Sony PCWA-C150S manual

Operating Instructions 2.4GHz Wireless LAN PC Card PCWA-C150S A-B6H-100- 11 (1) © 2002 Sony Corporation[...]

2 WARNING To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose the unit to rain or moisture. Owner’s Record The model and serial numbers are located on the back of the unit. Record the serial number in the space provided below. Refer to them whenever you call upon your Sony dealer regarding this product. Model No. PCWA-C150S Serial No.______________ CA[...]

3 Safety Information WARNING • Opening the unit, for whatever reason, could lead to damage that is not covered by the warranty. • Do not use this equipment on hospital premises. Doing so may cause medical devices to malfunction. • If using the equipment near a pacemaker, make sure it is at least 9 inches (22 cm) away from the pacemaker. • D[...]

4 Program © 2002 Sony Corporation, Copyright Documentation © 2002 Sony Corporation Sony, VAIO, the VAIO logo, Memory Stick , and the Memory Stick logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America and other countries. MMX and Pentium are registered trad[...]

5 Overview What you can do with your Wireless LAN PC Card You can build a wireless LAN using the Wireless LAN PC Card PCWA- C150S (subsequently referred to as “Wireless LAN PC Card”). Equipping multiple computers with Wireless LAN PC Cards and installing the supplied software enables the computers to communicate and exchange data without a phys[...]

6 Communication through Access Point (Infrastructure Mode) Direct communication between computers (Peer-to-Peer Mode) z Tip For details about peer-to-peer connections with Windows XP, see Windows XP Help.[...]

7 About the supplied software The Wireless LAN PC Card comes with the following software. Client Manager Client Manager is utility software for displaying the communication status of the Wireless LAN PC Card. Usually, the software operates in the background and shows the communication status using an icon in the system tray (notification area in Wi[...]

8 System requirements s Computer Hardware Requirements CPU: MMX ® Pentium ® 233 MHz and above RAM: With Windows Me/Windows 2000: 64 MB or more With Windows XP: 128 MB or more CD-ROM drive Preinstalled built-in PCMCIA Type II slot s Operating system Microsoft ® Windows ® Millennium Edition Microsoft ® Windows ® 2000 Professional Edition Micros[...]

9 About this manual Note When using an Access Point, first connect and configure the Access Point as explained in its documentation. This manual explains the operation of the Wireless LAN PC Card and the installation and setup of the supplied Client Manager software. For details on using the Client Manager, refer to the online Help within the softw[...]

10 Unpacking Your Wireless LAN PC Card comes with the following items. • Wireless LAN PC Card • CD-ROM (Setup disc) • Read This First • Quick Start Guide • Troubleshooting Guide • Warranty card • Other printed materials[...]

11 Getting started Installing the software Before installing the software: • Configure and connect the Access Point. • Quit all Windows programs. Note In Windows 2000 and Windows XP operating systems, only users with administrator privileges can install the software. If you have logged on to Windows 2000 with a user account not listed in “Adm[...]

12 4 Check that the displayed folder is the one where you want to install the software, and click “Next”. The Select Program Folder dialog box appears. z Tip If you want to install the software into a different folder, click “Browse” and select the folder or directly enter the folder name. 5 Click “Next”. z Tip If you want to change the[...]

13 Getting started Installing the driver software Note Before installing the driver software, install the supplied utility software. For details on installing the supplied utility software, see “Installing the software” on page 11. Installing the driver software The installation procedure varies depending upon whether the CD-ROM drive is availa[...]

14 Windows Me 1 Insert the supplied CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive. Note If your computer has two PC card slots and your CD-ROM drive must be connected through one of them, connect the CD-ROM drive to the bottom slot. 2 Insert the Wireless LAN PC Card into the PC card slot. The Add New Hardware Wizard appears. z Tip See “Inserting the Wireless LAN [...]

15 Getting started 7 Click “Next” to begin driver installation. Wait for installation to complete. The Add/Edit Configuration Profile dialog box appears when installation is complete. 8 Click “Cancel” on the Add/Edit Configuration Profile dialog box. 9 Click “Finish”. 10 Restart the computer. Windows 2000 Note In Windows 2000, only user[...]

16 3 Click “Next”. 4 Confirm that “Search for a suitable driver for my device” is selected, and click “Next”. 5 Select Specify a location, and click “Next”. 6 Click “Browse”. 7 Select the folder containing the driver, and click “Open”. • When installing from the supplied CD-ROM in a CD-ROM drive connected to the computer: [...]

17 Getting started Windows XP Note In Windows XP, only users with administrator privileges can install drivers. If you have logged on to Windows XP with a user account not defined as “computer administrator”, you will be asked to type a user account name and password for an account with administrator privileges when you attempt to install the d[...]

18 5 Select the folder that contains the driver and click “OK”. • When installing from the supplied CD-ROM in a CD-ROM drive connected to the computer: Select the “3WinXP” folder on the CD-ROM. • When installing after copying the contents of the supplied CD- ROM to a hard disk: Select the “3WinXP” folder in the folder into which you[...]

19 Getting started 6 Double-click “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card”. The Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card Properties dialog box appears. Note The Wireless LAN PC Card is not working properly if the following occurs: • “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card” is represented in the Device Manager list by a yellow question mark or exclamation point.[...]

20 8 Click “OK”. You are returned to the System Properties dialog box. 9 Click “OK”. You are returned to Control Panel. 10 Double-click the PC Card (PCMCIA) icon. The PC Card (PCMCIA) dialog box appears. 11 Confirm that “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card” is displayed under Socket Status. Note If “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card” is n[...]

21 Getting started Windows 2000: 1 From the “Start” menu, point to “Settings”, then click “Control Panel”. Control Panel appears. 2 Double-click the System icon. The System Properties dialog box appears. 3 Click the “Hardware” tab, then click “Device Manager”. The Device Manager window appears. 4 Double-click “Network adapters[...]

22 Note The Wireless LAN PC Card is not working properly if the following occurs: • “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card” is represented in the Device Manager list by a yellow question mark or exclamation point. c Right-click “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card”, and click “Remove” to uninstall the Wireless LAN PC Card driver. Then, reinstal[...]

23 Getting started Windows XP: 1 From the “start” menu, click “Control Panel”. Control Panel appears. 2 Double-click “System”. The System Properties dialog box appears. z Hint If the System icon is not displayed, click “Switch to Classic View”. 3 Click the “Hardware” tab, and click “Device Manager”. The Device Manager window[...]

24 Note The Wireless LAN PC Card is not working properly if the following occurs: • “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card” is represented in the Device Manager list by a yellow question mark or exclamation point. c Right-click “Sony PCWA-C150 Wireless PC Card”, and click “Uninstall” to delete the Wireless LAN PC Card driver. After removing[...]

25 Getting started Inserting the Wireless LAN PC Card This section explains how to insert the Wireless LAN PC Card into your computer and how to remove it. You do not need to turn off your computer when inserting the Wireless LAN PC Card. Insert the Wireless LAN PC card into the PC card slot of the computer. Push the Wireless LAN PC Card into the s[...]

26 Notes • If your computer has two PC card slots, insert the Wireless LAN PC Card into the top slot. If the card is inserted into the bottom slot, the antenna of the Wireless LAN PC Card will block the top slot. • In some computer models, the Memory Stick slot may be blocked while the Wireless LAN PC Card is inserted. • Set up your computer [...]

27 Getting started To remove the Wireless LAN PC Card 1 Close any running software that uses the wireless LAN for example, Client Manager. 2 Stop the Wireless LAN PC Card according to the manuals provided with your computer. 3 Remove the Wireless LAN PC Card according to the documentation of your computer. Grasp the card at both sides and carefully[...]

28 Uninstalling the software and driver Uninstalling the software Windows Me 1 From the “Start” menu, point to “Settings”, and click “Control Panel”. Control Panel appears. 2 Double-click the “Add/Remove Programs” icon. The Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box appears. z Tip If the Add/Remove Programs icon is not shown, select [...]

29 Getting started Windows 2000 In Windows 2000 operating system, only users with administrator privileges can uninstall software. If you have logged on to Windows 2000 with a user account not listed in “Administrator”, you will be asked to enter a user account name and password for an account with administrator privileges when you attempt to u[...]

30 Windows XP Note In Windows XP operating system, only users with administrator privileges can uninstall software. If you have logged on to Windows XP with a user account not defined as “computer administrator”, you will be asked to enter a user account name and password for an account with administrator privileges when you attempt to uninstal[...]

31 Getting started Windows Me: 1 From the “Start” menu, point to “Settings”, and click “Control Panel”. Control Panel appears. 2 Double-click the “System” icon. The System Properties dialog box appears. z Hint If System is not displayed, click “view all Control Panel options”. 3 Click the “Device Manager” tab. 4 Select “De[...]

32 Windows 2000: Note Log on to Windows 2000 as Administrator. 1 From the “Start” menu, point to “Settings”, and click “Control Panel”. Control Panel appears. 2 Double-click the “System” icon. The System Properties dialog box appears. 3 Click the “Hardware” tab, and click “Device Manager”. The Device Manager window appears. [...]

33 Getting started Windows XP: Note Log on to Windows XP using an account with computer administrator privileges. 1 From the “Start” menu, click “Control Panel”. Control Panel appears. 2 Double-click “System”. The System Properties dialog box appears. z Hint If the System icon is not displayed, select “Switch to Classic View”. 3 Cli[...]

34 Setting up the connection environment Windows Me or Windows 2000 Establishing communication with the Access Point This section describes how to configure settings for communication with an Access Point. When not using an Access Point, see “Configuring communication settings for Peer-to-Peer Mode” on page 40. Before configuring the settings, [...]

35 Software setup 2 From the “Actions” menu, select “Add/Edit Configuration Profile”. The Add/Edit Configuration Profile dialog box appears. 3 Click “Add”. The Edit Configuration dialog box appears. z Tip To edit an existing profile, click “Edit”.[...]

36 4 Enter an alphanumeric name for the profile in the “Profile Name” field (letters, numbers, and symbols are allowed). Verify that Access Point is selected in the “Network Type” list, and click “Next”. The Identify Your Network window shown below appears. 5 In the “Network Name” field, enter the same Network Name as set for the Ac[...]

37 Software setup 7 Click “Next”. The Set Security window shown below appears. 8 If Data Security (also called WEP or Encryption) is enabled at the Access Point, enter matching setting values for the Wireless LAN PC Card, as described below. Notes • Input is case sensitive. Be sure to use the same uppercase/lowercase spelling as at the Access[...]

38 3. In the field “Key 1”, “Key 2”, “Key 3”, or “Key 4”, type the encryption key set at the Access Point. Notes • Type the number of characters or digits as indicated below. Alphanumeric Characters Hexadecimal Access Point is encrypted 13 characters 26 digits with a 128-bit WEP Access Point is encrypted 5 characters 10 digits wit[...]

39 Software setup 10 Set Power Management to “Off (default power consumption and high performance)” or “On (lower power consumption and performance)”, and click “Next”. The TCP/IP Behavior window shown below appears. 11 When using one Wireless LAN PC Card for multiple networks, select the “Renew IP Address when selecting this profile?[...]

40 Configuring communication settings for Peer-to-Peer Mode 1 Click the Client Manager icon on the taskbar. The Client Manager window appears. 2 From the “Actions” menu, select “Add/Edit Configuration Profile”. The Add/Edit Configuration Profile dialog box appears.[...]

41 Software setup 3 Click “Add”. The Edit Configuration dialog box appears. z Tip To edit an existing profile, click “Edit”. 4 Enter a desired alphanumeric name into the “Profile Name” field (letters, numbers, and symbols are allowed). 5 In the “Network Type” drop-down list, select “Peer-to-Peer Group”, and click “Next”. The[...]

42 7 Select the channel number from the “Channel Number” drop-down list. Note When creating a new network, you can select any channel number. z Tip When connecting to an existing network, the channel number is selected automatically. 8 Click “Next”. The Set Security window shown below appears. 9 When creating a new network or when connectin[...]

43 Software setup 3. Type the encryption key in the “Key” field. Notes • Type the number of characters or digits indicated below. Alphanumeric Characters Hexadecimal With a 128-bit WEP 13 characters 26 digits With a 64-bit WEP 5 characters 10 digits • Alphanumeric characters are case sensitive. • Alphanumeric characters may include symbol[...]

44 14 With Windows Me, follow the procedure below to renew the IP address allocated to your Wireless LAN PC Card. (With Windows 2000 this procedure is not necessary. Proceed to step 15.) 1. From the “Start menu”, click “Run”. 2. Type “winipcfg” (without quotation marks), and click “OK”. The IP Configuration dialog box appears. 3. Se[...]

45 Software setup • Check the Network Name (also called SSID) and the Data Security (also called WEP or Encryption) settings of the Access Point. For details about these settings, consult your network administrator. The factory-default configuration settings for the Access Point are listed in the Access Point documentation. Note Before configurin[...]

46 3 If Data Security (also called WEP or Encryption) is enabled at the Access Point, type the encryption key in the “Network key field”. Notes • Input is case sensitive. Be sure to use the same uppercase/lowercase spelling as at the Access Point. • The Data Security function serves to prevent unauthorized access to your network. It is stro[...]

47 Software setup Checking the communication status Checking the wireless signal strength The communication status is shown by the Client Manager icon in the system tray (notification area in Windows XP). Client Manager icon Meaning of icon appearance (Green) = Excellent (Green) = Good (Yellow) = Fair (Yellow) = Weak signal (Red) = Out of range (No[...]

48 Client Manager menus File menu Enable Radio/Disable Radio Enables or disables wireless communication. Close Window Closes the Client Manager window. Actions menu Add/Edit Configuration Profile Creates a new profile or edits an existing profile. In Windows XP, the connection function built into Windows XP is used, and this function is not availab[...]

49 Software setup Help menu Contents Opens the Client Manager Help. Version Info Displays the versions of Client Manager, Wireless LAN PC Card driver, Wireless LAN PC Card hardware, and Wireless LAN PC Card firmware.[...]

50 Precautions Safety Do not drop or cause a mechanical shock to the 2.4 GHz Wireless LAN PC Card PCWA-C150S, as this may damage the unit. Installation Do not expose the Wireless LAN PC Card to the following conditions: • Unstable surfaces • High humidity or poor ventilation • Excessive dust • Direct sunlight or extreme heat • Closed cars[...]

51 Software setup Specifications Protocol support TCP/IP compliant Standard IEEE 802.11b/IEEE 802.11 Radio frequency 2.4 GHz Modulation method DS-SS (IEEE 802.11 compliant) General Power requirements 3.3 V/5 V (supplied from the computer through the PC card adapter) Current Peak current at transmission: 330 mA Peak current at reception: 240 mA Conn[...]

52 ❒ The Sony e-mail support service answers your questions by electronic mail. Just send your question in an e- mail message and a customer service representative will reply. To send a question to Sony e-mail support, fill out the e-mail form at http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/ support/wirelesslan/ ❒ The Sony fax-back service provides answers to c[...]

53 Additional information Glossary Channel number The frequency used for wireless communications. Wireless communications are possible only among client computers and Access Points that use the same channel. Data Security IEEE 802.11 compliant security system (also called WEP or Encryption). Using the encryption key as the password, only client com[...]

54 Troubleshooting If you have difficulfy with your Wireless LAN PC Card, try the suggestions listed below. If you still cannot resolve the problem, contact Sony Customer Information Services. Symptom Cause/Remedy The computer does not detect the Wireless LAN PC Card. Other computers on the wireless LAN are not displayed. Cannot access the Internet[...]

55 Additional information Symptom Cause/Remedy Forgot the encryption key. Transfer rate is 11 Mbps, but MPEG2 data does not transfer without interruption. Communication fails although the computer is located within 100 m (330 feet) of the Access Point. Link test results in many dropped messages. c Return Access Point to factory default settings and[...]

56 Symptom Cause/Remedy Cannot connect to the network. An error message indicating a conflict between network components is displayed. The Access Point and the computer are too far apart. c Move the computer closer to the Access Point. Communication settings are incorrect. c Check the settings for Network Name, Data Security, Profile, and so on. Ch[...]

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❒ The Sony e-mail support service answers your questions by electronic mail. Just send your question in an e-mail message and a customer service representative will reply. To send a question to Sony e-mail support, fill out the e-mail form at http://www.ita.sel.sony.com/support/wirelesslan/ ❒ The Sony fax-back service provides you with answers [...]