Using Windows Connect Now technology
Published: August 15, 2006
In the past, wireless networks were hard to set up and even harder to make secure. With Microsoft Windows Connect Now technology, setting up a wireless network is much easier. If your computer is running Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and you have Windows Connect Now-compatible wireless devices, you can simply answer a few questions in a wizard, and then use a USB flash drive to transfer the wireless settings to the computers and devices you want to connect.
Now anyone can set up their own encrypted wireless network without needing to understand details about wireless network keys or other technical information.
To set up a wireless network using Windows Connect Now
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If you haven't already done so, install Windows XP Service Pack 2. Windows XP Service Pack 2 is required for Windows Connect Now. For more information about Windows XP Service Pack 2, including how to determine if you have it installed, read Introduction to Windows XP Service Pack 2 by Barb Bowman. Note: Earlier versions of Windows, including Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows Me, do not support Windows Connect Now. Please consider upgrading to Windows XP. |
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Plug a USB flash drive into a USB port on your computer.
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Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
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Under Pick a category, click Network and Internet Connections.
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On the Network and Internet Connections page, click Wireless Network Setup Wizard.
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On the Welcome to the Wireless Network Setup Wizard page, click Next.
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On the Create a name for your wireless network page, type the name of your wireless network. The network name must uniquely identify your wireless network, but should not identify your name or address. Click Next.
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On the How do you want to set up your network? page, click Use a USB flash drive, and then click Next.
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On the Save settings to your flash drive page, in the Flash drive list, click the drive letter for your USB flash drive. If you only have one flash drive, it is automatically selected. Then click Next. The Wireless Network Setup Wizard saves your settings to the USB flash drive.
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Remove the USB flash drive from your computer, and plug it into the USB port of your Windows Connect Now-compatible wireless router or access point.
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Next plug the USB flash drive into the USB port of each device that you want to add to your network, and wait until you see the light on the device flash three times (this usually takes 30 seconds or less). This indicates that the device has read the wireless network configuration.
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To configure other Windows XP computers:
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Verify that the computer has Windows XP and Service Pack 2 installed.
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Plug the USB flash drive into a USB port of the computer that you want to add to your network.
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When prompted, click Wireless Network Setup Wizard, and click OK.
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Click OK again to add the computer to the wireless network.
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Click OK a third time to confirm the new network connection. A message in the notification area confirms the wireless connection.
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After all the devices and computers have been connected to your wireless network, return to the computer you used to first configure your wireless network. Plug the USB flash drive into the computer again, and click Next.
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On the The wizard completed successfully page, the Wireless Network Setup Wizard shows you a list of devices that were successfully configured.
Note: If you ever need to add more devices to your network using this USB flash drive, clear the For security reasons, remove network settings from my flash drive check box.
Then click Finish.
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Tip: Not all wireless network devices are Windows Connect Now-compatible. When you're shopping for wireless devices, be sure to look for Windows Connect Now compatibility to ensure you can easily add them to your network. While you can add any type of wireless hardware to your network, adding devices that are not Windows Connect Now-compatible will require manual configuration of wireless network and security settings.
