Changing Routers

[sblake]

I want to change from a wired network to a wireless. I presently have a Linksys BEFSR41 with two computers networked. I will leave them connected the same and add a laptop as a wireless. I am going to change to a Linksys BEFW11S4. My question is can I just unplug the old one and plug in the new one and only have to configure the laptop for the wireless connection or will I have do remove the old software software and reinstall everything?

 

[Devistater]

Are you talking about replacing the router with a new one? There's no "software" really for routers. I've never installed router managing software. Normally you can change settings on your router just by connecting to it over HTTP (a web browser) and change all the settings you like. Like if my router is at 192.168.3.1 then I can type in IE:
http://192.168.3.1 and get the configuration page. The router "software" is just to make it easier to use for people who like wizards to help them.
So from that standpoint, you dont have to change the "software" if you dont plan to use it. If you like using it though, best to uninstall. Its just a set of wizards anyway, so it should be no hassle uninstalling them.

You will need to reconfigure the new router though to match the configuration of the old one. Like set it up to connect to the internet however your old one was. You may want to take a look at the configuration for any special settings that the old one may be set up on. Usually the main thing is like if you have DSL you usually have to put in a name and password to get the router to connect to the internet. Etc.

 

[volrath]

Also you are going to want to configure wireless enctryption and a unique name for your network and the configuration password...