Netbook

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

I purchased a netbook and would like to get a CD/DVD read - write external drive. Since most of the drives come with a CD that you need to use for installation on your computer, how do you it when you don't have an CD drive?

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I purchased a netbook and would like to get a CD/DVD read - write external drive. Since most of the drives come with a CD that you need to use for installation on your computer, how do you it when you don't have an CD drive?

We asked this question just last night when we purchased an HP Netbook. The answer was most devices are not plug and play that don't require the CD for installation. Oddly enough, our HP Netbook actually came with an installation CD, which I found rather odd since there is not CD drive.

Right now my main problem is getting it to connect to my wireless network at home. I fear it's antenna doesn't like the 64 bit system we have and will have to spend another $100 on an antenna the accepts th 64 bit system. I had to do this when we upgraded our computers to 64 bit and the old antenna she had was 32 bit. It caused quite a bit of frustration until we figured out what was wrong. Which required buying a brand new 32 bit antenna that didn't work and one of the tech's caught the difference in antenna and system.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

My wife wanted the Gateway LT 1005u, so that is what we purchased.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

With HP it's just been the luck of the draw. We had a Gateway computer and experienced their "award winning customer service," so we haven't had another Gateway since. Our daughter had a Dell but, it had Windows ME and, we got to experience Dell's "award winning customer service," so we haven't had a Dell since. We've had very few problems with the HP's we've owned so, we've stuck with HP.

I have figured out that it's not a compatability problem with the antena. If it was, my older Toshiba laptop would't connect. Later I'll take the netbook somewhere that has Wifi connectivity, like Starbucks, and see if it will connect. If it can't connect there then I have a problem of some sort. Either my ability to set the computer and the wireless connection up or the computer has an issue of it's own. In the past, when we've had an issue with one of the HP's, it didn't take a lot of effort to get the problem resolved. I'm hoping that won't be an issue this time if there is in fact a problem.

[garytam Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close garytam]

I own a netbook from Acer. If you have another computer that has a cd/dvd, you can share that and your netbook will be able to use it for installing software, I installed the MS office that way.

As for 64 bits, your netbook connects to the router via the wireless LAN. It doesn't matter what Operating System you are running on the other machines. Do you have security(WEP) set up for your wireless router ? If you do, you have to enter that info into your netbook.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

I own a netbook from Acer. If you have another computer that has a cd/dvd, you can share that and your netbook will be able to use it for installing software, I installed the MS office that way.

As for 64 bits, your netbook connects to the router via the wireless LAN. It doesn't matter what Operating System you are running on the other machines. Do you have security(WEP) set up for your wireless router ? If you do, you have to enter that info into your netbook.

I'm a little slow sometimes and had forgotten that the incompatblity problem was my wife's computer not taking the drivers for the 32 bit antena.

At any rate, I figured out it was operator error. I had gone through everyting except to actually put the name of our home network in. I had assumed that, since the name came up when I choose a wireless network within range that it was automatic. Apparently, it wasn't. When I went through the wireless set up from the control panel section, it asked for the name, I put it in and everything was fine.

[riverdees05 Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close riverdees05]

graytam,

How do you share the CD/DVD from my other computer to the netbook?

[vintner Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close vintner]

Doug, you keep saying 'antenna' as in 64 bit antenna and 32 bit antenna. This confuses me because I think you are talking about software being 32 or 64 bit or the processesor. It wouldn't be the antenna as that is basically a piece of wire cut to a length tuned to a frequency, kind of like the old tv antenna used on the house. Are you having problems with a wireless router and the connection? I have used my same cable modem and router through several computers with no problem, so not sure why you are having a problem.

[dale7 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dale7]

If you have two computers down load your cd to a usb thumb drive and transfer the information that way.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Doug, you keep saying 'antenna' as in 64 bit antenna and 32 bit antenna. This confuses me because I think you are talking about software being 32 or 64 bit or the processesor. It wouldn't be the antenna as that is basically a piece of wire cut to a length tuned to a frequency, kind of like the old tv antenna used on the house. Are you having problems with a wireless router and the connection? I have used my same cable modem and router through several computers with no problem, so not sure why you are having a problem.

The problem I had was compatibility between the drivers for the antena and my wife's computer. The 32 bit antena wouldn't load the drivers.

It's not the issue with the Netbook. The issue is the operator.

I discovered yesterday that what I thought was a connection to my secured network was actually a connection the netbook made to one of my neighbors unsecured wireless networks. So, I'm back to not being sure why I can't connect to my own router.

I know that I have the key correct as I printed it out and filed it away for future reference. I go through the process exactly as the instructions tell me to. It gets to a point where it won't connect and tells me there might be a router or modem problem and to shut both down, wait three minutes, bring them back up and try again. Unfortunately, that doesn't work. I had no problems getting my Toshiba laptop to connect to our router and it uses Window's XP just like the netbook has loaded. All I had to do was type in the key and it connected. Beats me as to what I'm doing wrong this time around.

In reality, it's just a frustrating thing for me as I don't intend to use the netbook at home. I bought it to use when we travel and, I've found that it does connect to other, unsecured networks. So long as it works when we travel I'll be happy. I bought it to have something that didn't take up as much room when we traveled and, something for our vacation photo's. If it works for checking E-mail and photo storage then I'm in good shape.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Finally got it right and am now connected to my own network. I had to dig out the printed information and found one minor detail wrong. Corrected that minor point and it connected right up.

I know I don't plan on using the Netbook at home but, it always feels better when everthing is working the way it should be.

Now all I have to do is hope that the external 250 GB hard drive is as easy as plug and play was described by the kid at the computer store. Those young ones forget us old farts use to have to shoot pool or play pinball rather than hook up the Xbox for games.