Hi all, I am completely computer stupid ! my boys have just been given a computer, its a Toshiba windows 2000 professional ( under this it says windows 98 ?) We are wireless at home can I adapt the computer so they can use the internet ???

Is it a desktop or tower PC as opposed to a laptop?

Given that it runs Windows 2000, it's probably a fairly old computer - which would mean that it's unlikely that it has built-in wi-fi.

So you would probably need to buy a PCI wireless card for the computer. Installing this would require opening up the case (there are usually a couple of screws to undo to take off the side panels) and inserting the PCI card into a spare PCI slot on the motherboard (while the computer is turned off and disconnected of course) - then (once the PCI card has been installed) you would need to install the software off the CD-ROM provided with the wireless card.

Here's a fairly cheap PCI wireless card that should do the job... Tenda Wireless-G PCI Adapter - Ebuyer

Hope that helps

Just to clarify, what I suggested above is for a desktop or tower PC - not for a laptop.

Better still - if the computer has USB, then a USB wireless adaptor would be a lot easier to install - you wouldn't need to open up the computer - you would just need to insert the USB adaptor into a spare USB slot.

If the computer was a laptop, then you would either need a USB or a PCMCIA wireless adaptor (USB is probably preferable if the laptop has USB)...

whosh straight over my head ! Thanks for the quick reply Ruth, yes its a laptop, maybe I'l take it down to the computer shop ! xxx

Cool! Yes - probably best if you take the laptop to the computer shop if you are unsure if the laptop has USB sockets (the shop should be able to advise you). Or if you were able to take photos of the connections on the side/back of the laptop and send them to me, then I would be able to tell you.

USB is more commonly used these days than PCMCIA, so would be easier to get hold of and cheaper.

My 10 year olds tell me that ' oh mummmmmm, yes it has got usb ports, doh !!!'

That makes it easier then! Any USB wireless adaptor that supports Windows 2000 should work then. If you can't find one that does, you may need to upgrade the laptop to Windows XP...