AT&T 6550G User Manual
Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter
802.11g / 108 Mbps
6550G
User Manual
Copyright © 2004 Advanced American Telephones. All Rights Reserved.
AT&T and the Globe Design are trademarks of AT&T Corp., licensed to Advanced
American Telephones. All marks are trademarks of their respective corporations.
Table of Contents
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 2
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION..........................................................................3
Overview ........................................................................3
Package contents............................................................3
System requirements ......................................................3
DRIVER & ADAPTER INSTALLATION ......................................4
Step 1: Install driver & configuration utility......................4
Step 2: Install wireless adapter ......................................4
Step 3: Recognize the hardware ....................................4
CONFIGURE ADAPTER FOR YOUR NETWORK ....................5
Installation Wizard ..........................................................5
Test Internet access........................................................6
Link Info screen ..............................................................7
Configuration screen ......................................................8
Security screen ..............................................................9
Site Survey screen ........................................................11
ENABLE FILE AND PRINTER SHARING ................................11
File & print sharing for Windows
®
XP............................12
File & print sharing for Windows®2000 ........................19
File & print sharing for Windows®Me and 98 SE ........25
TROUBLESHOOTING ..............................................................31
GLOSSARY ..............................................................................33
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ..............................................38
CARE AND MAINTENANCE ....................................................38
Before you begin
• If you have a Windows®XP or Windows®2000 operating
system, and you are installing this adapter on a PC you
use at work, you must have “Administrator Rights”. This is
normally determined by your IT person at work.
• If you have used an earlier AT&T 802.11b Series adapter
(or one by another manufacturer), you must uninstall all
drivers and utilities before installing your new adapter. If
your system has a built-in wireless adapter, you must
disable it before installing your new adapter.
System Requirements:
You must have a desktop computer with the
following applications & hardware:
• Windows
®
98 SE, Me, 2000 or XP
• Available PCI slot
• Intel®Pentium II (or higher)
• 64 MB of RAM
• CD-ROM drive
• 5 MB of available hard-disk space (60 MB to load Adobe®Acrobat®Reader®)
• AT&T Plug&Share™Wireless Router (or other 802.11b or g compliant router or access point)
• AT&T Plug&Share™Wireless 6850G Router (for 108 Mbps data rate)
STEP 1: Install the Driver and Configuration Utility
1 Do NOT install adapter first. Insert the enclosed CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive.
2 Your CD auto-run function may start automatically. If it does not, click on the Start button. Click Run
and enter D:\autorun. (If your CD-ROM drive is not your D drive, use the appropriate drive letter.)
3 When the adapter menu screen appears, click on Install Software from the menu on the left side of
the screen.
4 The InstallShield Wizard will appear.
5 Different versions of Windows
®
will present different screens. Press Next at each screen until the
Wizard driver installation has completed. IMPORTANT: Remove CD-ROM disk before continuing.
6 Some versions will present a screen that asks about restarting your computer. Choose Yes, I will
restart my computer now.
7 Click Finish, if necessary. A new icon will appear on your Windows
®
desktop. You can double-click it to
launch the utility at any time.
Proceed to Step 2 only after the software has been correctly installed.
If correctly installed, a Utility icon (four vertical bars) should appear next to your computer’s time display.
An “X” indicates that software installation was successful, but the wireless adapter is not yet activated.
Introduction
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 3
Overview
The AT&T Plug&Share™Wireless PCI Adapter allows you to connect any desktop computer with an available PCI slot to a compatible wireless network.
Package Contents
Please check to make sure your package contains the following items:
CD-ROM
Contains installation software and
printable versions of this User
Manual, Quick Start Guide and
Safety & Warranty Information.
Quick
Start Guide
Safety &
Warranty
Information
Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter
108 Mbps 802.11g
Note: Installation may
require use of a spadetip or philips-head
screwdriver.
Installation
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 4
1 Turn off and unplug your com-
puter. Following the instructions
in your computer user manual,
open the computer cover.
2 Locate an empty PCI slot.
3 Remove the slot cover. You’ll
have to remove the screw or
clip that holds the slot cover in
place.
4 Carefully insert the wireless
PCI adapter into the PCI slot.
You may have to use firm pressure, but do not force the
adapter in. If you experience
problems installing the PCI
adapter, try another slot.
5 Replace and tighten screws,
then replace the computer
cover.
6 Plug your computer back into
the AC outlet, then restart your
computer.
Install software BEFORE installing the adapter (see Step 1 on previous page).
CAUTION: Turn OFF and UNPLUG your computer before opening it.
STEP 3: Recognize the Hardware
Depending on the Windows®operating system version running on your computer, one of several screens
may appear to inform you that the computer recognizes new hardware. Choose to install the software
automatically and click Next.
Depending on your Windows
®
version, you may see a Hardware Alert message or a Digital Signature
Not Found message. Click Continue Anyway or Ye s to complete the installation.
Depending on your Windows
®
version, you may have to restart your computer to complete the
installation. If a Windows®message prompts you to restart your computer, do so.
Finally, some versions may display the message Systems Settings Change. Click Yes .
Check the indicator light to verify that the adapter is working: The light will remain on when receiving
power and connected to the network. It will blink during data transfer.
STEP 2: Install the Wireless PCI Adapter
Wireless PCI
adapter
PCI slots
Adapter indicator light
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 5
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
STEP 4: Configure the PCI adapter for your wireless network
Check the Utility icon (four vertical bars) next to your computer’s time display. If the bars are green, you
are already connected and do not need to run the Wizard (skip to bottom of page 6). If the bars are not
green within 30 seconds, double-click the Utility icon, then click the Run Wizard button at the next
screen.
Wizard screen 1
SSID
Enter the SSID (Service Set
Identifier) used by your wireless
router or access point. The default
SSID is at&t. The SSID is case sensitive (i.e., “cat” and “Cat” are not the
same). All wireless adapters on your
network must use the same SSID as
your wireless router and/or access
point.
WEP Encryption
WEP is a form of encryption. If you
click On to enable encryption in your
wireless adapter, you must turn on
WEP in your router, and make sure
all devices use the same settings.
Click Apply to save your settings and
display Wizard screen 2 (see next page).
Double-click here to launch Utility (see below). Number of green bars shows signal strength.
CAUTION: SSID and all WEP settings must be identical in all wireless network devices. WEP
Ascii/Hex Key
must match the WEP settings used in your router (may be called Security Phrase,
Hex Key or other term).
Click to begin.
NOTE: The Wizard screen (above) always shows factory
default settings, even if you have changed them. Go to the
Configuration screen to see your customized settings.
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 6
Test Internet Access
To test Internet access, launch your
web browser and enter:
www.plugandshare.att.com
When you press Enter, the AT&T
Plug&Share
™
screen should appear. If
it does not, see the Troubleshooting
section on page 31.
Wizard screen 2
This screen shows the status of your
network connection.
Your adapter should have found the
network associated with the SSID
you entered, and automatically set
the channel to agree with your wireless router and/or access point. If you
see Pass
in the top two fields on this
screen, you are ready to close this
window and begin using your wireless network. Test this by visiting the
Internet (see below).
You can view or change the adapter
setting from the other screens. Just
click on the tabs in the blue menu bar
at the top of this screen.
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
Problems?
If this screen does not appear when
you test Internet access, or if you see
the word Fail
in either of the top two
fields of the Wizard screen shown
above, please turn to the
Troubleshooting section on page 31.
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 7
Link Info
This screen displays current settings.
(To change any of these settings, click
Configuration at the top of the screen.)
Status: The MAC address of the
router, or access point, associated
with the wireless adapter.
SSID: The Service Set Identifier of
the network. This is the setting given
to the access point, or router.
TX Rate: The current transmission
speed setting.
Channel: The current channel setting
of the wireless network.
Rescan: Refresh the text fields.
Link Quality/Signal
Strength/Data Rate: The lower part
of the screen displays the current
quality of the network link, strength of
the signal, and the current transmit
and receive rates.
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 8
Configuration
The Configuration screen displays
the current settings of the wireless
adapter.
SSID: Enter the SSID used by your
wireless router or access point. All
wireless adapters on your network
must use the same SSID as your
wireless router and/or access point.
The SSID is case sensitive (i.e., “cat”
and “Cat” are not the same).
BSS Type: The BSS type may be set
to Infrastructure (connected to the
WLAN using an Access Point) or
Ad-Hoc (connected in a peer-to-peer
environment).
AdHoc Band: It is usually not
necessary to change this setting.
This feature is required only if you
have a peer-to-peer wired connection
between computers.
Channel: The router uses radio signals to communicate with other devices on the network. You can
change the frequency by selecting a different channel. Remember that all computers on your network
must use the same channel. Devices using AT&T Plug&Share™ wireless adapters will automatically
detect the channel used by the router and change to it.
You may have to change the channel if you are experiencing problems such as intermittent connection
and disconnection. You can perform a site survey on your wireless adapter to find out which channels
are being used by other wireless networks nearby. If other networks use the same channel (or an adjacent one), change yours to one as far away as possible from the others in use. (For example, if other
networks use channels 6, 9 and 11, try changing yours to channel 1.)
TX Rate: If you use an AT&T Plug&Share
™
router, set the TX (transmission) rate to Auto.
If you are not
using an AT&T Plug&Share
™
router, set the TX rate to the fastest speed your router or access point can
support. The default setting (Auto) will continually test to find and use the highest transmission speed
possible, but this setting may cause data errors. If you experience this problem, try a lower rate.
Preamble: The Preamble Type refers to the radio preamble, or header, which is transmitted at the
beginning of a packet of data.You should not change this setting unless directed to do so by a network
administrator.
Power Mode: Select Continuous
Access Mode (default) for fewer communication errors, although this
setting consumes more power than the others. Maximum Power Save
consumes the least power, and
Power Save consumes a diminished amount of power.
Auto Searching: This option allows your wireless adapter to automatically search for available wireless
routers or access points nearby. When enabled, your computer will connect to whichever router or
access point that has the strongest signal.
If you change any setting above, click the Apply button.
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 9
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
Security
The Security screen allows you to set
the privacy settings of your wireless
PCI adapter. All settings must match
the settings of your wireless router or
access point.
Click the drop-down menu to select a
security option:
Disable: No security. Not recommended.
WEP: Moderate security (see below).
WPA: Suitable only for large
enterprise networks (see page 10).
WPA-PSK: High security for home,
home-office & small business (see
page 10).
NOTE: If you want to enable security,
you should choose WP
A-PSK for the
highest level of security protection.
WEP Security (Wired Equivalent
Privacy): Select this option for a
moderate level of security.
Phrase/Key: Enter a security phrase.
If you choose the Hex Key Format
(see below), you must use hexadecimal digits (0-9, a-f). If you choose the
ASCII Key Format you can use letters,
numbers, spaces, and punctuation
marks. For the ASCII Key Format you
must enter five characters for 64-bit,
13 characters for 128-bit or 16 characters for 152-bit encryption. Whichever
format you use, the security phrase
you enter must match the one set for
your wireless router or access point.
You can create up to four different security phrases, for different wireless networks. Remember that
security phrases are case sensitive (i.e., “cat” and “Cat” are not the same).
Key Format: Choose ASCII or hexadecimal format. If you choose ASCII, you can use names that you
know and can easily remember for your key.
Length: Use the drop-down menu to choose a key length. The higher the number, the slower and more
secure your system is.
If you change any setting above, click the Apply button.
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 10
WPA Enterprise Security (WiFi
Protected Access): Select this option
only if you are using your adapter in a
large enterprise network environment
such as a company or school.
Consult your network administrator for
advice before selecting this option.
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
WPA Personal Security (WiFi
Protected Access, Preshared Key):
Select this option for the highest level
of security protection in a home, home
office or small business environment.
Passphrase: Enter a security phrase
at least eight characters long.The
phrase you enter must match the one
set for your wireless router or access
point. Remember that security phrases
are case sensitive (i.e., “cat” and
“Cat” are not the same).
Click the Apply button after entering
your passphrase to activate WPAPSK encryption.
Adapter Configuration
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 11
Site Survey
The Site Survey screen shows a list
of wireless networks nearby that are
available for connection. Select a
network and click Connect to
establish a connection. Click Refresh
to update the list and show additional
networks that may have become
available since you last checked.
The Profile section shows a list of
profiles you may have set up for
various wireless networks; for example,
at home, at work, or in public places
such as an airport or internet café.
Click Add to create a new profile,
Remove to delete a profile, or
Properties to configure a profile to
connect with an available network.
To change network settings
Change the wireless PCI adapter settings at any time by double-clicking the
Utility icon, (4 vertical bars next to your computer’s time display). Use the tabs
in the blue bar at the top of the screen to display the Wizard, Link Info,
Configuration, Security, or Site Survey screens.
Configuring Windows®for File and Printer Sharing
Some configuration of Windows®is necessary to make full use of your wireless network. This will take a
few minutes, but it is a one-time process that you will not need to repeat.
Please turn to the pages listed for instructions on how to configure your operating system.
Windows
®
XP ............................Pages 12-18
Windows®2000 ........................Pages 19-24
Windows®Me/98 SE ................Pages 25-30
Wizard • Link Info. • Configuration • Security • Site Survey • About
Caution
Before making any changes to your networking settings, please review this section carefully.
Failure to follow these instructions precisely may result in the inability to log into your network
or computer.
If your computer is part of a work environment please contact your IT professional before
proceeding.
Configuring the Wireless Network — Windows®XP
AT&T Plug&Share
™
Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G 12
Configure Windows®XP for Network Sharing
Step 1
Click Start > Control Panel.
Step 2
Click Network and Internet Connections.
Step 3
Click Network Connections.
Windows®XP • Windows®2000 • Windows®Me/98 SE
Caution
Before making any changes to your networking settings, please review this section carefully.
Failure to follow these instructions precisely may result in the inability to log into your network or
computer. If your computer is part of a work environment, please contact your IT professional
before proceeding.
Loading...