Trendnet TEW-PC16 User Manual
TEW-PC16
11Mbps Wireless
PCMCIA Network Card
User’s Guide
Rev 1.1
Regulatory Compliance
FCC Warning
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits
are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and
can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not
occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful
interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct
the interference by one or more of the following measures:
?? Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
?? Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
?? Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that
to which the receiver is connected.
?? Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void your
authority to operate the equipment.
FCC Radiation Exposure Statement
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for
an uncontrolled environment.
This equipment should be installed and operated with minimum distance
20cm between the radiator & your body.
Wireless LAN card user’s guide
CE Mark Warning
This is a Class B product. In a domestic environment, this product may
cause radio interference, in which case the user may be required to take
adequate measures.
About this Guide
This User’s Gu ide describes how to install and operate your Wireless
LAN card. Please read this guide before installing the product.
This guide includes the following topics:
?? Product description, features and specifications.
?? Hardware installation procedures.
?? Software installation procedures.
?? Troubleshooting procedures.
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Preface
Table of contents
CHAPTER 1...................................................................................................................1
Introduction 1
Features...........................................................................................................1
What is Wireless LAN?..................................................................................2
LAN Modes......................................................................................................3
Notes on wireless LAN configuration........................................................4
CHAPTER 2...................................................................................................................5
Hardware installation 5
What’s in the package..................................................................................5
Hardware description...................................................................................5
Inserting the Wireless LAN card .................................................................6
Status LEDs.....................................................................................................7
Ejecting the Wireless LAN card...................................................................7
CHAPTER 3...................................................................................................................9
Driver installation for Windows and Linux 9
Driver installation for Windows 95............................................................9
Driver installation for Windows 98..........................................................16
Driver installation for Windows 2000.....................................................19
Driver installation for Windows NT 4.0 ..................................................24
Driver Installation for Windows ME........................................................29
Driver installation for Linux.....................................................................31
CHAPTER 4.................................................................................................................34
Using the Wireless Utility 34
Installation in Windows.............................................................................34
Using the Wireless Utility...........................................................................42
APPENDIX A...............................................................................................................46
Troubleshooting 46
Q&A for Windows environments...............................................................46
APPENDIX B...............................................................................................................48
Specifications...............................................................................................48
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Chapter 1
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Wireless LAN card. This high-speed
Wireless LAN card provides you with an innovative wireless ne tworking solution. The Card is easy to set up and use. With this
innovative wireless technology, you can share files and printers on
the network—without inconvenient wires! Now you can carry the
LAN in your pocket!
Features
?? Wire-free access to networked resources from anywhere beyond
the desktop
?? Low interference & high susceptibility guarantee reliable perform-
ance
?? Delivers data rate up to 11 Mbps
?? Dynamically shifts between 11, 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps network speed,
based on signal strength for maximum availability and reliability of
connection
?? Allows users move between Access Points without resetting their
connection configuration
?? Antenna is built into the card with LEDs indicating Power and
Link
?? Uses 2.4GHz frequency band, which complies with worldwide re-
quirement
?? Supports most popular operating systems: Window
95/98/2000/NT 4.0/ME and Linux
?? Ensures great security by providing the Wired Equivalent Privacy
(WEP) defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard
1
Wireless LAN card user’s guide
What is Wireless LAN?
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems offer a great
number of advantages over traditional wired systems. WLANs are
flexible and easy to setup and manage. They are also more economical than wired LAN systems.
Using radio frequency (RF) technology, WLANs transmit and receive data through the air. WLANs combine data connectivity with
user mobility. For example, users can roam from a conference
room to their office without being disconnected from the LAN.
Using WLANs, users can conveniently access shared information,
and network administrators can configure and augment networks
without installing or moving network cables.
WLAN technology provides users with many conve nient and cost
saving features:
?? Mobility: WLANs provide LAN users with access to real-
time information anywhere in their organization, providing
service opportunities that are impossible with wired ne tworks.
?? Ease of Installation: Installing is easy for novice and ex-
pert users alike, eliminating the need to install network
cables in walls and ceilings.
?? Scalability : WLANs can be configured in a variety of to-
pologies to adapt to specific applications and installations.
Configurations are easily changed and range from peer-topeer networks suitable for a small number of users to full
infrastructure networks of thousands of users roaming over
a broad area.
2
—Introduction
LAN Modes
Wireless LANs can be configured in one of two ways:
Ad-hoc
Networking
Infrastructure
Networking
Also known as a peer-to-peer network, an ad-hoc
network is one that allows all workstations and computers in the network to act as servers to all other
users on the network. Users on the network can
share files, print to a shared printer, and access the
Internet with a shared modem. However, with ad-hoc
networking, users can only communicate with other
wireless LAN computers that are in the wireless LAN
workgroup, and are within range.
Infrastructure networking differs from ad-hoc networking in that it includes an access point. Unlike the adhoc structure where users on the LAN contend the
shared bandwidth, on an infrastructure network the
access point can manage the bandwidth to maximize
bandwidth utilization.
Additionally, the access point enables users on a
wireless LAN to access an existing wired network,
allowing wireless users to take advantage of the
wired networks resources, such as Internet, email,
file transfer, and printer sharing.
Infrastructure networking has the following advantages over ad-hoc networking:
?? Extended range: each wireless LAN computer
within the range of the access point can communicate with other wireless LAN computers
within range of the access point.
?? Roaming: the access point enables a wireless
LAN computer to move through a building and
still be connected to the LAN.
?? Wired to wireless LAN connectivity: the access
point bridges the gap between wireless LANs
3
Wireless LAN card user’s guide
and their wired counterparts.
Notes on wireless LAN configuration
When configuring a wireless LAN (WLAN), be sure to note the
fol lowing points:
?? Optimize the performance of the WLAN by ensuring that
the distance to Access Points is within the transmission
range. In most buildings, WLAN cards operate within a
range of 100 ~ 300 feet, depending on the thickness and
structure of the walls.
?? Radio waves can pass through walls and glass but not metal.
If there is interference in transmitting through a wall, it may
be that the wall has reinforcing metal in its structure. Install
another access point to circumvent this problem.
?? Floors usually have metal girders and metal reinforcing
struts that interfere with WLAN transmission.
This concludes the first chapter. The next chapter deals with the
hardware installation of the Wireless LAN card.
4
Chapter 2
Hardware Installation
This chapter covers inserting your Wireless LAN card in the
PCMCIA slot on Notebook and connecting the card to a ne twork.
What’s in the package
Please ensure that the following items are included in your package.
If any items are missing, contact your dealer.
?? Wireless LAN PCMCIA card
?? CD-ROM (includes utility, drivers, and this manual)
?? Quick installation guide
Hardware description
The Wireless LAN Card is encased in a stainless compact frame
and has a 68-pin connector for attaching to the PCMCIA port on
the Notebook.
5
Wireless LAN card user’s guide
Inserting the Wireless LAN card
Note!
These instructions apply to most notebook computers.
For detailed information on inserting PC cards into your
notebook, consult the notebook manual.
Follow the procedure below to install the Wireless LAN card.
1. With 68-pin connector of the card facing the PCMCIA
slots on notebook, slide the card all the way into an empty
slot.
2. Connect to a network.
Note!
For information on connecting your Card to the LAN,
contact your system administrator.
6
Status LEDs
recommends that you stop the card before ejecting.
Link LED
The following table describes the meaning of the LEDs:
Power LED
LED MEANING
PWR Indicates that the Card is powered on.
LINK Indicates link status. When blinking, indicates that the
card is scanning the channels, and the link is not active.
When lit (solid red), indicates that the card is locked to a
channel, and the link is active.
—Hardware Installation
Ejecting the Wireless LAN card
After disconnecting from the LAN, you can eject the Wireless
LAN card from the PC Card slot on Notebook.
Note!
7
In Win 2000/ME/98/95 operating systems, you do not
have to power down the notebook to remove the card.
The card is hot -swappable—you can remove the card
when the notebook is powered on. However, Microsoft
Wireless LAN card user’s guide
Refer to your Windows 2000/ME/98/95 online help for
information on stopping the Wireless LAN card.
Most notebooks have ejecting levers or buttons for ejecting PC
cards from the PCMCIA slots. Consult your notebook manual for
details.
Warning!
To prevent data loss, do not eject the Wireless LAN card
when a data transmission is taking place. Exit your communications program, stop the card, eject the card and then
remove the card.
This concludes Chapter 2. The next chapter covers driver installation for Windows 2000/ME/98/95/NT and Linux operating systems.
8
Chapter 3
Driver installation for Windows and Linux
The following sections cover Wireless LAN card driver installation
in the Windows 2000/ME/98/95/NT and Linux operating systems.
Driver installation for Windows 95
There are two popular versions of Windows 95, one is for retail
version (ver 4.00.950), and the other is OEM Service Release 2
(ver 4.00.950B). To know which version you are using, click to
open the System icon in Control Panel. You will see the follo w-
ing window pops up.
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Wireless LAN card user’s guide
From the General tab, the system information shows you the ve rsion number of your windows.
Install Drivers on the Windows 95 OSR2
1. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA
slot in your Notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the wireless LAN card).
2. After Windows 95 detects the card, the Update Device
Driver Wizard window appears:
3. Insert the driver disc and click Next to continue the insta ll ation. Windows searches for the driver and the following
screen appears:
10
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux
4. Click Other Locations to bring up the following window:
5. Type in H:\PCCard\W95 (please replace H with the drive
letter of your CD-ROM drive). Then click OK. The fol lowing screen appears:
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