Belkin F5D8000 User Manual

Wireless Pre-N Desktop Network Card

Connect your desktop computer to a wider wireless network

F5D8000

User Manual

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1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Advantages of a Wireless Network. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware

for Optimal Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

2 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Pro duct Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Appli cations a nd A dvantages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Pro duct Specificati ons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Syste m Re quirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Packa ge C onten ts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3 Installing and Setting Up the Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 1: Install the PCI Adapter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 2: Install the Software Drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Step 3: Plug the Card into an Available

CardBus Slot of your Laptop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Step 4: Install the Wireless Client Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4 Using the Belkin Wireless Client Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

How to Access the Belkin Wireless Client Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Navigating the User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Setting Wireless Network Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Securing your Wi-Fi Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Monitoring the Status of your Network Connection. . . . . . . . . . . 30

5 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

6 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Table of Contents

Introduction

section

Congr atulati ons and thank y ou for purc hasin g th e Belkin Wi reles s Pre -N D esktop Ne twork Card (the Card). This p roduc t features new MIMO (M ultiple I nput Multiple Output) technol ogy that so lves inter feren ce and range ch allenge s of w ire less netw orking in larger homes and o ffice s. MIMO delivers the bes t wirel ess netwo rk perfo rmance ov er e xpanded c overage a rea, an d wi ll be the heart of the upco ming 802. 11n standard. Belk in’s new “ Pre-N ” produ cts with MIMO a chieve tw ice the cover age of 802.11g network s with excep tional da ta t ransfer result s.

Using MIM O’s re volut ionary, smart-a ntenn a te chnology, Bel kin Pre -N p roducts can boos t network spe eds by up to six time s previ ous capac ities. It s en hanced da ta rates and ra nge make MIMO a perfect t echnolo gy for streaming mul timed ia c onten t mo re re liably.

The easy in stallat ion and setup w ill have you ne tworkin g in minute s. Pleas e be s ure to re ad thro ugh this User M anual com pletely, and pay speci al a ttent ion to the section entitled “Placem ent of your Wirele ss Netwo rk H ardware for Op timal Per formanc e”.

Advantages of a Wireless Network

• M obili ty – y ou n o longer ne ed a d edicate d “comput er roo m”—you can wo rk on a network ed laptop or de sktop compu ter anywh ere within your wireless ra nge

• E asy insta llati on – B elkin Easy In stallation Wizards make setup sim ple

• F lexib ility – set up and ac cess prin ters, computers, and o ther netwo rking dev ices from a nywhere in your home

• E asy expan sion – the wide r ange of Belki n network ing pro ducts let you e xpand your ne twork to include devic es such as printe rs and gami ng c onsoles

• N o cabling required – Belkin s pares y ou t he expens e and hassl e of retrofittin g Ethernet ca bling througho ut your home or offi ce

• W idesp read industry acce ptanc e – ch oose from a w ide range of interoperable networking product s

Introduction

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware for Optimal Performance

Your wireless co nnectio n will be stronger the clo ser your co mputer is to your wireless router (or a ccess poi nt). Typica l indoor op erating r ange for your wi reles s devices is be tween 100 and 2 00 feet. Conv ersel y, your wireless connection and p erforma nce will de grade som ewhat as the dista nce betwe en y our wireless router (or acc ess point ) and connected devic es i ncreases. This m ay or may not be noti ceable to you . As you move furt her fro m your wireless ro uter (or ac cess poin t), connection speed may d ecrea se. Addit ionally, metal ap pliance s, obstru ction s, a nd walls can w eaken sig nals simply b y getting in th e way of your network’s radio wav es.

If you have con cerns about y our netwo rk’s per formanc e relat ed to range or obstru ction fac tors, try moving the com puter to a posi tion betw een five and 10 fee t from th e wi reless route r (or acces s po int), in order to see if dist ance is the problem. If di fficu lties per sist even a t cl ose range , pleas e co ntact Bel kin Techn ical Support.

Note: Whi le some of the it ems liste d be low can affect netwo rk perfo rmance, t hey will not prohibi t yo ur wire less netw ork fro m funct ioning; i f yo u are concerned that you r network is no t operati ng at its maxi mum eff ectiven ess, this che cklis t ma y help.

1. Placement of your Wireless Router or Access Point

Place you r wirel ess rou ter (or acces s point), t he c entra l co nnection point of your net work, as clos e as p ossib le t o the center of y our wireless netwo rk d evice s.

To achiev e th e best wireless ne twork coverage for you r “wire less clien ts,” (i.e . co mputers e nabled by Belkin Wireless Not ebook Net work Cards, Wireless Deskt op Networ k Cards , and Wireless USB Ada pters):

• E nsure t hat your wi reles s route r (o r access po int) ante nnas are paral lel to each oth er, an d are posit ioned ver tically ( toward the ceili ng). If you r wi reless route r (or acces s po int) itse lf is posit ioned ver tically, point th e an tennas as m uch as possib le in an upward direction.

• I n multist ory homes , place the wireless router ( or a ccess poi nt) on a f loor that i s as c lose to the cen ter of the home as po ssible. This may me an p lacin g th e wirel ess rou ter (or acces s point) on an upper flo or.

• Try not t o place the wireless router ( or a ccess poi nt) near a cordless 2.4GHz phone.

Introduction

section

2. Avoid Obstacles and Interference

Avo id p lacing yo ur wire less ro uter (or acce ss point) n ear devices t hat may emit ra dio “nois e”, such as mic rowav e ovens. Othe r objects t hat can inhib it wire less comm unicati on can incl ude:

• R efrig erators

• Wa shers and/or dryers

• M etal cabi nets

• L arg e aquariu ms

• M etall ic-base d UV t inted win dows

If your wireless s ignal seems w eak in some spo ts, make sure that objec ts s uch as thes e are not blocking the sig nal’s pa th betwee n your compu ters and wireless router (o r ac cess poin t).

3. Cordless Phone Placement

If the perf ormance o f yo ur wire less netw ork is impaired afte r attendi ng to the abov e is sues, AND y ou h ave a cordless phone:

• Try moving the cordless p hone away from your wireles s route r (or acces s point) an d yo ur wire less-en abled com puter s.

• U nplug and remove t he b attery from any cordles s ph one that oper ates on the 2.4 GHz band (c heck manufacturer’s infor mation) . If t his fixes the p roble m, your pho ne m ay be interf ering .

• I f your phon e su pport s ch annel sel ection, c hange the chann el o n the phone to th e fu rthes t ch annel from your wireless network, as poss ible. For exa mple, cha nge the phone to ch annel 1 and mov e yo ur wire less ro uter (or acce ss point ) to c hannel 11 . (S ee your pho ne’s use r ma nual for detai led instr uctions .)

• I f necessa ry, cons ider swit ching to a 900M Hz or 5GHz cordless phone.

4. Choose the “Quietest” Channel for your Wireless Network

In locati ons where homes or offices are close tog ether, such as apart ment buil dings or office comp lexes, th ere may be wi reles s netwo rks nearb y th at can conflict with you rs. Use the Sit e Survey capab ilities o f yo ur Wire less Clie nt U tilit y to l ocate any oth er wire less netwo rks, and move y our wireless rou ter (or acc ess point ) an d compu ters to a chann el a s far away from other networks as pos sible.

Exper iment wit h mo re than one o f the available channe ls in ord er t o find the clearest con nection a nd avoid inte rference from neighboring cordles s phone s or o ther wireless devices.

Use the det ailed Sit e Su rvey and wi reles s channel inf ormat ion inclu ded in your wireless router ’s (or access point’s) user gui de for more in formation.

5. Secure Connections, VPNs, and AOL

Secure connections typically require a user name and p assword, and are used where secur ity is important. Secu re conn ectio ns i nclude:

• Virt ual Private N etwork (V PN) conne ctions, o ften used to co nnect rem otely to an office network

• T he “Bring You r Own Acces s” p rog ram from Am erica Onl ine® (AOL) , wh ich lets yo u us e AOL through broa dband provid ed b y anoth er c able or DSL ser vice

• M ost onlin e banking w ebsites

• M any comme rcial w ebsites t hat req uire a user n ame and passw ord to acce ss your account

Secure connections can be interrup ted by a comput er’s pow er manag ement set ting, which c auses it to “go to sl eep.” The simplest solut ion to avoid th is i s to s imply reconnect by reru nning the VPN o r AOL softw are, or b y re-logging into th e se cure we bsite .

A second al ternative i s to c hange you r co mputer’s powe r ma nagem ent setti ngs so it does not go to sl eep; howe ver, t his may not be appropriate for porta ble compu ters. To ch ange your pow er manage ment sett ing under Win dows, see t he “ Power Opt ions” ite m in t he Control Panel .

If you cont inue to have di fficu lty with Secure Conn ectio n, V PNs, and AOL, plea se revi ew steps 1–4 on pages 2–3 to be sure you have addressed these issues.

These gui delin es s hould all ow you to cover the m aximum po ssible area with your w irele ss rout er. Fo r more info rmati on rega rding our n etworki ng pro ducts, visit our websi te at www.be lkin.co m/netwo rking or ca ll B elkin Technic al Suppor t.

Introduction

Overview

section

Product Features

The Pre -N Card complies with the 802.1 1g standa rd in ord er to commu nicate wi th o ther 802. 11g-complian t wi rel ess devices a t 54Mbp s. T he Card i s co mpatible with all 802.11g devic es as well as other 802 .11b products. P re-N product s operate on th e same 2.4GHz fre quency band a s 802.11g and 8 02.11b Wi -Fi® p roduc ts.

• 2.4GH z IS M (Indust rial, Sci ence, and Medical) ban d operati on

• Integ rated eas y-to-us e Wirel ess Clien t Ut ility

• PCI inter face, for o peratio n in v irtually any deskt op c omput er

• WPA, 64-bit WEP (Wi red Equ ivalent P rivacy) , or 128-bi t encrypt ion

• Wireless access to networ ked res ource s

• Suppo rts for both In frastru cture a nd A d-Hoc (pe er-to- peer) netwo rking mod es

• Easy inst allat ion and use

• Inter na l an tenna

• Netwo rk l ink activ ity and wireless con necti on i ndica tors

Overview

Applications and Advantages

• Wireless roaming with a des ktop around the ho me o r offic e

Off ers the fre edom of networking wit hout cabl es.

• Compa tibilit y with 802.11 b produ cts

802.1 1g w ireless LAN solu tions are b ackwa rd-co mpatibl e with exist ing Wi-Fi (IE EE 802.11 b) prod ucts and with o ther products that displ ay t he Wi-Fi ma rk.

• Difficult- to-wire environments Enabl es n etwor king in build ings with solid or finis hed walls , or o pen are as w here wi ring is difficul t to i nstall.

• Fre quently changing env iro nments Adapt s ea sily in offices or env ironm ents that f reque ntly re arrange o r chang e lo catio ns.

• Tempora ry LANs for spe cial projects or peak time

Sets up tem porary ne tworks (such as at trade sho ws, exhib itions, and const ructi on sites) , on a s hort-te rm basis; a lso pro vides an id eal solut ion for compa nies that need additional works tatio ns f or a p eak activ ity perio d.

• SOHO (Sma ll Offi ce/Home O ffice ) network ing needs

Pro vides the eas y and quick, sm all netwo rk instal lation SO HO users nee d.

Product Specifications

Host Inte rface 32-bi t PC I

Opera ting Temper ature 32–18 5 de grees F ( 0–85 degrees C)

Stora ge Temperat ure -40–1 94 d egrees F (-40–90 degree s C)

Humid ity Max. 95% (n on-cond ensing)

Overview

section

PCI Adapter

(a) PCI Connector

Part of the Ada pter that f its into your c omputer ’s PCI slo t

(b) CardBus Slot

Slot to att ach the Noteb ook Netwo rk Card ’s CardBus conn ector

Light s up a nd f lashe s wh en the Card i s active

(d) Link LED

Light s up w hen the Card links to a wireless network

(e) CardBus Connector

Part of the Card that fi ts i nto your co mputer’s PCI slot

System Requirements

• PC-co mpatibl e desktop with one avail able PCI slot

• Windo ws® 2 000 or XP

Package Contents

• PCI Adapt er

• Wireless Pre-N Notebo ok Networ k Card

• Quick Ins talla tion Guide

• Insta llation S oftware CD

• User Manu al

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

Installing and Setting Up the Card

Step 1 Install the PCI Adapter

1.1 Shut dow n yo ur comput er and disc onnect your c omputer’s

power cord.

1.2 Remove t he s cre ws b ehind you r compute r case that sec ure the

compu ter cover and remove the c over.

1.3 Tou ch any meta l pa rt of the case to dis charge stati c electri city, to

avoid dam age to your product or the c omputer.

1.4 Locate a n em pty PCI exp ansion sl ot

(usua lly white in co lor). Confirm that the Card will fit into t he s lot you have chos en.

1.5 Remove t he m etal PCI br acket

fro m th e back of the com puter that correspond s to t he PCI slot you selec ted. If there is a screw, p lace it in a s afe place , as y ou will be usin g it to attach t he C ard to th e compu ter later.

Installing and Setting Up the Card

section

1.6 Push the Card firml y into the PCI

slot that y ou h ave chose n.

1.7 Now secu re the Card with the

screw t hat you previous ly placed in a safe plac e.

1.8 Replac e the compu ter’s co ver.

Now that th e Ca rd is ins talled, you can rec onnect th e power cord, and turn the comp uter back on.

Installing and Setting Up the Card

Step 2 Install the Software Drivers

IMPORTANT NOTE: Install the software before inserting the Card.

2.1 Insert t he I nstal lation So ftware CD i nto your CD-ROM drive.

2.2 The Belk in W ire less Client U tility Se tup screen will auto matic ally

appea r (m ay take 15– 20 s econds to a ppear).

Note: If th e Wi rel ess Client Ut ility Set up scre en d oes not app ear withi n 20 s econds, a ccess your CD -ROM by double-cli cking on the “My Compu ter” icon a nd d ouble-click on the CD-ROM drive t hat the insta llation C D ha s been placed i n. Double -click on the f older nam ed

“File s”, then doub le-click on the icon nam ed “setup .exe”.

2.3 Click “I nstall So ftware” from the m enu.

2.4 The inst aller wil l no w start.

Click “Ne xt” and fol low the on-sc reen instructi ons.

Installing and Setting Up the Card

section

2.5 You might see a scree n similar

to this one . Th is DOES NOT mean there is a prob lem. Our softw are has bee n fully tested and is comp atible wi th t his opera ting syst em. Select “Cont inue Anyw ay” and follo w the on-sc reen in structions.

Step 3 Plug the Notebook Card into an Available PCI Slot on

your Desktop

3.1 During t he i nstal l process, you will

be prom pted to ins ert your Card. Inser t th e Card, l abel side UP, your PCI Adapt er’s CardBu s sl ot firmly until it st ops. The powe r light on the top will t ur n on w hen it is inser ted properly.

Note: If yo ur s ystem did n ot

pro mpt you to inse rt y our Card after the i nstalla tion is completed, pleas e do s o no w.

3.2 You might se e a sc reen si milar

to this one . Th is DOES NOT mean there is a prob lem. Our drive rs h ave been fu lly tested and are c ompatib le with this opera ting syst em. Select “Cont inue Anyw ay” and follo w the on-sc reen in structions.

Installing and Setting Up the Card

Step 4 Install the Wireless Client Utility

4.1 After th e ne twork card drive r

insta llation i s co mplete, c lick “Nex t” to instal l the Wireless Client Utility.

4.2 The wiza rd will prompt you to ch oose

an instal latio n lo cation. C lick “Nex t” to accept t he defaul t locatio n, or click “Browse” to sele ct a d ifferent loc ation before clicking “Next”.

4.3 Click “F inish” to sta rt the Belk in

Wireless Client Utility.

4.4 A small Sign al Indica tor icon sh ould

appea r in y our syste m tr ay (botto m right cor ne r of m ost screens). Doubl e-click o n th is to bring up th e Wireless Client Utility.

4.5 The comp act Wireless Client Utility

screen will appe ar. Cl ick on “More” to open up the ex panded vi ew.

Installing and Setting Up the Card

section

4.6 Select a net work to con nect to by

doubl e-click ing on a networ k from the Netwo rk List.

Note: I n order t o see you r availab le

netwo rks, you must b e ne ar a worki ng w ireless rout er or acces s point . If u sing with the B elkin Wireless Pre-N Router, connect to the “Belk in_Pre-N_” SSID network name. The n etwork na me m ay be follo wed by six numb ers, which are speci fic to your router.

4.7 The Profile s creen w ill appear to

save the se ttings to the n etwork selec ted. Clic k “S ave & Activate” to save the Profil e an d activat e it.

4.8 The Sign al I ndica tor icon shou ld

appea r green in yo ur s ystem tray (bot tom right c or ner of most screens). The co lor of the icon ref lects the con nection l ink: green for good, y ellow for wea k, red if it is not activ e, and a red X if the radio is tu rn ed o ff.

Insta llation i s no w complet e!

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