Wireless Internet has become the standard method of connecting to the Internet on a laptop. Most public places which offer free Internet only offer free Wifi – wired Ethernet connections usually are not available. Wifi’s popularity is great, but it doesn’t help those who have older laptops without Wifi or laptops with Wifi which is broken or not functioning well.
Those who have such laptops often wonder how they can add Wifi to their laptop. The process is in fact very easy, and only requires the addition of a piece of hardware.
Purchasing a Wifi Adapter
In order to enable Wifi on a laptop without wireless Internet a wireless adapter is needed. The term wireless adapater is a broad term which describes any piece of hardware which enables wireless. Since your laptop does not have an internal wireless adapter, you’ll need to buy an external one.
There are two primary types of external wireless adapters – USB and PCI. So which one is best?
That depends. USB wireless adapters connect via USB ports and are generally very easy to use. Many are plug and play to such an extent that no drivers need to be installed, although installing drivers is helpful. These devices are also small and easy to store, making them ideal for situations where a wireless adapter does not always need to be plugged in. The downside to USB adapters is that they take up USB ports, which are not also plentiful on the older laptops which don’t have an internal wireless adapter. They can also be cumbersome, as they usually stick out from the side the laptop.
PCI adapters slide into PCI expansion slots on the side of the laptop. They’re usually not as plug and play as USB adapters, so driver installation is recommended. They’re also much larger than most USB adapters, which means storing them in a bag or backpack isn’t not as easy. However, PCI wireless adapters don’t take up precious USB ports, and when installed most of the adapter is actually inside the laptop. This means that PCI adapters are less obstrusive. Most users of PCI adapters install them once and leave them installed for the life of the laptop.
Installing a Wifi Adapter
Installation of a wireless adapter simply involves installing the drivers needed to run the device. As mentioned, many external wireless adapters are basically plug-and-play. Windows will often find and install the basic drivers needed once the device is detected.
If the drivers are not automatically installed there are two standard options. One is to install via the provided disk. The other is to visit the website of the device’s manufacturer and download the appropriate driver. Of the two options, I usually recommend the second. This is because the drivers on the website will be the most up to date version. The disk may have been made months ago and be out of date. Since you don’t have wireless internet working on your laptop yet you’ll need to use a wired connection or download the drivers on a different PC and transfer them using a USB drive.
The decision to install the drivers from the manufacturer if the device is automatically detected is a personal choice. The advantage is that having the latest drivers can help head off potential driver conflicts and other bugs. They also often come with useful third-party software. The downside is that the useful third-party software can sometimes slow down your laptop.
Etc.
This should be all that is needed to makeyour laptop wireless. If you have any other questions, please post a comment.
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