How to Connect a Computer to the Internet Wirelessly
In this article I will tell you how to connect to wifi from a desktop computer running Windows without a wire through the adapter. And although wireless technology is already ubiquitous, not everyone knows how to access the Internet through wireless communication on a PC. Although today it is more relevant than ever. after all, you can connect to wifi via a router or smartphone not only from a desktop computer, but also from a laptop. And this means that you can work or watch your favorite movie, not only at home by cable, but also in a cafe, shopping center or even subway. To date, the most relevant OS is Windows 10, so let’s see how to connect a computer via a WiFi adapter to the network using its example.
How to connect a desktop computer via wifi?
Adapters come in two types. removable or built-in. A built-in, or network, card is inserted into the PCI slot, like a network or card. Plus in its more stable operation, minus. it needs to be inserted inside and forgotten, while a removable one can be installed on another computer if necessary.
Therefore, I use a usb wifi adapter for my computer and, by and large, do not experience any problems with either stability or wifi speed. the main thing is that according to the characteristics it fits your router and supports the same communication standards.
I have a Trendnet TEW 624-UB model, oddly enough (judging by the experience of using their routers and ip cameras), but it’s a quite worthy option and works without fail. Using his example, I will show how to connect a computer to a wifi network.
- Insert the adapter into the USB connector
- Launch the installation CD and install the drivers and utility for controlling the device
After that, you need to restart the computer and activate the wireless adapter. it is turned on either from the buttons on the keyboard, or by a separate button or toggle switch on the case. I wrote about this in more detail in another article. I won’t repeat it.
I’ll tell you a little secret. all modern adapters are easily recognized in the Windows 10 operating system without additional third-party utilities. Therefore, you can simply connect the adapter to the USB port, install the driver and use.
It is recommended to update the driver for the adapter for Windows from the official website of the developer so that it works stably with the latest changes made to the operating system.
Next, find the “TEW Manager” tab on the desktop. We launch the application and go to the “Site Survey” section, that is, in Russian a list of the networks available for connection.
We select your own in it and depending on the type of encryption you created (WPA or WEP), a new window will open in which we enter our password. After that, the Internet should start working.
What do I need to connect WiFi to my computer using the built-in Windows tools?
If, on my advice, we decided not to use the proprietary application, then we will connect the computer to the wifi router using the built-in program. When the device is installed and is in working condition on the bottom panel of Windows 10 we can see the wireless icon.
We click on this icon to open the sidebar, which displays a list of all the networks available for connection.
- We select the one from which you know the password or which is passwordless and click “Connect”
- Enter the key
- And the computer will connect to the Internet. If you want him to fully participate in the work of the local network, then also at the last step, enable the detection of other devices inside it. computers, tablets, TVs, printers, etc.
Problems connecting a computer to WiFi without a wire
If you have any problems connecting your computer to WiFi without a wire, I recommend that you pay attention to the following articles, which detail the most common errors on Windows 7, 8 and 10:
Connecting a desktop computer without WiFi over a home network
But we will not limit ourselves to connecting a pair of laptops and computers to wifi. after all, there is an even more interesting opportunity: to combine different devices into home wifi networks. That is, we will be able to print the abstracts while lying on the bed and then pick them up from the printer in the kitchen, as well as throw them to my brother in the next room without using the Internet and wires. Sounds tempting, right?
Let’s implement! To do this, you need one program. It is paid, it costs 40 in the most advanced version, but I went with it as an application with some kind of router, so I’ll show on it. for sure you can find free analogues. It is called Cisco Network Magic. Install and run.
The basic settings window opens. First of all, here you can connect to available networks, as in the previous examples. To do this, go to the “Work wirelessly” section.
Next, we find our own in the list of networks and click on it.
Then we enter the password from our network and connect.
Now, by going to the Map tab of the network, you can see all the devices that are part of the home wifi network.
By clicking on any of them you can get into their shared shared folders or access shared devices. In order to control access to them, we will return to the previous tab. Now we will be interested in the second column from this menu. “Sharing”.
Click on “Share this folder” and select the folder you want to open for viewing on other devices. After that, a message appears that you need to install Network Magic on other devices for access, but from experience with Win 7 everything works fine in the direction of Win 7 NM. That is, from a laptop with a seven, I can see the files in the folders of the computer on which Network Magic is running. Now you just need to go to the “Network” section (or Topology, Map), and you will see all the computers connected to the home Wi-Fi and open folders inside each of them. But in the opposite direction this does not work. in order to use the files on the laptop, going from the PC, you must first install the program.
Shared Printers
A fairly common situation is when a printer is connected to the computer that does not have a wifi module. through a parallel port or USB. And it’s not convenient when it can be used only from this PC. Remember I promised to print while lying on the bed? So, with this program it is possible, regardless of the radius of the wireless network. We open the section “Sharing a printer” where the installed and connected printer is displayed. Select it and click the “Sharing” button
That’s all, now if you go to the “Devices and Printers” section on another separate computer, you will see it in the list.
Now you can print any documents on it from any devices included in your home wifi network. However, since it is connected in parallel with one of the computers, this computer must also be turned on.
Shared folders and a printer without a program
If you do not want to use additional software for organizing shared access to folders and files between computers connected to the router, then this can also be done using the built-in Windows tools. How? Read a new article on a local wifi network.
These are the tools I use to connect to a home network via a computer’s wifi and to share its folders and installed printer. Someone will say that this is all garbage, that no one does this, etc. I will say such “mega-pros” that the tasks of scientific analysis of wireless network technology were not set in this article. Everything described is my PERSONAL experience, I did everything myself, the above methods work fine and this is enough for me to conveniently work the home wifi network. what else does a regular user need?
