Alternate Setups

Using a static IP address

While using DHCP is generally preferable, especially if you plan to use your PPC's WiFi on various networks, some users have had problems with their PPCs obtaining a valid IP number from their routers. I personally had trouble with DHCP on my Axim allowing me to set DNS servers, so I switched to a static IP.

To determine the appropriate numbers, open a DOS window on your PC (with WinXP: Start, Run, cmd, enter; with other OSes: Start, Programs, Command Prompt). Type in:
ipconfig /all
This will report your NIC settings, one of which will be the IP number for your PC (reported as "Address"), as well as the Subnet mask, Gateway, DHCP server, and DNS IPs. Write down or print out all these numbers.

As I mentioned above, most home networks use IPs in the 192.168.X.Y range. "X" typically is 0 if you are using a Netgear or D-Link routes, 1 for Linksys, 2 for Belkin and 254 for Siemens [if your router is not listed here, check your user's manual for the appropriate numbers] and must be the same on each piece of equipment on your network. "Y" can be any number between 0 and 254. The router usually self assigns its own IP with Y=1 and the main PC (the one you initially used to set up the router) sometimes is Y=2 and sometimes is Y=101 but again usually can be any number between 0 and 254 except it cannot be 1 if the router is using 1.

The easiest way to pick a number for your PPC is to just make it 1 larger than the Y on your main PC (so if your PC's number determined above is 192.168.1.2, then make the PPC's 192.168.1.3). The danger here is if you have other equipment on your network (other PCs, PPCs, printers, etc.). The DHCP server (your router) may have assigned that to something else. You can check on its availability by using the same DOS window as described above while every piece of equipment you ever have connected to your network is turned on – type:
ping 192.168.1.3
(substituting whatever the actual last two numbers are in your case). If the ping times out then it is probably OK to use.

The other numbers in the settings on your PPC should be the same as the ipconfig revealed above. The one exception might be the DNS numbers. Your PC likely is using the router's IP to pass through the domain name requests but if your IPS has provided numbers, use them. You probably can discover these from your router's settings but each manufacturer uses their own settings interface (often changing them on different models or firmware updates) so there is no way I can lead you through making those determinations.

WiFi with Dial-up WinXP

(snathanb comments)

A router is meant to be *directly connected* to a high speed internet connection. It then shares the Internet connection and assigns TCP/IP addresses to the computers connected to it.

If you are using MS Internet connection sharing to share a dialup connection then you really don't want or need a router, as it serves the same functions as the router (assignment of TCP/IP address and sharing of the connection).

1. Windows Internet Connection Sharing already assigns IP addresses. So you need to disable this feature on the Router. Open the router configuration program. Select the Home Tab, then select the DHCP button, and disable it.
2. Windows ICS automatically assigns the address of 192.168.0.1 to the HOST computer (your computer A). This is also the default IP address of the Router, which is why you had the conflict. On the router, change its IP address to 192.168.0.100 (On the Home Tab, select LAN)
   Keep the subnet mask at 255.255.255.0 and do not put anything in the domain box.
3. On computer B and on the PPC, make the Gateway and DNS 192.168.0.1 (Which will be computer A)

Adding WiFi to an Existing Ethernet (wired) Network

Some people may already have an Ethernet network installed in which they have a Broadband Router attached to multiple computers via category 5 or 6 8-strand wires. For desktop computers attached in this manner, there is no reason to replace a functioning wired system with totally wireless. Instead, you can add an access point (AP) to your existing system.

The setup for this is not too different from the setup described in the earlier sections. You will not need to change any current settings on your wired router, just set the AP to receive an IP address from the router (if it is set for DHCP) and set the security features you desire. Some routers also can limit the number of devices to which they will provide IPs. Make sure your router will allow enough for the AP and your wireless devices to each obtain a number.

As an alternative to an access point, you can also use a wireless adapter connected to your PC in ad-hoc mode as described below.

Ad-hoc (Peer-to-peer) mode with Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

(modified from DN3DGamer instructions)

Rather than having a router connected to a PC that is connecting via dial-up, some users have used an ad-hoc connection to share their web connection. I should note that many users have had difficulties getting ad-hoc to work properly. This seems especially true with some of the newer PPCs with built-in WiFi that are running running Windows Mobile 2003SE.

On a WINXP machine:
(Note that Internet Connection Sharing is also possible on other versions of Windows but requires more effort. Check Microsoft's webpage for details. There are also some very extensive instructions on setting up Internet Connection Sharing on a WinXP PC on Microsoft's website)

• In the Connections window under WinXP (Start, Control Panel, Network Connections)
• Access the properties of your dial up or ethernet connection
• Locate the tab (either 'sharing' or 'advance') relating to sharing your internet connection.
• Activate the internet sharing.
• Restart if indicated.
• It should assign a 192.168.0.2 address to the wireless adapter in your computer and use 192.168.0.1 as the virtual router/gateway.

On the PPC:

• Make sure the CF WiFi card is in AD-HOC mode.
• It is preferred to use DHCP and the XP machine should assign an IP address to your CF, but if it doesn't you can assign an IP address of 192.168.0.x (x=any number up to 254 except 1), a gateway of 192.168.0.1 and DNS from your ISP. To find out your DNS numbers from your ISP try going to the command prompt and type "ipconfig /all," and find the DNS entries for your dial up modem and use those as your DNS.
• Some users have noticed that they can obtain a successful ad-hoc connection only if the wireless is active on the PPC before the PC.

Ad-hoc mode with an Ethernet (wired) router

As an alternative to adding an access point to a home network that already has an Ethernet router, you can also use an ad-hoc connection to share this type of connection. However, ICS would not be necessary or desirable in this setup. You see, with ICS, your setup becomes this:

Your Ethernet router will likely be assigning IPs in the 192.168.x.y range, where x is typically 0, 1, 2 or 254 and ICS assigns IPs in the 192.168.0.y range. If your router uses this same set (both Netgear and D-Link do and some other brands may also), you've got an immediate problem with conflicting IPs. Even if your router uses a different IP set, in order to reach the Internet, your PPC will need to request ICS to request a domain's IP, ICS will then pass the request onto your home router and the router will make the request to your ISP's DNS. Each of these requests takes time and it seems like the default 'time out' in PIE is relatively short so people frequently get the 'page not found' error.

As an alternative to this setup, you can simply bridge the Ethernet (NIC) and wireless adapters on your PC. (The Network Setup Wizard in Windows XP will do this by default.) This allows your router to handle the DHCP functions for all the equipment. Thus, the above setup is simplified to:

With this setup, the Ethernet router will be handling all the Gateway and DNS activities which should shorten the time for connecting to websites. Even with this setup, it may be better to set a static IP on your wireless equipment which will allow you to enter your ISP's DNS numbers into your PPC.