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Setting Up a Home and Office Network 65
Determining Your Network Type
NOTE: Most wireless networks are of the infrastructure type.
Wireless networks fall into two categories—infrastructure networks and ad-hoc networks. An
infrastructure network uses routers or access points to connect several computers. An ad-hoc
network does not use routers or access points and consists of computers that broadcast to one
another. For additional assistance with setting up your wireless connection, go to
support.dell.com
and search for the keyword
wireless setup
.
Connecting to a Wireless Network in Microsoft
®
Windows
®
XP
Your wireless network card requires specific software and drivers in order to connect to a network.
The software is already installed. If the software is removed or corrupted, follow the instructions
included in the user's guide for your wireless network card. The
user’s guide is available on the Dell
Support website at
support.dell.com
.
When you turn on your computer, a pop-up appears from the network icon in the notification area
(located in the lower-right corner of the Windows desktop) whenever a network, for which your
computer is not configured, is detected in the area.
ad-hoc networkinfrastructure network
D7898bk2.book Page 65 Friday, April 29, 2005 9:39 AM