NETGEAR RANGEMAX WPN511 - Manual (Page 17)

B a sic S e tu p 3 -1
February 2005
Chapter 3
Basic Setup
This chapter describes how to install your NETGEAR RangeMax™ Wireless PC Card WPN511
and set up basic wireless connectivity on your Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN). Advanced
wireless network configuration is covered in
Chapter 4, “Configuration” in this manual.
What You Need Before You Begin
You need to verify your computer meets the minimum system requirements and identify the
wireless network configuration settings of the WLAN where you will connect before you can
configure your wireless pc card and connect.
Verifying System Requirements
Before installing the NETGEAR RangeMax™ Wireless PC Card WPN511, please make sure that
these minimum requirements have been met:
• You must have a notebook PC with a Pentium ® 300 MHz or higher compatible processor with
an available Cardbus slot.
• A CD drive.
• 5 Mbytes of free hard disk space.
• Windows XP Home, Windows XP Professional, 2000, Me, 98SE or 98
• Some versions of Windows may ask for the original Windows operating system installation
files to complete the installation of the WPN511 driver software.
Note: Indoors, computers can easily connect to 802.11 wireless networks at distances of
several hundred feet. Because walls do not always block wireless signals, others outside
your immediate area could access your network. It is important to take appropriate steps
to secure your network from unauthorized access. The NETGEAR RangeMax™
Wireless PC Card WPN511 provides highly effective security features which are
covered in
“Enabling Wireless Security Features” on page 4-7 in this manual. Deploy
the security features appropriate to your needs.