Dell TrueMobile 1150 Quick Start Manual

Dell™ TrueMobile™ 1150
Series Wireless Mini PCI Card
Quick Start Guide

This guide provides instructions for setting up a wireless
network using the Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series wireless
Mini PCI card.

Read the information on the following pages before you
complete the se tup of your wireless network.

Wireless Network Installation Checklist

If you are setting up your network at home and you use a
residential gateway or access point to connect to the
Internet, see the documentation that came with the
residential gateway or access point for the Network Name
and Encryption Key information. If you do not use a
residential gateway or access point, you will set up a peer-to­peer group network and creating your own Network Name
and Encryp tion Key. Before you begin setting up your
wireless network, obtain the following items fr om your
network administrator.

NOTE: See the glossary for definitions of these terms.
NOTE: Dell cannot provide th e following information bec ause

it is specific to your network.

• An SSID value (also called Network Name) for your
Mini PCI card

• WEP Key information (also called Encryption Key) for
your Mini PC I card

• For Windows networking, your Computer Name and
Workgroup Name

• Your IP address (unless your network uses a
DHCP server)

•Your User Name and Password

Quick Start Guide 5

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Be sure to also have the following items:

• Your computer with the Mini PCI card installed.

•The Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series Wireless Mini PCI
Card CD

Choosing Your Type of Network

The Mini PCI card enables you to interconnect computers
for sharing Internet access, files, and printers. First,
determine the typ e of network you use or want to set up:

• A peer-to-peer group network (an access point is not
required)

• An infrastructure network (an access point is required)

Peer-to-Peer Group Network Option

If you do not have an access point, then you already use or
will need to set up a peer-to-peer group network. The access
point is not needed f or this type of setup.

Peer-to-Peer Group Network Example

6 Quick Start Guide

For this option, one of the desktop computers acts as a host
computer. All other computers on the network access the
Internet through the host computer. The host computer
must remain on in order for the other computers on the
network to have Internet access. For instructions on setting
up a peer-to-peer group network, see “Setting Up a Peer-to­Peer Group Netw or k” on page 8.

Infrastructure Network Option

If you have an access point, then you need to set up an
infrastructure network. For instructions on setting up an
infrastructure network, see the documentation that came
with your access point.

Infrastructure Network Example

In an infrastruct u re network, the access point c onnects
directly to a network server, which allows connection to the
network. For this network option, all computers on the
wireless network conne c t to the access point, which then
connects to the server. The acce ss point and server(s) are
always on, so any computer can access the network even if
the other computers on the network are turned off.

Quick Start Guide 7

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

Setting Up a Peer-to-Peer
Group Network

NOTE: If you do not have an access point, use this section to

set up your wireless network. If you use an access point, see
“Setting Up an Infrastructure Network“ on page 8.

Before you begin, you must first create a Network Name and
an Encryption Key. Your Network Name is case-sensitive and
can contain up to 32 characters and use the characters
0 through 9, a through z, and A through Z. The Encryption
Key is case-sensitive and can be either 5 or 13 characters in
length and use the characters 0 through 9, a through z, and
A through Z. Fill in your Network Name and Encryption Key
here:

Network Name: ___________________________
Encryption Key: ___________________________

NOTE: All computers in this type of network must use the

same Network Name and the same Encryption Key.

Next, perform the procedures in “Setting Up and
Configuring the Mini PCI Card“ on page 9:

Setting Up an In f rastructur e
Network

To set up an inf r astructure network, see the docum entation
that came with your access point. To set up your Mini PCI
card so that it can access an infrastructure network, perform
the following procedures in sequence:

• “Installing the Drivers” (see page 9)

• “Verifying t he Mini P CI Card Driver Installation” (see
page 12)

• “Installing the Client Manager Utility” (see page 13)

• “Setting Up a Configuration Profile” (see page 14)

8 Quick Start Guide

Then, see the access point documentation for instructions
on completing the infr astructure network setup.

Setting Up and Configuring the
Mini PCI Card

If you ordered the Mini PCI card when you or der ed your new
Dell portable computer, the necessary drivers and software
were installed by Dell. To complete the configuration of your
peer-to-peer group network on your new Dell computer, you
must perform the procedures in the following sections in
sequence:

• “Setting Up a Configuration Profile” (see page 14)

• “Completing the Setup For Peer-to-Peer Group
Networks” (see page 15)

• “Setting Up File and Printer S h aring” (see pag e 19)

For all other portable computers, you must complete the
procedures on the following pages in sequence to complete
the configuration of your peer-to-peer group network.

Installing the Drivers

Install the appropriate drivers for the Windows operating
system on your computer.

Windows XP

Turn on your computer. Windows XP detects the Mini PCI
card and installs the drivers automatically.

Windows 98

1 If your computer is off, turn it on.

Quick Start Guide 9

NOTE: During the installation of the drivers, you may be

required to enter a path to additional required files. In the
dialog box, type C:\Windows\Options\Cabs and then
click OK. If the files are not located on your computer, insert

System Software

the
with your computer into your CD or DVD drive and type
x:\win98 (where x is the letter for your CD or DVD drive).
Click OK.

When the Add New Hardware Wizard detects the

2

CD or

Operating System

CD that came

Texas Instruments PCI-1410 CardBus Controller, click
Next.

3 Click Search for the best driver for your device

(Recommended), and click Next.

www.dell.com | support.dell.com

4 Ensure that Floppy disk drives is not checked, click

Specify a location, type C:\windows\options\

cabs

5 Click Next again.
6 Click Finish, and then click Yes to restar t your

, and then click Next.

computer.
After your computer restarts, Windows detects the

Mini PCI card.

7 If Windows prompts you to restart your computer

again, click Yes.

8 When the Add New Hardware Wizard window appears,

insert the Dell TrueMobile 1150 Series Wireless Mini
PCI Card CD into the CD or DVD drive on your

computer, wait 10 seconds, and then click Next.

9 Click Search for the best driver for your device

(Recommended), and click Next.

10 Ensure that Floppy disk drives is not checked, and click

Specify a location. Type x:win98 (where x is the

letter for your CD or DVD drive)
click Next again.

11 After Windows finishes installing the drivers, cl ick

Finish, and then click Yes to restart your computer.

10 Quick Start Guide

, click Next, and then