USB Adapter Manager 1. Select "128-bit" from the drop-down menu. 2. Select "Create with Passphrase". 3. Enter a passphrase and click "Generate". Clicking "Generate" will generate 4 keys that you can use. 4. Click "Apply" to save the changes. 128-bit Encryption is now enabled. Each wireless-equipped computer (client) that needs to communicate on the wireless network must be set to the same encryption settings. 16 Installing the Belkin SOHO Networking Software for Windows 98/Me The Belkin SOHO Networking Software provides a simple way to set up your Windows 98/Me computers for networking, file, and printer sharing. If you are familiar with TCP/IP and know how to configure the file and printer sharing, it is not necessary to use the Belkin SOHO Networking Software. Now that your wireless adapter drivers have been installed, you can configure the network. For each computer you connect to the network, you must assign a network address to be used by the other computers. Belkin has simplified this process by providing you with the Belkin SOHO Networking Software to configure your computers. Make sure that no other network adapters are installed in your computer before running the SOHO Networking Software. 1. Insert the SOHO Networking Software that came with your Belkin Network Adapter into your CD-ROM. 2. Click "Start", click "Run", and type "D:\NetSetup". ("D" is usually the default drive letter for the CD-ROM drive. If necessary, adjust drive letter to reflect your designated CD-ROM drive letter.) 3. Click "OK" and Windows will begin to install the program onto your PC. After the program is installed, Windows may ask you to restart your computer. Please do so. 4. Repeat these steps for each computer that you are connecting to your network. 5. Once you have installed the Belkin SOHO Networking Software on all of your computers, continue on to the next section. 17 Configuring Your Windows 98/Me Computer Using Belkin NetSetup 1. Once your computer has restarted, click "Start", "Programs", highlight "Belkin SOHO Networking" and select "Belkin NetSetup" to launch this easy-to-use computer configurator. The following screen will appear: 2. Select "I am setting up my own network" and click "Next". The following screen will appear. Select "I am setting up the first computer in my network" and click "Next". 3. You will need to enter some information into the next screen that appears: 4. In the "Computer Name" field, type a name for the computer such as "Computer 1". The name must be different for each computer that belongs to the same network/workgroup. 5. In the "Workgroup" field, type a workgroup name such as "My Network". The workgroup name must be same for each network or workgroup. 18