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I just ran into a problem...
All of my desktops are far away from my router. I can't have them close, however. So to connect them to the internet I purchased a TP-Link TL-WN725N. It is a USB WiFi adapter. All of sudden, that no longer works. So now all my desktops can't connect to the internet. Any recommendations on how to fix this?
Thanks,
nexos

I think it would be better to get an active hub and use UTP (more reliable and not hackable by the neighbour kid).
As for that TP-Link, I believe it has a hole with a button on the bottom. Try to press that for 10 sec with a needle, that should reset your device to its factory defaults (there should be some LED feedback letting you to know you can release the button).

Hm, is it this? Isn't that supposed to be connected to your PC? Or if it's really plugged into your router, then check your router first. Maybe it's your router that's out of order and not the wifi dongle?

Forget my first advice, I thought it's something like this . I don't think wifi dongles has reset buttons (but your router surely has).

Cheers,
bzt

bzt wrote:I think it would be better to get an active hub and use UTP (more reliable and not hackable by the neighbour kid).
As for that TP-Link, I believe it has a hole with a button on the bottom. Try to press that for 10 sec with a needle, that should reset your device to its factory defaults (there should be some LED feedback letting you to know you can release the button).

Cheers,
bzt

My adapter has no button. It is very, very small . I guess I should get a WiFi to ethernet adapter and connect it to a switch. I have a few switches .

If you want wires, you can try using wires that are already there. I know of adapters to use coaxial and power cables for networks. No guarantees though: it depends on the quality of the existing cables, and they may not be designed to handle high signal speeds.

That's strange, I restarted my router and it now works again. I didn't follow rule #1 of IT. If it doesn't work reboot .

nexos wrote:I guess I should get a WiFi to ethernet adapter and connect it to a switch. I have a few switches .

Probably that's the best. But if your problem is distance, then make sure you have an active switch (which needs a power supply and can amplify the signal) and not a passive one. It was a long time ago when I had to work with cables, but if I'm not mistaken CAT6 UTP cables has a limit of 50 metres (give it or take), but probably much less if you need high-speed. Oh, and it worth buying a shielded cable, because there will be lots of interference on a long distance, and that's the enemy of high-speed (causes many packet-loss and forces many packet retransmissions).

Cheers,
bzt

CAT 5 / 6 / 7 is the shielding level. A CAT 6 is a CAT 6 because it is better shielded than a CAT 5. (CAT 7 is even better, but CAT 7 connectors are not backward compatible. Which is why my house cabling is CAT 7 with CAT 6 connectors...)

CAT 5 is rated for 100 meters at 1 GBit. CAT 6 is rated for less (55m) when used with 10 GBit. If you are using "only" 1 GBit, or your cable is a CAT 6A, you're good for the same 100 meters as with CAT 5.