Wi-Fi routers wirelessly link all your PCs and other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, letting you share a single broadband connection throughout your home.
Here are the specs you need to know.

SETTING UP

If you’re planning to create a wireless network to share a broadband connection across all of your home’s PCs, you start with the broadband-connection hardware (typically, a cable or DSL modem). Plug the modem into your router, connect the router to your PC, configure the router via its included software, then connect to your network from additional PCs (and other devices) that have networking radios installed.

NETWORKING STANDARDS

802.11g is the current standard for home networks, having replaced the slower 802.11b standard in new equipment. 802.11g is also compatible with 802.11b, so you can use 802.11g gear with older equipment running the 802.11b standard. Another older standard, 802.11a, has speeds similar to 802.11g’s, but it’s not compatible with 802.11b or 802.11g and has a shorter range.
Many new 802.11g routers feature multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) technology, which reduces signal interference and provides greater range and throughput than ordinary 802.11g routers do. MIMO is also an important part of the forthcoming 802.11n standard, which may be officially ratified in early 2007. So-called “Draft N” routers being sold today are based on a preliminary version of the 802.11n spec, but they have failed to deliver the boost in range and throughput that the new standard promises. It’s also possible that Draft N devices won’t be compatible with the final version of 802.11n, although vendors have promised that the routers will be firmware-upgradable to the final spec.

THROUGHPUT

Throughput refers to the speed of data transfer a router can provide, measured in megabits per second (Mbps). 802.11b routers have a maximum throughput of 11Mbps, while 802.11g and 802.11a devices have a maximum throughput of 54Mbps. The upcoming 802.11n standard promises significantly higher maximum throughput (540Mbps). Note, however, that these maximum throughputs are theoretical, and that real-life performance will be slower and varies from one router model to the next.

RANGE

Range is the maximum distance from the router a wireless access point or networking card can receive a signal. As with maximum throughput, the range that a router manufacturer touts often doesn’t correlate with what you’ll observe. That’s partly because obstacles such as walls can affect a router’s range. If your router’s signal can’t reach a remote area of your network, you may need to purchase a repeater, a device that re-amplifies the signal so it can extend to distant parts of your home or office.

SECURITY

Most routers come with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, which provides a first level of security but won’t deter persistent hackers. For greater security, opt for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) or the newer WPA2 encryption, which provides stronger data protection and control over network access.
A router that supports Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering limits network access to specifically permitted PCs and devices. For added protection, consider a router with a built-in hardware firewall, which can protect all PCs on the network at once from outside attacks.

Source: Wi-Fi Routers Buying Guide - Computer Shopper

By Steve Bass, PC World

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Boot unbootable drives, silence annoying start-up folders and speed up Windows Explorer.

You hit your PC’s power button, and instead of seeing the familiar Windows logo, you get a boot-failure message. You could throw yourself in front of a moving truck — or maybe just read my quick fix. I also show you how to repair dopey folder icons and how to cleanly uninstall unwanted programs.

My PC Won’t Boot (OMG!)

The Hassle: I booted my laptop only to see this message: “Boot Failure: System Halted.” I’ve tried every partition recovery program under the sun, but my notebook still won’t boot. H-e-l-p!

The Fix: Stay calm. Somehow the laptop’s BIOS isn’t able to identify your hard drive’s partition. But chances are good you can fix it. First, boot to the BIOS (press Del or F10 as you boot) and jot down the current settings. Then find the option to set the BIOS back to the de­fault. It’s usually the menu item on the far right. Reboot and keep your fingers crossed.

If that doesn’t work, grab a copy of the free DTIData NTFS Recovery Repair tool. It lets you repair the boot sector and make the drive bootable again. Before you start, however, it’s essential to read the in­structions found here and here.

Program Folder Opens at Startup

The Hassle: When I boot my system, an Explorer folder pops open on the desktop for the VMWare virtualization app I recently in­stalled. Where’s this folder coming from — and how do I stop it?

The Fix: You’ll need to go on a treasure hunt to find where the program’s folder is loading. The first spot to look is in Scheduled Tasks (from Control Panel). Not there? See if a shortcut with the program’s folder resides in the Startup folder (Start, Programs, Startup). No luck? Then use WinPatrol, a free utility for re­-moving background programs, and see if it’s listed. If it is, use WinPatrol’s Remove feature. (Click here to download WinPatrol.)

My guess, though, is that Windows is trying to read a Registry entry with an incorrect value, likely a string that contains spaces but is not surrounded by quotation marks. Windows is reading only part of the path, so it opens up a folder on the desktop.

You can manually massage this Registry entry by opening RegEdit (Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter). Next, use Control-F to search for the path you see in the Explorer folder that appears on your desktop. This path will look similar to “C:\Program Files\VMware Workstation\vmware.exe‘ with a space separating other characters, such as ‘%1,” if they appear. In the right-hand panel, double-click the item and add quote marks to the start and end of the path. You may have additional flawed Registry entries if the problem is not resolved. Some fun, eh?

Source: Simple Fixes for Hard Drive and Folder Annoyances - Page1 -  MSN Tech & Gadgets - How To