Usb adapter Can I set up wireless with a usb adapter without connecting the wireless router to my desk top PC first? Basically what I'm trying to do is put the internet on my new laptop, with a wireless router plugged into my dest top PC.... can I do it an easier way eg:- with the usb adapter? If so how?

There is a great article at Working with Windows Wireless Networks
If you need more help post back! Thumbs and testimonial are welcome!

I have the WPN824v3 and it can be balky finding and connecting to a network sometimes. It works best (and gets the best range) using the Netgear RangeMax Wireless USB 2.0 adapter (WPN111). The router and this adapter are (according to Netgear) specifically designed to work with each other, thereby maximizing both the range and the speed of the router.

Check your settings on your wireless setup and make sure the adapter on your computer is set to Security Type: Shared. That is the most over-looked stumbling block.

First make sure you have the correct drivers installed, go to the Belkin website to get the latest drivers for your device.

Next make sure that your router is set to broadcast, and that is in Wireless G mode. You can find that information at the router manufacturers website.

First you need to connect the wireless router to your desktop computer through an RJ45 Cable and setup a new wireless network. to do this you go to control panal you'll find (Wireless Network Setup icon) click on it and go through the process, when you get to "network key" select automatically assign a network key then select setup my network manually and next, then finish. once you do that, now you have a wireless network. connect the wireless usb dongle to the laptop and download necessary drivers for it once it shows on the little icons on the bottom right of the screen right click on it and it should have an option to enable the it. if not, then the dongle has the wrong driver installed or its faulty. once its enabled, go to my network places and choose wireless network and click search for wireless networks, you should find your Router's network, select it and click connect and that should be all.

let me know if you need more help and try to give me error messages and steps you did before, so i can help you. good luck !!!

Double check your router settings to make sure your USB wireless adapter is permitted to use your wireless connection. You will probably find this under wireless security settings. I set up my wireless routers to only allow mac addresses of devices I specify, to prevent drive-by or neighbors using my connection.

correct you only need a wireless card or usb adapter is it a laptop or desk top unit? in any case a wireless adapter should do just fine

from the pc that can access the internet
type this address in your browser
http:\\192.168.0.1
which should start the routers webinterface you can navigate thru the Wireless settings and copy them to the pc that you are trying to connect,
WEP - wireless encryption protocol - a method of scrambling transmitted data for security - both ends of the link have to have the same code key or they wont talk to each other

You can purchase a usb wireless dongle and attach to the PC. From then onwards you can set up a wireless network without connecting the usb cable for the router. The dongle will enable wireless capabilities on the pc. The only thing left is to have all devices running in the same workgroup.

What you are discussing here is called a "WiFi Hotspot" and isn't platform specific for people wishing to connect (so from the point of view of people connecting to your wireless network, it doesn't matter if you're running Windows or Linux).

A quick google search reveals a number of vendors, including http://www.hotspotsystem.com/ who have a variety of types of software for creating wifi hotspots.