FIght for control Wireless Router vs Cell Phone Modem

[Leo G]

I have a netopia wireless router that I am using on my antiquated PC system at work. The computer is an HP with a Pentium 4 500MHz operating windows 98. The only reason I run a wireless router on it is so my Dell Inspiron Laptop can have access to the printer.

I have no wired connection to the internet. I use my motorola cell phone with a driver program to access the internet using it through my USB port.

When I come into work I turn on the laptop and then I have to shut down the connection to the wireless router before I hook up the cell phone modem. If I don't I can't access the internet. My laptop seems to think that the wireless router has the internet connection and defaults to that, ignoring the cell phone modem which is my source for the internet.

What do I need to do so that my laptop can use both of these at the same time so it realizes that the cell phone modem is for internet access and the wireless router is just for the printer; ie: ignore that it is even in the system until I need to print something.

Usually I just disable the wirless radio so I can have access to the internet through my cell phone modem. I was hoping there is a way that I don't have to do this and both the wireless router and my cell phone modem can live with each other.

Thanks

[JorgeM]

What do I need to do so that my laptop can use both of these at the same time

If your wireless router is assigning an IP configuration to the laptop, which it probably is, make sure that it is not assigning a default gateway for the wifi interface. If it is, once you connect with the modem, that interface has a gateway address as well.

You would have to log into the wireless router and see if it lets you manage the DHCP settings. You want to disable the default gateway that is issued to the DHCP clients.

[sakil khan]

Inline Code Example Here

[Leo G]

Both the phone and the wireless have gateway addresses. The phone is listed under PPP. Not at the shop right now and I'll have to do a screen shot of the ipconfig because it won't let me copy and past because it is a DOS program run in command.

[JorgeM]

If 2 interfaces have gateways defined, then traffic leaving to the gateway will go out the interface with the least cost. So in your case, if Windows assigns a preferrence to the gateway for your wireless, all internet traffic will go out through that connection, and go no where when it reaches your wireless router since there is no Internet pipe.