Belkin F5D8013 User Manual

N Wireless Notebook Card

User Manual

F5D8013

Table of Contents

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

Benefits of a Home Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware for

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

2 Overview

3 Installing and Setting up the Card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4 Using the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6 Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Product Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Applications and Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Product Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Package Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

A — Installation Process for Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

B — Installation Process for Windows Operating Systems

other than Windows Vista . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

C — Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Accessing the Belkin Wireless Networking Utility

from the Windows System Tray . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Network Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Available Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Setting Wireless Network Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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

Configuring your Card to use Security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Introduction

Thank you for purcha sing the Belkin N Wi reless No tebook Ca rd. No w you c an take advantage of th is great new technology and g ain th e fre edo m to network y our home and office computers wirelessl y. T his Card allows you t o connect a no tebook co mpu ter to your ne twork. Please be sure to re ad throug h this User Manual c omp letely, and p ay special attention to th e section entitled “Placement of yo ur Wirele ss Networking Hard ware f or Optima l Performanc e”.

Benefits of a Home Network

Your Belkin H ome Netwo rk will allow you to:

• Share one high-speed Internet c onn ection wi th all the com put ers in your home

• Share re sources, such a s files, and h ard drives a mon g all the connected computers in you r home

• Share a single pr int er with the entire family

• Share documents , music, video, a nd dig ita l pictures

• Store, re tri eve, a nd copy files from o ne comput er to another

• Simultaneous ly play games online, c hec k Internet email, an d chat

Advantages of a Wireles s Network

• Mobility – yo u’ll no longer need a dedicated “computer roo m”— now you ca n work on a networked laptop or deskt op computer anywhere within your wi reless range

• Easy installation – Be lki n Easy Installatio n Wizards make setup simple

• Flexibil ity – set up and ac cess p rin ters, com put ers, and other networking devices f rom an ywhere in yo ur home

• Easy expansion – the wide r ange o f Belkin networking product s lets you expan d your network to inclu de devices such as prin ter s and g aming con sol es

• No c abling required – you ca n spare the expense and hassl e of retrof itt ing Et her net cabling throughou t the home or off ice

• Widespread ind ust ry acc ept anc e – choose from a wide range of in teroperabl e networking produ cts

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Introduction

Placement of your Wireless Networking Hardware for Optimal Performance

Your wireless connectio n will be stronger t he closer your computer is to yo ur wireless router (or acce ss point). Typi cal indoo r operating range for y our wireless de vices is between 100 an d 200 feet. In the same w ay, your wireless connection and per formance will degr ade somewhat as t he distance between your w ireless router (or ac ces s poin t) and connected devices increas es. This may o r may not b e noticeable to y ou. As you move farther f rom yo ur wireless router (or acce ss point), connection speed may decrease. Factors t hat can weaken signals sim ply by getting in th e way of yo ur networ k’s rad io wav es are metal appliances or obstructions , and walls.

If yo u have concerns a bou t your network’s performance that migh t be rel ate d to range or obstructi on factor s, try moving the computer to a position between five a nd 10 feet from t he wirele ss router (o r access point) in order t o see if di sta nce is the problem. If difficulties persist even at cl ose range , please contact Belkin Technical Support.

Note: While so me of the i tem s listed below can a ffect net work performance, they will not prohi bit yo ur wirele ss net wor k from functioning; if y ou are conce rned that y our netwo rk is not o per ating at its maximum effecti ven ess, this checklist may help.

1. Placement of your Wireless Router (or Access Point)

Place your wireless router (or a cce ss point) , the central connection p oint of yo ur networ k, as close as possible to t he cen ter of your wi reless network devices.

To achieve th e best wirel ess network coverage for y our “wireless c lie nts,” (i.e. computers e nabled by Belkin Wire les s Noteboo k Card s, Wireless Desktop Cards, and W ireless USB Ada pters):

• Ensure that your wireless router’s (o r access point’s) an ten nas are parallel to e ach other, and are p ositioned vertically (toward the c eiling). If your wireles s rout er (or access point) it self is positioned vertically, po int the antennas as muc h as possible in an up ward directio n.

• In mu ltistory hom es, pl ace the wireles s rout er (or access point) on a floor that is as close to the center of the home a s possibl e. This may mean placing the wi reless router (or acc ess po int ) on an up per floor.

• Try not to p lace t he wirele ss router (o r access point) near a cordle ss 2.4GHz phone.

Introduction

2. Avoid Obstacles and Interference

Avo id placing your w ireless route r (or access p oin t) near devices that may e mit radio “noise”, such as microwave o vens. Oth er objects that can i nhibit wi reless communication can in clude:

• Refrigerator s

• Washers a nd/ or dry ers

• Metal cabinets

• Large aquari ums

• Metallic-bas ed, UV-tin ted windows

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If yo ur wireless sig nal seems weak in so me spots, make su re that objects such a s these are not b locking t he signal’s p ath between your computers an d wireless router (or acces s point).

3. Cordless Phone Placement

If th e perf orm ance of your wireless network is im pai red after at ten ding to th e above issues, and you have a cordless phone:

• Try mov ing cordless ph one s away from the w ireless route r (or a ccess poi nt) and your w ireless-en abl ed comput ers .

• Unplug and remove th e battery from any cordless phone that operates on the 2.4GHz band (che ck manufactu rer’s information) . If this f ixe s the proble m, your phone may be in terfering.

• If yo ur phone supports channel selection, change the channel on the phone to t he farthest channel from your wirele ss networ k as possible. Fo r exam ple , change the phone to chann el 1 and mo ve your wireles s rout er (or access point) to channe l 11. (Your c hannel se lec tion will vary depending on y our re gion.) Se e your phone’s user manual for detailed instructions .

• If ne cessary, consider switching to a 900MHz or 5GHz cordless phone.

Introduction

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

In lo cations w here h omes or offi ces are close together, s uch as apartment buildings or office co mplexes, there may be wirel ess networks nearby t hat ca n conflict with y ours. Use the Site S urv ey capabilities of y our Wi reless Ne tworking Utility t o locate any o the r wirele ss networ ks, and move y our wireless router ( or access point) and computers to a channel as fa r away from other networks as possi ble .

Experiment with m ore than one of the ava ila ble chann els , in order to find the clearest co nnection and avoid interference f rom ne igh boring cordle ss phones or o ther wireless d evices.

For m ore Belkin w ireless networking products, use the detai led Site Survey and wireless channel i nfo rmation i ncluded i n your User Ma nua l.

5. Secure Connections, VPNs, and AOL

Secure connecti ons typicall y requ ire a user name a nd passwo rd, an d are used where security is impor tan t. Secure co nne ctions in clu de:

• Vir tua l Private Network (VPN) co nnections, often u sed to connect remotel y to an office ne two rk

• The “ Bring Your O wn Access ” prog ram from Americ a Online (AOL), which l ets you use AO L through broadband p rovided by another cable or DSL service

• Most online ba nki ng web sit es

• Many commercial websites that require a user na me and password to access y our accou nt

Secure connecti ons can be int err upted by a computer’s power management setting, which causes it to “ go to sleep.” The si mpl est solution to av oid this is to simply reco nne ct by re-run nin g the VPN o r AOL s oftware, or by re- logging i nto the secure website.

A sec ond alter native is t o chan ge your computer’s power management settings so it does not g o to sleep; ho wev er, this may not be approp riate for portable computers. To c hange you r power management setting in Win dow s, see the “Power Op tio ns” item in the Cont rol Pa nel.

If yo u continu e to have d ifficulty with Sec ure Co nnections, VPNs, a nd AOL, please review s teps 1–4 above to be sure you have ad dressed these issues.

These guidelines should al low you to cov er the maximum possible area with your wireless router. S hould you need to cover an even wi der area, we su ggest the Belkin Wireles s Range Extender/Acce ss Point.

For m ore information regard ing ou r networking produ cts , visi t our website at www. belkin.com/netwo rki ng or call Bel kin Tech nical Sup por t.

Overview

Product Features

The C ard complies wi th the IEEE draft-802.11n specification to communicate with other dra ft-802.11n-complian t wire less devi ces at up to 300Mbps* . The Card is als o compati ble with 802.11g devices a t 54Mbps as well as 802.11b products at 11 Mbp s. The Card operates on th e same 2.4GHz frequency band as 802 .11 b/g Wi-Fi® p roducts.

• 2.4GHz ISM (In dus trial, Sc ience, an d Medical) band operation

• Integrated easy-to-us e Wire les s Network ing Utili ty

• PCI i nterface, fo r oper ati on in virtually any des kto p comp ute r

• WPA, WPA2, 64-bit WE P (Wired Equiva len t Priv acy ), or 128-bit encryption

• Wirele ss access to n etworked resourc es

• Support for b oth Infra str ucture and A d-H oc (pe er-t o-peer) networking modes

• Data rate of up to 54Mbps (802.11g), or 11 Mbps ( 802 .11b)

• Easy installation and u se

• External an tenna

• LED p ower and network link i ndicators

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Overview

Applications and Advantages

• Wirel ess roaming wit h a laptop around the h ome or o ffice Off ers the freedom of n etworking—without cables

• Connecti on rates of up to 5 4Mbps Pro vid es immedi ate wireless co nne ctivity a t home, work, and hotsp ot locations without compromis ing the use of existing 802.11b and

802.11g product s

• Compatib ili ty with 802.11b products

802.11g wireles s LAN solutions a re backward-c omp atible wi th existing Wi-Fi (IEEE 80 2.11b) products and with other produ cts that display the 54g l ogo

• Diffi cult-to-wire enviro nments Enables networking in b uil dings wit h solid or fin ish ed wal ls, or open are as where wiring is d ifficult to ins tall

• Frequ ently cha ngi ng env ironments Adapts easily in offices or environments that frequently rearrange or change locations

• Tempora ry LANs for sp eci al projects or peak time Sets up tempor ary netwo rks such as at trade shows, exhibitions, and construction sites, which need netw ork s on a shor t-t erm ba sis ; also companies who nee d addi tio nal works tat ions for a pea k acti vit y period

• SOHO (Small O ffice/Home Offic e) networ kin g needs Pro vid es the easy an d quick, small network installation SOHO users need

Product Specifications

Host Interface: 32-bit CardBus

Operating Temperature: 32–140 degrees F (0 –60 degrees C)

Storage Tempera ture: -40–194 degrees F (- 40–90 deg rees C )

Humidity: Max. 95% (non- con densing)

Typical Operating Range: Up t o 1,200 ft. (3 65.8m)**

*NOTE: The sta nda rd transmission rate—300Mbps—is the physical dat a rate. Actual d ata throughput wil l be lower.

**Wire less perf orm ance may v ary depen din g on the networking environ ment.

Overview

(C)

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(b)

(a)

(a) Power LED

Lights up when the Card is p owe red up

(b) Link/Activity LED

Lights up when the Card is c onn ected; fl ash es when wirele ss activi ty is detected

Part of the Card that fits i nto your computer’s CardBus slot

System Requirements

• PC-compa tib le comput er with one av ail able 3 2-b it, CardBus slo t

• Windows® 2 000 , XP with S P2, or Vista™*** (clients are not Mac OS compatible)

• Minimum 64MB o f RAM

• CD-ROM drive

• Internet browser

Package Contents

• N Wireless Notebook Card

• Quick Installation Guide

• Installation Software and User M anual on CD-ROM

Installing and Setting up the Card

A. Installation Process for Windows Vista

***NOTE: At the time of initial release of this product, Windows Vista

drivers were not available for release and might not be included on the CD shipped with your product. For information on updated

drivers for Windows Vista (if any), please visit the Belkin website at www.belkin.com/support/vista.

IMPORTANT: INSTALL THE SOFTWARE BEFORE INSERTING THE CARD.

A.1 Insert the Ins tal lation So ftware CD in to your CD-ROM dr ive.

A.2 Click “Ne xt” to begin the ins tal lation process.

Note: If the Belkin Wireless Card Installer screen does not a ppe ar

within 20 seco nds , acce ss your CD-ROM by double-c lic king o n the “My C omputer” ico n; the n, double-cl ick on the CD- ROM drive into which the inst all ation CD has been pl ace d. If the I nstaller doe s not start automaticall y, d ouble-click on the icon na med “S etu p.exe”.

A.3 The I nstallShield Wizard starts installation process.

Installing and Setting up the Card

A.4 Select a destination folder for the

software installation by clicking “Browse”; or, simply click “Next” to select a default location.

A.5 A Setup St atu s screen wil l let

you k now where yo u are in the setup process.

A.6 A window m ay appear a se con d

time showing t he messag e, “Windows can’t verify the publisher of t his drive r software”. This DOES NOT indicate a pro ble m. Our software has been fully tested a nd is compatible with this oper ati ng sys tem .

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A.7 When prompt ed, turn off y our

computer and p lug in your Ca rd. Your installation is n ow complete.

A.8 When the i nst allation com pletes,

click on “Fini sh” .

Installing and Setting up the Card

A.9 The Found New Hardware Wizard

might appear w ith in 3–1 5 seconds. If it does, continue to f oll ow the pro mpt s. Select “Locate and i nst all the d river sof twa re” to conti nue .

A.10 You might see a screen simi lar to

the o ne pictured bel ow. Thi s DOES NOT m ean there is a problem. Our software has been fu lly teste d and is co mpatible wit h this operating system. Select “I nstall th is driver software anyway ” and follow t he on-screen instr uct ions.

Next, a sc reen a ppears in dic ating

that hardware inst all ation is taking place; then, a not her in dic ates that the p rocess is co mpl ete.

A.11 To connect to t he Internet, open th e

Network and Sh ari ng Cen ter by first opening the Co ntrol Panel from t he “Start” menu.

A.12 In the Control Panel, click on “Vi ew

network status an d task s”.

Installing and Setting up the Card

A.13 In the Network a nd Sharin g Center,

click on “Conn ect to a ne two rk”.

A.14 In the next s creen, select a n

available wirel ess network and click “Connect”.

A.15 Your Ca rd wil l attempt to c onnect to

the s elected n etw ork.

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A.16 De pending o n the security settings

of yo ur wireless net work, you may be prompted to en ter a network security key o r a passphrase. Click “Connect” after y ou hav e done so.

Installing and Setting up the Card

A.17 Af ter conne cti ng to the n etwork,

you c an choose to save th is network and co nne ct aut oma tically when your Card is in r ange.

A.18 Th e Network and Sharing

Center now ind ica tes th e network connection that yo u have just made. The links on t he left of the w indow all ow you to c onf igure your network c onn ections.

B. IInstallation Process for Windows Operating Systems other than Windows Vista

IMPORTANT

: INSTALL THE SOFTWARE BEFORE INSERTING THE CARD.

B.1 Ins ert the Installation Software CD into you r CD-ROM drive.

B.2 The Belkin Wireles s Card Installe r

screen will automatically appear within up to 20 seconds. Cli ck “Install Software” or “Next” to start the inst all ation.

Note: If the B elk in Wireless Card

Installer scree n does not app ear within 20 seco nds , acce ss your CD-ROM by doub le- clicking on the “ My Comput er” icon; then, double-click on t he CD- ROM drive into which the installa tio n CD has been placed. T hen , doub le- click on the i con named “Setup.e xe” .

+ 30 hidden pages