geekbunny rides again

[saffronhare]

In this crowd, I'm a dilettante when it comes to true geekery, but I do like to increase my competencies and generally make sure I do what I'm capable of doing myself. For instance, I almost always remember to make sure something is turned on and plugged in before I complain that it's not working (grin)

Anyway. I managed to set up a wireless router in the house, and now have wireless internet access with my laptop anywhere I darn well please. I also managed to hook up to the laptop the printer that Came With It. (brief moment for happy dance here)

However. Now, I need to figure out how to secure said network. I am certain this is a simple matter, once I figure out where to set those...er, settings. (See? I even lack vocabulary. For shame.) And I also need to figure out why the printer won't print on anything but the top two inches of any piece of paper before shooting it across the room. Hrm. Plus, the sound on the desktop does not work. I would very much like to undertake these tasks on my own (except if it involves actually opening up the machinery, which I'm very nervous about), but if you have helpful trouble-shooting points, I'd appreciate them.

Comments

[teross50.livejournal.com]

orcjohn, or myself give one of us a call to help talk you through it.
It sounds like you need to run the maintenance, program for yor printer,.

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Terry. I'll see about running the install/repair disk for the printer. That hadn't occurred to me. :)

[teross50.livejournal.com]

that should work , always glad to help
hugs
T

[zylch.livejournal.com]

What kind of router is it, and who do you plan to let use it (ie, are there going to be other people coming to your house, or is it just one or two people who should be allowed on?)

If it's a Belkin router, I can give exact instructions on how to set it up so that it is not only restricted to your specific machines, but also "invisible" to the world at large. This is a very secure kind of network, and not at all complicated to set up. (I figured out how to do it with the help of two webpages, which I cna't find right now or I'd just sent them to you.)

It's a pretty much unhackable setup, but the tradeoff for the security is that if someone comes over with a laptop that you'd like to let on the network, you have to log on to the router and tell it to let them on -- you can't just give them the password/encryption code.

If you don't have a Belkin router, then the best I can say is google for your router brand and "ESSID broadcast" and find out how to turn it off (this makes your network "invisible" to anyone who doesn't know the SSID -- so make sure you know your network's name before you turn it off!), and "MAC address" (think of it like a serial number for your wireless card; you should be able to set the router to only let specific MAC addresses log on).

This is how I set our network up, and so far it's worked quite well (much better than when we were trying to use encryption for security!)

The printer and the sound, alas, I have no idea on. Unless (and this goes in the "plugged in, turned on" category), do you have your main volume turned low or muted? (not the thing on the laptop front, but the little electronic slider that you can bring up on the screen)

[zylch.livejournal.com]

This isn't the same article that I used, but it's got equivalent information/tutorial: http://paininthetech.com/5_minute_wireless_network_security_for_your_home

Good luck!

[saffronhare.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's a Belkin router -- thanks for the pointer to the instructions! Mostly, I just don't want folks tagging onto the access from outside the house.

As for the sound, it's the regular house computer that's having trouble, not the laptop.

[zylch.livejournal.com]

D'oh, I am Teh Dum today. I'm assuming that the sound worked before and has only now stopped, and that it has stopped for all programs (mp3 player, games, warning sounds, etc)? Have you tried plugging in different speakers/headphones to make sure it's not just a problem with those? If it's not the speakers and it's not the virtual volume, and it's not just that someone turned the sound off on a program, then I'd say the next step before calling tech support is the troubleshooter on Control Panel:

Select control panel from the start menu, make sure you're in "category view" (rather than "classic view" -- there's a toggle in the upper left corner of the CP window), click once on the category "Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices," and then select "sound" from the "Troubleshooters" menu that will appear in the left bar.

(sorry if those instructions were too basic; I have no idea how familiar you are with those bits of the 'puter. And give me a shout if you run into any trouble with the router, cos I think I know what every damn button on the Belkin does by now.)