Sony PCWA-C100 manual

Operating Instructions Wireless LAN PC Card PCWA-C100 4-647-085- 11 (1) © 2000 Sony Corporation[...]

2 Owner’s Record The model number of this product is PCWA- C100. Find the serial number attached on the product and record it in the space provided below. Refer to these numbers when you call your Sony dealer. Model No. PCWA-C100 Serial No.______________ CAUTION You are cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved in this ma[...]

3 T able of contents Overview ............................................ 4 What you can do with your W ireless LAN PC Car d ............. 4 About the supplied software ........ 5 T ask flow ......................................... 6 System requir ements ..................... 7 About this manual ............................. 8 Opening the Help fi[...]

4 Overview What you can do with your Wireless LAN PC Card You can build a Wireless LAN (Local Area Network) using the Wireless LAN PC Card, PCWA-C100. The Wireless LAN PC Card can be used with or without the Wireless LAN Access Point, PCWA-A100 (hereinafter referred to as the Access Point). With the Access Point, you can build a wireless LAN betwee[...]

5 About the supplied software The Wireless LAN PC Card comes with the following software: • Wireless Palette: You can set up a computer containing the Wireless LAN PC Card for communications with the Access Point, display the communication status, and switch the Access Point currently in use to another when multiple Access Points are present. •[...]

6 Task flow To build a wireless LAN environment, you must configure both the Access Point and the Wireless LAN PC Card. Required tasks depend on the state of your Access Point and Wireless LAN PC Card. The table below lists their states and tasks required for building a wireless LAN environment. 1. Connect the Access Point. (*1) 2. Insert the Wirel[...]

7 System requirements • Sony VAIO ® series personal computers CPU: MMX ® Pentium ® 233 MHz and above RAM: 64 MB and above CD-ROM drive Default built-in PCMCIA Type II slot • Operating system: For best results, use a computer with one of the preinstalled (not upgraded versions) operating systems below. – Microsoft ® Windows ® 98 Second Ed[...]

8 This manual explains the operation of the Wireless LAN PC Card and the installation and setup of the supplied software. For details on using the Wireless Palette and the Custom Setup Utility software supplied with the Wireless LAN PC Card, refer to the software’s on-line Help files. The Wireless LAN PC Card has two on-line Help files: • Wirel[...]

9 Searching using a Keyword 1 To search using a Keyword, select the Index tab from the Help dialog box. The Keyword list appears. 2 Enter the keyword you want to apply, or scroll the Keyword list. 3 Select a topic, then click Display. Topics related to the Keyword appears.[...]

10 Your Wireless LAN PC Card comes with the following items. • Wireless LAN PC Card (1) • PC card case (1) • CD-ROM (Setup disk) (1) • Operating Instructions (1) • END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (1) • Other printed materials Getting started Unpacking[...]

11 1 DATA indicator Lights up while data exchange is in progress. 2 LINK indicator Lights up while your computer is connected to the wireless LAN. Description on the indicators DATA LINK Description Flashing (green) Lit (green) Normal communications. Fast Flashing Lit (green) Peer to Peer mode (green) Off Lit (green) The PC card is powered, but no [...]

12 Inserting the Wir eless LAN PC Car d If you are inserting the Wireless LAN PC Card for the first time, install the driver software before inserting the Wireless LAN PC Card. See Installing the driver software on page 13 for details. This section explains how to insert and remove the Wireless LAN PC Card to your computer. You do not need to turn [...]

13 Install the driver software for the Wireless LAN PC Card. The installation procedure requires the availability of a CD-ROM drive when the Wireless LAN PC Card inserted. 1 Insert the supplied CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. 2 Insert the Wireless LAN PC Card into the PC card slot. The Add New Hardware Wizard appears. 3 Click Next. 4 Confirm that “[...]

14 6 Click Next to begin search. 7 Click Next to begin driver installation. Wait for installation to complete. A new display screen appears when installation is complete. 8 Click Finish. (If your operating system is Windows 98 Second Edition, follow the on-screen instructions to restart the computer.) To verify driver installation Windows 98 Second[...]

15 Note If a message “This device is working properly.” is not displayed, the Wireless LAN PC Card is not working properly. Click OK then click Remove to remove the driver, then click Yes to restart the computer. When the computer restarts, repeat from step 2 in Installing the driver software. Note The Wireless LAN PC Card is not working proper[...]

16 Note If Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card is not displayed in the PC Card (PCMCIA) Properties dialog box, the Wireless LAN PC Card is not working properly. Repeat steps 1 through 4 on page 14. Click Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card then click Remove to remove the driver. Click Yes to restart the computer. When the computer restarts, repeat from ste[...]

17 Note If a message “This device is working properly.” is not displayed, the Wireless LAN PC Card is not working properly. Click OK then click Remove to remove the driver, then click Yes to restart the computer. When the computer restarts, repeat from step 2 in Installing the driver software. Note The Wireless LAN PC Card is not working proper[...]

18 Software setup To verify the installed network components 1 From the Start menu, click Settings - Control Panel. The Control Panel window appears. 2 Double-click the Network icon. The Network dialog box appears. Setting up Windows envir onment (Windows 98 Second Edition) Note If the Version Conflict dialog box appears while you are setting up yo[...]

19 3 Click the Configuration tab to verify the settings. Confirm that the following are displayed under “The following network components are installed.” – NetBEUI -> Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card. – TCP/IP -> Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card. – Client for Microsoft Networks. – File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks. Als[...]

20 2 Click Protocol, then click Add. The Select Network Protocol dialog box appears. 3 Select Microsoft in the Manufacturers window, and select TCP/IP in the Network Protocols window. 4 Click OK. TCP/IP -> Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card appears under “The following network components are installed.”[...]

21 To add NetBEUI If NetBEUI -> Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card is not displayed in step 3 on page 19, follow the steps below. 1 Click Add on the Configuration tab. The Select Network Component Type dialog box appears. 2 Click Protocol then click Add. The Select Network Protocol dialog box appears. 3 Click Microsoft under Manufacturers, then cli[...]

22 To add File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks If File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks is not displayed in step 3 on page 19, follow the steps below. 1 Click File and Print Sharing on the Configuration tab. The File and Print Sharing dialog box appears. 2 Check “I want to be able to give others access to my files.” and “[...]

23 To specify the IP address 1 Click TCP/IP -> Sony PCWA-C100 Wireless PC Card, then click Properties on the Network dialog box. The TCP/IP Properties dialog box appears. If TCP/IP is not displayed... Go back to the previous section To add TCP/IP on page 19 to add TCP/IP, then come back here to continue. 2 Click Obtain an IP address automaticall[...]

24 To verify the computer name and workgroup Computer names are displayed on the status indication windows of the Wireless Palette. 1 Click the Identification Information tab on the Network dialog box and specify the Computer name and Workgroup. 2 Click OK. The System Settings Change dialog box appears. 3 Click Yes to restart the computer. Proceed [...]

25 To set up sharing on the computer You can let other users share drives and folders from your computer on the wireless LAN. The following information explains how to share Drive C (C:), as an example. You can also set up your computer to share other drives and folder. 1 Double-click My Computer on the Windows desktop. 2 Right-click the Drive C ic[...]

26 To change Internet connection settings If your Internet access has been via a telephone line, you must change the Internet connection settings. Microsoft Internet Explorer 1 Select Settings - Control Panel from the Start menu. 2 Double-click Internet Options. 3 Click the Connections tab.[...]

27 4 Check Never dial a connection. 5 Click LAN Settings. The Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog box appears. 6 Check Automatically detect settings under Automatic configuration. Make sure the check box for “Use a Proxy Server” is not selected.[...]

28 7 Click OK. The Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog box closes. 8 Click OK. The Internet Properties dialog box closes. 9 Click . The Control Panel window closes. Upon completion of the above setup, proceed to Installing software on page 40. Netscape Communicator 1 Launch Netscape Communicator. 2 Click Preferences from the Edit menu. 3 Click[...]

29 To verify the current network components 1 From the Start menu, click Settings, click Network and Dial-up Connections. The Network and Dial-up Connections window appears. 2 Double-click the Local Area Connection icon. The Local Area Connection Properties dialog box appears. Confirm that the following network components are displayed in the compo[...]

30 When you have added all components, proceed to To specify the IP address on page 33. To add Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) If Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is not displayed in step 2 on page 29, follow the steps below. 1 Click Install from the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box. The Select Network Component Type dialog box appears. 2 Click Pro[...]

31 4 Click OK. Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is added in the component list. To add NetBEUI Protocol If NetBEUI Protocol is not displayed in step 2 on page 29, follow the steps below. 1 Click Install from the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box. The Select Network Component Type dialog box appears. 2 Click Protocol, then click Add. The Select [...]

32 To add Client for Microsoft Networks If Client for Microsoft Networks is not displayed in step 2 on page 29, follow the steps below. 1 Click Install on the Local Area Connection Properties dialog box. The Select Network Component Type dialog box appears. 2 Click Client, then Add. The Select Network Service dialog box appears. 3 Click Client for [...]

33 To specify the IP address 1 Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) from the component list of the Local Area Connection Properties, then click Properties. The Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box appears. 2 Click Obtain an IP address automatically, then click OK. The Local Area Connection Properties dialog box reappears. 3 Click OK. The L[...]

34 To verify the computer name and workgroup Computer names are displayed on the status indication window of the Wireless Palette. 1 From the Start menu, click Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel window appears. 2 Double-click the System icon. The System Properties dialog box appears. 3 Click the Network Identification tab, then c[...]

35 4 Specify Computer name and Workgroup for your computer. 5 Click OK. The message “Restart your computer to enable changes.” is displayed. 6 Click OK. The System Properties dialog box reappears. 7 Click OK then Yes to restart the computer. Proceed to the next section, To set up sharing on the computer on page 36, upon completion of this setti[...]

36 To set up sharing on the computer You can let other users share drives and folders from your computer on the wireless LAN. The following information explains how to share Drive C (C:), as an example. You can also set up your computer to share other drives and folders. 1 Double-click My Computer the desktop. 2 Right-click the C: icon, then click [...]

37 To change Internet connection settings If your Internet access has been via a telephone line, you must change the Internet connection settings. Microsoft Internet Explorer 1 Select Settings - Control Panel from the Start menu. 2 Double-click Internet Options. 3 Click the Connections tab.[...]

38 4 Check Never dial a connection. 5 Click LAN Settings. The Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog box appears. 6 Check Automatically detect settings under Automatic configuration. 7 Click OK. The Local Area Network (LAN) Settings dialog box closes.[...]

39 8 Click OK. The Internet Properties dialog box closes. 9 Click . The Control Panel window closes. Upon completion of the above setup, proceed to Installing software on page 40. Netscape Communicator 1 Launch Netscape Communicator. 2 Click Preferences form the Edit menu. 3 Click Advanced. 4 Click Proxies, then check “Direct connection to the In[...]

40 Once you set up your Windows environment, install the Wireless Palette, the Basic Setup Utility, and the Custom Setup Utility software. 1 From the Start menu, click Run. The Run dialog box appears. 2 Enter the name of the installer. • If the computer has an internal CD-ROM drive, enter “Q:SETUP.EXE.” (“Q” indicates the name of the int[...]

41 7 Select Standard and click Next. Software installation begins and the Setup Complete dialog box appears a while. 8 Click Finish. The Confirmation Items dialog box appears. 9 Confirm the information and click OK. Installation is complete and your computer restarts. Proceed to the next section, Setting up the connection environment on page 44, fo[...]

42 z Tip To uninstall a specific software application, select Modify and click Next. See To modify installed software on page 41 for more information. z Tip To uninstall a specific software application, uncheck the application you want to uninstall. 3 Check the software applications you want to install, then click Next. The software installation be[...]

43 z Tip To uninstall a specific software application, select Modify and click Next. See To modify installed software on page 41 for more information. Windows 2000 1 From the Start menu, click Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control Panel window appears. 2 Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. The Add/Remove Programs dialog box appears[...]

44 The following describes how to set up software for building a wireless LAN environment with the Access Point. Follow the steps below. 1 Use the Wireless Palette software to register the Access Point to every computer you want to connect in a wireless LAN. 2 Use the Basic Setup Utility to set up the Access Point on one of the wireless LAN compute[...]

45 2 Click the Tool Box button . The Tool Box window appears. 3 Click Add. The Add New Access Point dialog box appears. 4 Specify the Nickname, Access Point ID, and Encryption Key. The Nickname identifies the Access Point. Enter up to eight alphanumeric characters for Nickname. If multiple Access Points exist, make sure to assign a unique name to e[...]

46 5 Click OK. The Tool Box window reappears. 6 Select the Nickname of the Access Point to which you want to connect. 7 Click Select. 8 Click OK. The Nickname of the selected Access Point is displayed on the Wireless Palette. If an error message is displayed, the information you entered contains an error. Go back and repeat step 3 through step 8. T[...]

47 1 Follow steps 1 through 3 in the section, To establish communications with the Access Point on page 44. 2 Check Peer to Peer and specify Channel. For Channel, select a channel you want to use for wireless communications. 3 Enter the Access Point ID and the Encryption Key. Enter up to 32 alphanumeric characters for Access Point ID. Enter five al[...]

48 Verifying communication with the Access Point Follow the steps below to verify that if the Wireless LAN PC Card has a connection with the Access Point. 1 Double-click the on the task tray. The Wireless Pallete status window appears. 2 Verify the Nickname. The Nickname identifies the Access Point with which the computer has a connection. Verify t[...]

49 Setting up the Access Point You can change the Access Point settings by using the Basic Setup Utility. Changes to the settings may be made by using the Custom Setup Utility as well. This operation must be performed on a single computer on the wireless LAN. 1 From the Start menu, click VAIO - Wireless LAN - Basic Access Point Setup Utility. The B[...]

50 3 Enter the common parameters, Channel Number and Encryption Key. Select the channel that the Access Point uses for wireless communications for Channel Number. You can use Channel 1, 4, 7, or 10. Enter any five-digit alphanumeric characters for Encryption Key. 4 Select the access method to the Internet from Connection Mode and click NEXT. Select[...]

51 Phone Connection: The Enter Phone Connection Parameters dialog box appears. 1 Enter data for Account ID, Password, Password (re-enter), Phone Number 1, Phone Number 2, and Dialing Mode and click NEXT. The confirmation dialog appears. 2 Make sure you have made correct settings, then click NEXT. Changes to the Access Point settings are reflected a[...]

52 Note If you select Cable Modem/xDSL or ISDN Router/LAN, set up the device for an Internet connection. Note The indicators on the Access Point flashes while changes to the settings are processed. The link test is disabled until the POWER indicator of the Access Point turns green. It takes approximately 30 seconds before the POWER indicator turns [...]

53 Copying a file fr om another computer Note To copy a file from another computer, you must enable file sharing on the computer (page 25, page 36) containing the file. Note With the standard configuration, you can copy files into the computer from which you are working. Once you have verified the network connection using the Wireless Palette, you [...]

54 Connecting to the Inter net When you are through with all settings described in Setting up the connection environment on page 44, let’s connect to the Internet. Phone Connection: 1 Double-click the on the task tray. 2 Click Connect. Connection to the Internet service provider is established. 3 Launch your web browser. A home page is displayed.[...]

55 ISDN Router: 1 Perform the connection attempt procedure on the ISDN router. (See the manual that came with your ISDN router for details.) Connection to the Internet service provider is established. 2 Launch your web browser. A home page is displayed. Cable Modem: 1 Launch your web browser. A home page is displayed. The cable modem holds open the[...]

56 Pr ecautions Additional information Safety Do not drop or cause a mechanical shock to the Wireless LAN PC Card, as this may damage the unit. Installation Do not place the Wireless LAN PC Card where it will be exposed to the following conditions: • Unstable surface. • High humidity or poor ventilation. • Excessive dust. • Direct sunlight [...]

57 Specifications Protocol support TCP/IP, NetBEUI compliant Standard IEEE802.11b/IEEE802.11 Radio frequency 2.4 GHz Modulation method DS-SS (IEEE802.11 compliant) General Power requirements 5 V AC (supplied from the computer through the PC card adapter) Current Peak current at transmission; 280 mA, peak current at reception: 180 mA Connector PC ca[...]

58 This section describes how to get help and support from Sony, as well as troubleshooting tips for your Wireless LAN PC Card. About Sony’s Support Options Sony provides several support options for your Wireless LAN PC Card. When you have questions about your Wireless LAN PC Card and its related software, check these options for answers: ❒ Thi[...]

59 Glossary Channel number The frequency used for wireless communications. Wireless communications are available only among client computers and Access Points that use the same channel. Client A single computer on a wireless LAN. It may be called a client computer as well. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) DHCP lets network administrators [...]

60 T r oubleshooting This section describes how to solve common problems you may encounter when using your Wireless LAN PC Card or Wireless LAN Access Point. Many problems have simple solutions, so try these suggestions before you call Sony Customer Information Services Center. ❒ On the overall wireless communications My computer does not detect [...]

61 The Wireless Palette still shows the previous computer name after a change. c The Access Point has not yet recognized the new computer name. Click the Nickname of the Access Point in the Tool Box window of the Wireless Palette, then click Select. If the correct information is displayed, click OK. The communication band is supposed to be 11 Mbps,[...]

62 Limited W arranty Statement Sony Wireless LAN PC Card Warranty The limited warranty on your hardware covers parts and labor against defects in material or workmanship for a period of three months from the original date of purchase. You can extend the warranty period for an additional nine months by registering your Wireless LAN PC Card. See “R[...]

63 This Limited Warranty is non- transferable. Proof of purchase in the form of a bill of sale (which is evidence that the Product is within the warranty period) must be presented to obtain warranty service. In addition, if replacement parts are required and you wish to receive the most expedient service available, you will be required to provide S[...]

64 ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY RELATED TO THIS PRODUCT. EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ON THIS PRODUCT IS LIMITED IN DURATION TO THE DURATION OF THIS WARRANTY. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, or all[...]

65 B Basic Access Point Setup Utility ............ 5 C Cable Modem/xDSL ............................. 52 Channel number .................................... 59 Client ....................................................... 59 Client for Microsoft Networks ...... 21, 32 Copying a file from another computer ...........................................[...]

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Printed in Japan[...]