Dual networks - wired and wireless in same PC

[debs3759]

I normally connect to the internet via a wired connection to my router. My internet is about to go down for two or three weeks. I'm hoping to be able to use my neighbour's wi-fi on a limited basis, and was thinking of just a minimal connection on my phone. Turns out I have a wireless card on an as yet untested PC I got off Freecycle.

If Windows 10 recognises the card and has drivers for it (I think the PC is PII era), will I be able to use the wireless card to get online while still being connected to my network via the onboard wired connection? I've never tried setting up two networks on a PC, and would rather not dig out the card and move everything around if it's likely not to work.

I can't tell you today what the wireless card is as it's late and the PC it is in is buried under a pile of cases.

I'm thinking on the fly here - my other option is to see if the older PC works, and install XP on it, so I can at least check my emails, but if I can get it working on my everyday system I can get on with more than just emails.

[cuttingedgecs]

Yes, 2 NICs (one to access the local network and one to access the internet) is fine. You may just need to alter the routing table to ensure the right traffic goes in the right direction. Windows should automatically detect that the internet is available on one connection and not the other and set the routing appropriately. If it doesn't, the commands you want are netstat -rn to view the table and route add/delete -p to make the necessary changes.

The 2 caveats are the possibility of your neighbour's router not wanting to talk to a PII era wireless card (is it is 802.11b, and your neighbour has disabled that on their AP), and if your home network and your neighbour's network operate on the same subnet.

[misace]

Also your neighbour's router most likely will require to use WPA2 security protokol and your wi-fi card must support it. WPA2 is standard about 15 years, so there´s good chance, even if the card is very old.

[debs3759]

Thanks. I'll try setting it up later now I know it is possible.

[debs3759]

I found an easier option. As I can't get my entire network online for a couple of weeks, I disabled the local network, turned off all but my primary computer, and tethered my phone via USB, connecting that to my neighbours Wi-Fi. Good enough for a couple of weeks