Can you get wireless internet on a desktop computer?
October 10, 2009 by DSL and Broadband Tips
Filed under Broadband, Wireless & High Speed
Can you answer allie*lindsay’s question about DSL?:
Okay, I have wireless internet throughout my whole house & the 2 desktop computers upstairs are connected through wires & cords to the modem. The laptop downstairs has a wireless internet card that picks up the signal, and gets internet. I have another computer in the basement (the basement is unfinished, and therefore doesn’t have the internet connection thing in the wall) Is there any way that I can get internet on this basement computer? Is there something I can get for the computer that picks up a wireless internet signal? (There is a wireless internet signal down there)
Okay, I have wireless internet throughout my whole house & the 2 desktop computers upstairs are connected through wires & cords to the modem. The laptop downstairs has a wireless internet card that picks up the signal, and gets internet. I have another computer in the basement (the basement is unfinished, and therefore doesn’t have the internet connection thing in the wall) Is there any way that I can get internet on this basement computer? Is there something I can get for the computer that picks up a wireless internet signal? (There is a wireless internet signal down there)
Thanks in advance for your help.
PS- I’m not sure if it matters, but the computer was originally a 98 windows (from dell) but it is upgraded to windows xp.
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DSL Feedback: mayb – mayb not
DSL Feedback: you can, but its a waste of time. just buy one wireless router the have it brodcast to all your computers
DSL Feedback: Here you have a few options. First one is if the computer has a USB port available yoou can get a wireless dongle that plugs into the USB port. Install the software first then plug it in and it will work effortlessly. Otherwise if you have a free PCI slot available you can get a wireless card that has an antenna wire. This requires opening the case, and can conflict with other hardware, but that is seldom the case. Both of these and more can be found at or my preference is from Once you have it, if you have problems getting it to work, my site below under Network Talk as a troubleshooting guide.
Hope this helps
DSL Feedback: You certainly can. Linksys and most other major wirless router manufacturers make a PCI card that will work with your wireless system.
I have one in mine that works great. It only takes a couple of minutes to install and setup.
You need to make sure you have an available PCI slot on your desktop computers before you go this route.
The bonus to this type of setup is that the wireless card for the desktops have about a 6″ antenna that comes with it.
BTW, I got mine at walmart for about $40. Heres the link.
You can also find usb wireless recievers although I’ve never used one.
DSL Feedback: If you have a wireless router then you can just get a wireless card for your PC. You can get a PCI card or you can get one that plugs into a USB port. Even so you may have problems getting a signal down in the basement. If so you may need to get a signal booster or another access point to extend the signal down to the basement.
One other way to get signal down there is to use devices called HomePlug which uses your electrical outlet to create a network port to plug into. Checkout the link below