I am finally able to use my laptop online anywhere in the house!
I should have done this before Tim had surgery, because it would have been nice for him to have the internet while he was flat on his back.
Yesterday I went to Target to pick up a few things and the wireless routers weren't all that spendy, so I found a guy who seemed to know the various models and talked to him about what I have and what I needed. He handed me a Linksys box that looked promising and said that it was a very easy setup, so I took it home. Well, when I opened the box (not shrink-wrapped) I found that it was missing the cable to connect it to the computer. So back I went to Target.
The guy that had given it to me was furious and gave me another one just like it, shrink-wrapped this time! So I came home and started the setup. As I was finishing, I was having a terrible time with the password. I had to leave to go to a meeting, so Tim took over. When I got back he told me that as he was trying to figure it out he realized that it wasn't wireless! I had just grabbed the box that the guy had handed me without even checking!
So off to Target once more. This time I looked carefully at the box and got the wireless model.
OK. So I came home and started the setup, one more time.
Again I got all the way to the Password setup, and then my desktop refused to allow me to proceed.
Well, it looked like a connectivity issue and I have had this problem before, so I called Verizon. I figured they would walk me through a few steps and I'd be good to go.
An hour later, Habib finally gave up. We had tried everything and he had been very helpful but it was quite apparent that Verizon was not the problem. He told me to call Dell. They are the manufacturer of the computer and they really know their way around it!
So I called the Tech support guys at Dell. Now I have no complaints about what they are capable of, because they have gotten me out of some nasty jams. This one, however, wasn't going to be one of them. The guy that I ended up talking to did most of the same stuff that the Verizon guy had done and got me just a little further and then told me that it just HAD to be the router! This after 45 minutes! I was getting really good at all the little diagnostic steps they kept throwing at me. I now know what a ping and a packet are!
So I got the Linksys people on the line. This guy really knew his particular stuff.
So he said "Not to worry ma'am, we will solve this problem." Of course in the lovely eastern accent that we have all become so fond of. India will never need nukes. They could shut us down in half an hour if they just pulled all the tech support people out from under us!
I am not complaining! I'm just glad to have found someone that was able to help!
So we had to wend our way once more through the dark electronic landscape along paths that were becoming quite familiar to me.
After another hour, we had setup the desktop, password, encryption and my laptop.
I must say, I am glad I don't have to do all that very often.
I was so tired this morning. I had to get up early so that I could walk and get to Mass. We all went. Then I had to come home and start baking for tomorrow. I made 24 muffins, three loaves of pumpkin bread, and two different kinds of cookies. I hope they all sell!
The boys went to the pool with Tim and now I have to bag everything.
I want to watch "Vertigo" tonight so I am very motivated.
I'll post pictures of tomorrow's adventure later.
