To install AirPort software on your computer, follow these steps: The sections that follow take you through the process step by step. When you run the AirPort software installation, you first install (or upgrade) software on your computer and then upgrade the firmware that’s built into the AirPort Base Station. To set up an AirPort Base Station using the AirPort 2.0.4 software, you must have the Base Station itself as well as the following:Īn AirPort-ready computer with an AirPort Card, or a PowerBook G3 with either a Lucent WaveLAN or an ORiNOCO PC CardĬhapter 8: Setting Up a Wireless Mac Network 145 The AOL compatibility feature of AirPort 2.0.4 software and later versions of the AirPort software can be added and configured only from OS X.Įven though a CD containing AirPort software is distributed with both the Base Station and the AirPort Card, check out the Apple Web site apple/support/downloads.html to make sure that you have the latest version of the AirPort software before setting up your AirPort network. If you have access to a computer that has OS X installed, consider using that computer to configure your AirPort Base Station. Consequently, the following discussion describes the steps and shows screen images that relate to AirPort 2.0.4, which is the last version that will install and set up an AirPort Base Station on OS 9. And don’t forget that the new AirPort Extreme Base Station that can transmit data at 54 Mbps and comes with a built-in print server.ĪirPort 2.1.1 is the most current version of the AirPort software at the writing of this book, but it won’t install under OS 9.2. The major differences between the two versions are the second Ethernet port and 128-bit encryption of the Snow Base Station. Nonetheless, AirPort 2.0 software will install and configure the Graphite or Snow AirPort Base Stations.
If your computer runs Mac OS X (which isn’t an update of the original Mac OS it’s a completely new operating system), see the “OS X Wireless Networks” section later in this chapter.Īlthough you still might be able to find an original (Graphite) AirPort Base Station to purchase, the most current and full-featured model is the dualEthernet port (Snow) AirPort Base Station with AirPort 2.0 (or higher) software. This section of the chapter covers configuring your AirPort Card in Mac OS 9.2 but doesn’t cover earlier versions of this operating system. All Apple computers that are AirPort ready can be upgraded to Mac OS 9.2, although it might not be a free upgrade. Apple has since updated the original Mac OS to version 9.2 (9.2.2 at the time of this writing).
When Apple released the first AirPort wireless network concurrently with the release of the first iBook, the most current Apple operating system software was Mac OS 8.6.
To download this program we simply have to go to the official website, click on “Download Manage Wireless Networks” and unzip the ZIP file that will automatically download, once unzipped, we can see the following files: Some of these changes are necessary with the WiFi network card activated, otherwise they cannot be applied.
We could also quickly change the form of manual connection to automatic and vice versa, in addition, we could change the different authentication and encryption modes, change the profile name, SSID and even copy the wireless profiles to import them into another computer easily and quickly. This program will also allow us to edit all the profiles we want easily and quickly, editing an XML file and using the correct syntax so that it does not return an error, this is only recommended for advanced users because you could damage the profile and you will have to delete it and create it from scratch with Windows.