Connecting windows machine to mac wireless network

If you have an Airport built into your Mac, or connected to your Mac, you can host a wireless network that can be shared by a number of other computers, including windows machines. I discovered that setting up a wireless network from my iMac is easy using the built-in AirPort, but setting up my Windows laptop to connect to the network required some dinking around.

Here’s what to do:

Set up a network on your Mac first.

1. Your Mac should be set up with connection to the Internet already. I’ll leave that as an exercise for you and Comcast :)
2. Within the System Preference, within the Sharing panel, make sure Internet Sharing is turned off, then click on Airport options. The window that pops up will allow you to create a wireless network on your Mac.
   
3. Choose a Network Name (I chose kristenisawesome), Channel automatic.
   
4. Check the enable encryption (using WEP) box.
   
5. Password fields will pop up. I chose 40-bit (more compatible) from the WEP Key Length dropdown below that. It probably doesn’t matter if you choose the shorter or longer option, but remember to type in exactly 5 or 13 regular (ASCII) letters/numbers for the password.
   
6. IMPORTANT! You’ll need the HEX version of that password when you connect from your PC. To convert to HEX, use an ASCII—>HEX converter. There are tons on the web, or you can learn the rules and do it yourself. I used this. Remember that the HEX password does not include the % characters. So if your HEX password looks like 45%6%78%12%1, from your point of view it should be 45678121.
   
7. Click on Okay to create the network and return to the Sharing panel.
   
8. Select Internet Sharing without checking the box just yet. There will be some options about how to share your connection. Share your connection FROM Ethernet to computers using Airport. Check the Internet Sharing box to turn it on.
   
9. Click on the Show All button to go back to the main System Preference Panel, then hit Network to see the network options.
   
10. There should be a green light next to your Ethernet already. Select AirPort from the list and then click on the Turn AirPort On button. It may say “AirPort has a self-assigned IP address and may not be able to connect to the Internet”. Not a problem, don’t worry about that.
    
11. See the green light? TAH DAH! You have a wireless network from your Mac.

Set up your PC to connect to your Mac network.

1. These instructions apply to an XP machine, but the settings are more or less the same across Windows machines.
2. On your PC, go to Control Panel —> Network Connections
3. Right-click on the wireless adapter. On my computer it’s called Wireless Network Connection. Click on the properties button.
4. From the window that pops up, click on the Wireless Networks tab.
   You should see the wireless network name that you created on your Mac.
5. Select your network from the list and hit the Properties button.
6. IMPORTANT! In the window that appears, Network Authentication should be selected to Shared.
7. Data encryption should say WEP.
8. In the Network Key box, type in the HEX key that you have already converted from your Mac network password. The regular 5 or 13-letter word won’t work, Windows is expecting HEX. Yes, as usual, Windows has to be unintuitive and difficult.
9. Uncheck “The key is provided for me automatically” if it is checked.
10. Click on the OK button.
11. TA DAH! You should now be connected.

I give credit to MacWindows.com for helping with PC configuration. However, they claim you can acquire the HEX password directly from the Mac. That did not work for me; your mileage may vary.