Choosing an internal or external network adapter

When you choose the hardware to buy for your home or small office network, you must decide whether to install network adapters inside your computer or plug them into the USB port on your computer.

External network adapters
The simplest, easiest way to set up your home or small office network is to use external USB network adapters. These adapters plug into a USB port on your computer. External network adapters are available for Ethernet, home phoneline network adapter (HPNA), and wireless networks.

When you connect the network adapter to the USB port and the corresponding hub (Ethernet network hub or phone jack for HPNA), your network is ready to use. With a wireless network, you only need to plug the wireless network adapter into the USB port.

Internal network adapters
Internal network adapters are installed inside your computer into a PCI slot. To install an internal network adapter, you must open up your computer. You can have other devices, such as modems or other network adapters, also installed in your computer.

If you already have an internal network adapter installed, and you are installing a second network adapter, we recommend that you have a qualified technician install the new network adapter. The technician can troubleshoot and resolve any problems that might occur when the network adapter is installed.

Note

To find hardware that is supported by Windows operating systems, visit the Windows Catalog on the Microsoft Web site.