topic Re: Belkin F5D7630uk4A in PCs & Accessories

Belkin F5D7630uk4A

Jiffy — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 20:30:56 GMT

You were all a great help the last time I asked for advice so here goes!
VGN-195EP wants to share AOL Broadband connection with Desktop running XP.
I was advised (not on this forum) to get a Belkin Access Point. Now that's OK for file sharing etc but not for sharing an Internet connection.
Now I'm being advised to get a Belkin ADSL Modem with Built-In Wireless Router.
Questions: Has anyone here tried this? Will it work? Or has anyone any other suggestions?

Re: Belkin F5D7630uk4A

TygerTyger — Tue, 24 Aug 2004 23:35:14 GMT

i have that exact model and yes it works great although it doesnt do above 54mb 801.11g speed (at least not when i bought mine a few months ago.
Look on their website, with the product specifications is a list of resellers, buy from one of those an get a lifetime guarantee. Tech support is also a freephone number. The online places are cheapest by far.

In another section of the forum my belkin recommendation was soundly beaten by a netgear one so I'll let someone else justify why (and if) its better. i dont hesitate in recommending the one u hav been recommended though.

Re: Belkin F5D7630uk4A

Jiffy — Wed, 25 Aug 2004 09:55:05 GMT

Thanks. Went on to Amazon for prices & read the customer reviews. As a Newbie, some of these were a bit daunting and not at all encouraging!! Especially the apparent lack of information.
Did you have any problems setting it up? If so what do I look out for?

Re: Belkin F5D7630uk4A

TygerTyger — Wed, 25 Aug 2004 15:31:34 GMT

I think any Newbie will suffer a bit getting a wireless network going. They are a pain, although if you are only using Windows XP life is a bit easier. I'd recommend reading a few dummies guides on the internet before you start.
The only pitfall I had was that the internet connection wouldn't work until I deleted my old internet connections. This is because a small program stored in the router dials into the internet for you, rather than Windows doing it, which is handy because you never have to dial in again.
One rather important point (I'm assuming you're in the UK I don't know why) which I rarely see mentioned is that the UK uses PPPoA, whereas almost the rest of the world uses PPPoE. You don't need to worry about this, however if you buy a different router not all of them support PPPoA so be sure to check. When you come to set up your hub remember it's A not E.

One thing I don't like about this modem is that it sometimes 'drops' my wireless connection. The cause of this I can't say, it's a job for their support and I never bothered to call yet because it doesn't happen often enough to anger me. I would also recommend you DON'T use the hardware firewall that it comes with, and instead buy yourself a good software firewall. This is simply because it's sooooooooo much easier. Zonealarm is a decent free one. I use Symantec Internet Security.

The information and instructions are excellent, if you want to check yourself beforehand go to the support section on their website and download the manual for the modem, it's a PDF file and an exact copy of what you get.