I am finding a little more time to return to Ciao after a long absence. Will try and catch up with o...
I am finding a little more time to return to Ciao after a long absence. Will try and catch up with old friends. As to the writing side of things... well, I have few things to write about.. Now it's just a matter of finding the time... Derek
Member since:26.04.2005
Reviews:76
Members who trust:91
Before I write about the Belkin Router, I think it may be appropriate to describe my experiences that led up to the decision of setting up a network so that both our computers could share our newly installed NTL broadband connection.
There was something about networking that I had a "monster" mental-block about and when asking advice, all I could get was "it's easy!" Well all I can say about that is everything is easy to those who know how.
I'm not a technophobe, but when something is working OK, I am of the opinion not to try and fix it. But I was getting fed up of my slow dial-up internet connection and it was really about time that I contacted my ISP (NTL) and ordered broadband, especially after reading several reviews - it was just a coincidence that I had not long received an upgraded computer and broadband was not something that was planned, but my wife said, "why don't we get broadband?"
"Good idea," I answered.
Well both our spare bedrooms have been turned into offices, my wife's and mine. I love to write and communicate on the internet and she loves to do her family history research. "After the broadband is installed, why not get a router and network the both computers?" she says.
"Good idea," I answered again. It's not that
I'm a man of few words, it's just that I was a little more than concerned about the potential problems involved in networking our machines together, having given up the effort in favour of a USB to USB cable on my laptop a couple of year ago.
To go back to the broadband for a moment, when the installation day came around, the engineers were not happy about installing the cable modem upstairs in my office, even though they kept saying, "it's up to you mate, but we can put it downstairs and you can use a wireless router."
That, I thought, would have meant opening my brand new computer and putting in a wireless PCI card. No way was I prepared to do that. I wanted my new machine to be wired and my wife's to connect wirelessly, so with a few sighs they set about installing the cable where I wanted it. After considerable furniture shifting in our bedroom so that the cable could be routed through it (no pun intended), we had our first connection and got it working.
The very next day - I'm a glutton for punishment - we went out to look at some routers.
The Belkin G router, is what the helpful assistant in PC World advised us to get as we were connected to cable broadband with NTL. Questions I had were, "will the wireless connection connect through the thicker internal brick walls of our Victorian house?"
He assured me, there would be no problem at all, because this is how most students access NTL broadband in multi-occupation houses in Cardiff and he uses the product in a similar house to ours himself on four computers.
"Ah, what about if there are metal radiators on the walls? I have heard that this can block signals." I asked again.
"It should be OK," he replied, "but if the worse comes to the worse, you can always come back and change the USB network adapter for a long networking cable."
So we went for it. The router and a USB adapter for my wife's computer of the same make to match at a total cost of £74.98 (£54.99 for the Router and £19.99 for the wireless adapter). So I didn't have to open any machines after all!
In the box, was the G Router. Quick installation guide - this was a chart that opens out with pictures and instructions of all the steps needed to get it up and running. The CD. Installation software. An RJ45 Ethernet networking cable to connect to the modem. The power supply (it needs to be plugged into the mains - something else to add the spaghetti junction under my desk!) The user manual - I should really read more carefully!
I set my computer up first on a wired connection from the Ethernet connector, into the router and then into the cable modem and was pleased that it worked OK after installing the software, which was simplicity itself - I just loaded the disk and followed the instructions to the T, which involved not connecting the cables until it said to do so on the on-screen installation wizard.
Next, my wife's machine that is at the back of the house about 40 feet away. I inserted the disk that came with the USB Network adapter and it all installed in the same way as my computer, no problems at all.
Now, with baited breath, could I connect to the internet? But the damned thing kept trying to dial up! Not something I wanted at all. Nothing would work at all. Angst!!! Then I realised, that I had to set up her computer to network, so I put the NTL disk I had been given to set up Broadband on my machine and put it in my wife's and that did the trick - we were networked and her machine was picking up the signal. Later on, I realised that I did not have to do that .
For problems in setting up your network through the router, Belkin has a free phone help line, which I did try to use at one time, but being a Saturday afternoon, it was busy. Not wanting to wait, I went on to their website at Belkin.com and soon found a useful animated set-up guide on how to get everything working correctly that a child could follow. This I downloaded to my computer.
Finally, if you don't want to tackle this job yourself, you can telephone Belkin and an engineer will come out an install it for you within 72 hours. At the time of writing, the estimate for a standard installation is £89.99 inclusive of VAT.
Performance & Operation.
I cannot discern any deterioration in internet speed at all even though both computers now share the same 1 GB broadband connection. But all we use the internet for is viewing webpages and entering data to sites such as this and would have no idea what it would be like to both try and download films/music.
The router itself is quite an attractive looking gadget and just sits on my desk with lights flashing on and off and data is sent and received to the worldwide web.
Other capabilities is has is that through the 10/100 4-port switch (I don't know what this means but we've got it!) we can share files, printer, music or anything either of us has on our hard drives. I can also plug the USB adapter into my laptop and carry it anywhere in the house and connect to the internet.
The router is also equipped with a firewall that will protect our network from hackers and such the like, although I still have Mcafee firewall/virus software installed and would not like to be on line without it.
Another available option is a parental control web content filter, so that parents can filter out undesired material when their children are on-line.
System requirement are… Broadband Internet connection (cable or DSL modem) with RJ45 Ethernet connection. At least computer with an installed network interface adapter. I believe this is the card at the back of the machine where you can plug in an Ethernet cable. TCP/IP networking installed on each computer. I think this is on most windows based computers. RJ45 cable. Internet browser.
Not being a techy sort of person, I have written this review to help other non-techy people get an idea of what is involved in purchasing a router and sharing a cable broadband connection and computer files if desired.
Thanks for reading.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Lifetime warranty, free technical support (inc. freephone telephone number), easy to set up Disadvantages: Foreign call centre - not necessarily a disadvantage unless the person you speak to doesn't really understand you and you don't understand them!
Advantages: Lifetime warranty, free technical support (inc. freephone telephone number), easy to set up Disadvantages: Foreign call centre - not necessarily a disadvantage unless the person you speak to doesn't really understand you and you don't understand them!
Sep 25th, 2005
exceptional by (16%):
very helpful by (84%):
