<p>hey I will be using my mom's laptop and I really dont know how to figure out whether it has a ethernet card or it has built in wireless? Also to use the wireless net do I need to purchase anything additional?</p>
<p>Is using the net as simple as plug in and it works, or do I have to sign up for something?</p>
<p>Start -> Control Panel -> Network/Internet Connections
There should be something about wireless if you have a wireless card. If on your laptop somewhere there's a hole that looks like what phone cords go into, only bigger, you have a wired card. If you have no wireless card, you'll need to buy one. To use the wired network, if you live in Morewood you might need to buy a pass-through (balun), but something in the papers you get from CMU should say so.</p>
<p>When you connect to the network the first time and open a browser window, a registration screen will appear. Do what it says and wait 30 minutes, and then it'll work.</p>
<p>All on-campus dorms (with the exception of New House? I can't be bothered to find out) require pass-throughs, which are $11 at the computer store in Cyert Hall. If you ask around, you might be able to find someone selling theirs for cheaper.</p>
<p>a list of dorms that DONT require pass-throughs comes in the housing packet with roomates</p>
<p>Donner does not. I remember that</p>
<p>yes..i think i see it..in the control panel there is something about wireless connection wireless/lan..but it also says no wireless network detected. Apart from this I have the jackport which you (krazykow) were talking about. So thats it right I dont need to purchase any cards right?</p>
<p>wait a second does that mean i have a wired and wireless card?Is it actually possible?</p>
<p>Yes, pretty much all new laptops have both wired and wireless. If for some reason you can't get it to work on campus, you can take it to computing services and the'll figure it out for you.</p>
<p>When you're on campus, DON'T be connected to both the wireless and wired network at the same time. This screws up the network, Computing Services will get very angry at you, they'll kick you off the network and they'll come to your room in the middle of the night and break your knees.</p>
<p>It's not hard to make sure you're only connected to one at a time, you just have to be careful whenever you switch over.</p>
<p>i am not 100% percent sure but getting connected both to the wireless and wired network would not be a problem unless you bridge them. (of course you would not get any advantages of bridging)</p>
<p>and since bridging takes extra steps, most people are safe.</p>
<p>just my two cents</p>
<p>It's a rule that Computing Services has stated. They make it very clear. Just don't do it.</p>
<p>I checked and they are actually against bridging.
<a href="http://www.cmu.edu/computing/documentation/network_bridging/bridging.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.cmu.edu/computing/documentation/network_bridging/bridging.html</a></p>
<p>What I was trying to say is that even though you have a computer which has both wired and wireless networking, there is nothing you actually have to do. XP (and OS X as far as I know) does not bridge connections unless you specifically ask it to.</p>
<p>Sorry if I made it look like smth else, I was just telling people they need not to worry.</p>
<p>Computing services seems to think that people will accidentally brdige without knowing what they're doing.</p>
<p>how do i switch from using wired and wireless connection..are the options easy to handle..?</p>