Before I try... Wifi... Can I test it without a network?

Booting, installing, newbie
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babbs
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Location: Tijuana, BCN, Mexico

Before I try... Wifi... Can I test it without a network?

#1 Post by babbs »

Hello everyone,

I've been using Puppy for some time now and love it!

Time to head for the next step, but before I do, I have to ask if it can be done... I have a laptop that has XP on the hard drive. I CD-Boot Puppy. My pup003 (Puppy 1.0.5RC) file is in C:\. (I also have a Chubby Puppy 1.0.4 pup001 file in the same location.) I have a PCMICA Wifi card that I'd like to set up for use with Puppy.

I know that I need to install Perl and ndiswrapper and some driver... I will read the documentation for putting it all together when I actually do try to put it all together...

My question before I try to get my wifi set up is: "How will I know if it is setup properly and/or working if I don't have a network to test it on?" I'm asking because I dial-up from home and only use Wifi when I'm on travel (in the hotel).

Thanks!
Babbs

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rarsa
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#2 Post by rarsa »

Are there hotspots cafes around your home? I think starbucks and ihop have some. You could have a coffee and test at the same time.

Do you have a friend with wireless laptop? You don't need a router, you can test ad-hoc wireles (pc to pc). Maybe also at a cofeeshop so you can have a nice conversation, a cofee and test at the same time.

If you don't like the idea of public spaces, take puppy on the road and test it in the actuall hotel room. Puppy is portable, remember? If the hotel has wireless, the room has 'wired' for sure in case you need to download something else before the wired part is configured.

Meanwhile, you can at least test if the drivers load OK and if you can see the device with "iwconfig" if you can see the device you are 90% there.

I also thought that you needed perl, but if you use bladehunter's wifi dot pup (that should actually be called ndiswrapper dot pup) you may not need to.

What brand/model/version/chipset is your card?

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Flash
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#3 Post by Flash »

My brother just bought a laptop with built-in wireless. When he turned it on at home he discovered that one of his neighbors apparently has an unsecured wireless basestation. Now my brother has free high-speed wireless internet at his house. :wink:

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JohnMurga
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#4 Post by JohnMurga »

I live in a huge building in Manhattan ...

5 of my neighbours have unsecured connections I tried using.

I guess they don't mind what goes on with their accounts ... :-(

Cheers
JohnM

PS : All 5 gave me internet access

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Pizzasgood
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#5 Post by Pizzasgood »

Bah! I get a stronger signal from my neighbor's network, but their's is secured. :( Seriously, my network comes in at 50% signal strength, but their's is at 90%!

Coffee + laptop? I still don't understand how that works. There should be wifi pizza huts. Much safer. Besides, I don't even drink coffee. But noooo. Just internet cafes. :roll:
[size=75]Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. --Muad'Dib[/size]
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rarsa
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#6 Post by rarsa »

They also have milk and cookies ;)

And besides, who want's melted cheese on the keyboard or greasy keys... mmm.. Maybe we do... think of it again. You can always enjoy pizza again the next day just by licking the fingers after typing.

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babbs
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#7 Post by babbs »

I wouldn't mind a wifi hotspot at my local pub... They serve pizza and other things, but most importantly, they are a pub. ;) (Also, after several drinks of choice, I'm not too worried about grease or crumbs.)

I've used Network Stumbler to look for signals from my place. There are no signals are within my complex, and the only signals available from the road are protected by WEP. Driving at normal road speeds, going between my house and work (32 miles), laptop hooked up and running Network Stumbler each way... I did this for three round trips and had over 1,200 individual signals found. I have mixed feelings about trying to connect to a couple for internet... I guess I could do it just to test things out... ;)

This weekend, I'll read the documentation to get everything set up and see if the card is found. If that is successful, I will find somewhere to try to connect. The product brand "ESS" doesn't play with any flavor of Linux. I know that Puppy can see my internal ESS modem, and I think it can see the internal ESS network adapter (RJ45 connector). I suspect that I'll have to pick which one I want to use once the wifi card is found. I look forward to trying to figure that out.

Thanks to everyone!
Babbs

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Flash
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#8 Post by Flash »

If you're near Langley, you could probably find lots of unsecured WiFi base stations from the parking lot in front of CIA headquarters. :twisted:

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