There are three general situations where you might want to establish a wireless Internet connection on your laptop computer. The first would be with pre-installed wireless at work. The second would be to access a pre-installed wireless network at home. The final scenario would be while traveling and attempting to log in to a wireless hot spot at a hotel, restaurant or coffee shop. These days, the process of activating wireless internet access on a laptop is less complex than it used to be.

Work or Home

Whether at work or home, the process of getting wireless Internet on your laptop from a pre-existing wireless network is the same. You first need to find out whether your laptop is "Wi-Fi" ready. This means that it came from the factory ready to locate and access wireless networks.

Not Wi-fi Ready

For a laptop that is not Wi-Fi ready, you'll need to buy either a wireless network card or USB network adapter that will work with your particular laptop. Make sure the protocol is suitable with the router (normally 802.11g or 802.11b). If you don't know what these numbers mean, write down the model and serial number of your router and ask the clerk at your local electronics store. He can help you select the proper wireless card or adapter for your laptop. Now it's time to physically install your wireless card. First, install the drivers from the CD that came with the wireless adapter or card. Most recent laptops already have the wireless card and driver built in, but install the drivers first, to make sure. Plug in the adapter or card into the appropriate slot in your laptop. Reboot the laptop.

Wi-fi Ready

After the restart is complete, the laptop should be ready to access the wireless network. Look on the lower-right side of the desktop. Right-click on the icon "Wireless Network Connection" and choose to view the available wireless networks. If nothing shows up, click the button to refresh the list. Select the appropriate network and click "connect." At this point, you should be able to surf the Internet through your browser just as if you were hardwired into the network.

Hot Spots

With more Internet hotspots popping up around the country, it's natural that laptop users need to know how to connect via this route also. The process is the same as connecting to a network at home or work. Starbucks and McDonalds are good examples of businesses that encourage customers to use their wireless Internet access. Some require registration and a fee, collected via a web page that you see after connecting to the wireless network. The wireless network name is usually pretty obvious, but ask an employee if you're not sure. If there are additional steps you must take to log in, they will be able to help you.

Source:

UniBlue.com: How to Set Up a Laptop for Wireless

Microsoft: 4 Steps to Set Up Your Home Wireless Network