How to: Turn your Windows computer into a

WiFi router

Turn your computer into a Virtual Wireless Router

USB Network Adapter

Source: store.cardiffstudents.com

Hardware requirements
It is possible to share an Internet connection with wireless-ready devices without using a WiFi
router. Nevertheless, your computer does need special hardware to have such a capability.
Most modern laptops already have internal wireless network adapters, and even some desktops.
If you have an older laptop with no WiFi capabilities you'll need to buy a wireless network card
or a USB network adapter (this works for both laptops and desktops).
For a desktop you can use a USB network adapter (as mentioned above) or an internal wireless
PCI card.

System Requirements
Source: 2jdata.com

System and hardware requirements

Wireless Hosted Network is a WLAN feature available in Windows 7,8 and in Windows Server
2012/2008 R2 with the Wireless Lan Service installed. The wireless Hosted Network is what
makes it possible for your computer to virtualize a physical wireless adapter into multiple virtual
wireless adapters. Long story short, only the above mentioned editions of Windows support this
feature.
In this tutorial you will learn how to use Virtual Router, a free application that lets you easily
create a wireless Internet connection from any other active connection that's present on your
computer. Virtual Router supports only Windows 7, 8 and 2008 R2, so if you want to turn your
computer into a virtual WiFi router and its running under Windows Server 2012 you can either
use another program or the Windows built-in settings.
Concerning hardware, your computer needs to have a wireless device and driver supporting the
Windows Virtual Wifi and Wireless Hosted Network features. If the drivers are Windows 7/8
certified, they should be supported by Virtual Router. If you're not sure, check out the list of
known supported devices on the developer's page.

Step 1 - Download and Install

After you made sure your computer is wireless-ready you need to download Virtual Router. This
is a free application so you don't have to pay anything for it. Once you've downloaded the
installer, double-click on it to start the setup.
The installation process for Virtual Router is extremely simple. All you have to do is agree with
the license terms and proceed to the setup window where you can select the installation folder
and whether you want to install the program for just the current Windows user or all users. If
you're not sure what to do with these options, leave the default settings and click the "Next"
button.

Virtual Router Setup

Virtual Router Setup

Step 2 - Settings
Now it's time to actually use Virtual Router, so double-click the application to run it. By default,
the application runs in the system tray. To open Virtual Router Manager (the program's interface)
double-click the tray icon. Make sure you are connected to the Internet using the connection you
want to share.
The settings are straightforward:
1. Fill in the network's name (SSID) - This can be any name you want, although you should
choose a relevant one so you know that's your shared Internet Connection.
2. Choose a password - Since a virtual router works just like the physical device, you need a
password to prevent unauthorized intruders from using your Internet Connection.
3. Select the connection you want to share from the drop-down menu - You can use the Refresh
button if you've connected to it while the Virtual Router Manager was already open and it wasn't
showing up in the list.

4. Start Virtual Router - Press this button, once you've completed all the settings to enable your
shared connection.

Virtual Router Manager

Virtual Router Manager

Shared Connection

Step 3 - Test the shared Internet Connection

If everything went well and Virtual Router is started you should be seeing your newly created
connection in the Windows connections list.
Your computer should be currently connected to two connections: the connection you've shared,
and the one you've just created.
To connect to it with any wireless-ready device (phone, laptop, tablet...etc) simply select the
appropriate network and fill in the password, like you would for any other connection. Voila!
You are now successfully sharing your Internet connection!

Erm......errors anyone?

Step 4 - Troubleshooting
"The group or resource is not in the correct state to perform the requested
operation

This is the most common error you can get from Virtual Router. There's a number of reasons for
this error and several fixes, but you can't know which one works for you until you try them. After
each step you should try to start Virtual Router to see if it solved your problem.

The first step is to make sure your wireless adapter has the latest drivers. You
can find in in the Windows Device Manager under Network Adapters.

The second step, you need to make sure the hosted network can run. To do
that, press the Windows Start button, open "Run" and type cmd to open a
Command Prompt window (you'll need administrator rights). In the window
type : netsh wlan set hostednetwork mode=allow

To continue, check if the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter is

enabled. It's also under the Network Adapters section in the Windows Device
Manager. Double-click it and the Properties window will pop-up. If under
Device Status you see the message : "This device is disabled (Code 22). Click
Enable Device to enable this device." it means it wasn't running and you do
need to enable it.

If the previous step didn't work either, there's a Microsoft hotfix available for
a common problem that can occur on computers running under Windows 7
and Server 2008 R2. You can download it from here.

Pin It
See all 8 photos
Wireless Router
Source: techcrunch.com

Other issues
If you experience other problems with Virtual Router the first thing you can do is check if your
wireless device's drivers are up to date and that you didn't give your shared connection the same
SSID of a network you already have. After that take a look at the developer's F.A.Q since your
problem can be listed there.
If Virtual Router doesn't work for you, try out some alternatives. Connectify Hotspot is also a
very popular and capable application, although the free version (Lite) has limited functionality.
Another free tool for wireless sharing of Internet connections is Virtual Router Plus, which was
created as an improved version of Virtual Router that also supports Windows 2012.

DIY WiFi Range Extender using DD-WRT

Do-It-Yourself WiFi signal extender
In this How To article, we will discuss and instruct you in the process of using your old WiFi
router (or a new one) to extend your wireless internet connection using the Linux based freeware
DD-WRT.
What you will need:

An extra wireless router

An ethernet cable

An internet connection

The ability to follow instructions well :)

The folks over at www.dd-wrt.com have created Linux based firmware upgrades for many
models of wireless routers that can be placed around your home or office to extend your WiFi
connection beyond the range of your primary wireless base.
I will be using a Netgear WNR2000 v.3 for this How To.

WiFi Extender

WiFi allows you to move around your house or office without requiring a cable
attached from your computer to router. We'll extend the distance that you can
move.

Why Extend your WiFi Range?

There are many reasons you may want to extend your wireless connection range in your home or
office.
Perhaps you've moved a computer to your back room, or upstairs, and do not wish to run cables
all the way from your router, or perhaps your signal just isn't strong enough to reach your back
yard or porch, and you'd love to look at pictures of kitties being cute while relaxing in those
areas with your laptop.
The installation of a bunch of metal file cabinets or the rearranging of your office may have
disrupted the wireless signal at your office.
Or maybe you just like to have as strong of a signal as you can wherever you are in your home or
office.
Not only will this guide enable you to strengthen your Wi-Fi signal throughout the area in need,
it will also allow ethernet cables to be connected directly between the DIY range extender and a
computer that does not have wireless capabilities, so you could move a non Wi-Fi capable
desktop to an area close to the new extender, but as far away as the new extender can get a
reliable signal from first wireless access point.

Preempt Issues!

This is a Netgear WRN2000 v3, which I will be using for this project. This router is
not compatible with the latest version of DD-WRT, and required a flash to an earlier
version of Netgears firmware before it would accept the DD-WRT update.

Research your Router!

Head on over to DD-WRT router database page and find if your router is supported.
The most important instruction to follow in this process is to do research on the router you want
to turn into a range extender.
The second most important instruction to follow in this process is to do research on the router
you want to turn into a range extender.
The third most important is.. you guessed it, research. RESEARCH!
I chose to use a Netgear WNR2000 v.3, which is listed as supported by the newest version, v24
Pre SP2 [Beta] Build: 21061.

However, a quick search on the WRT forums reveals that the flash file is too large to fit on the
4MB flash memory of the WNR-2000 v.3.
The person who discovered this then listed that version 18777 of the DD-WRT flash is the latest
one that will work on the router, and supplied a link to that particular build.
The above scenario is the perfect example as to the importance of doing research on your
particular router before performing the installation of DD-WRT on it.
Different router brands or different chipsets may require slightly different methods for
installation of the software to your router, so browse the forums for your brand, model, and/or
chipset and make sure you have a clear outline of the process involved.

Preparing to flash your Router

Once you've established that your router is supported, and you've found and solved any
discrepancies between what is listed as 'officially' supported and what is actually supported, it's
time to get your software and hardware together to flash and configure your router into a Wi-Fi
range extender.
First, I recommend that you have two computers available to you, one for flashing the router, the
other to stay online to easily view instructions, troubleshooting, and keeping track of your
process.
There are two versions of each original .img files, one will have the letters "NA" in it, the other
"WW". NA denotes North American models, and WW denotes everywhere else in the world. Be
sure to download the correct one.
There is only one version of the .bin file, however.
Remember, the computer you use to flash your router with should be completely offline, with
Wi-Fi disabled, connected with an ethernet cable only to the router you are converting to an
extender, with firewalls and antivirus programs disabled.
The checklist for the computer with which you are flashing the router:

Has the flash files and needed installation software in an easy-to-get-to

location

Wi-Fi disabled

Firewall disabled

Antivirus disabled

Connected by ethernet (CAT5 cable) to the router that is being flashed

And don't forget to have read and understood all the instructions, from start to finish, for flashing
your router.

Reset to Factory Default

Use a pin or end of a paperclip to hold down the routers reset button for 30 seconds
to set the device to factory defaults. Consult the manual or manufacturers website
to determine proper reset practices for your device.

Flashing your Router with DD-WRT - Step One

To begin, first reset the router to factory defaults.
There is a reset button on routers that often require a pin or other small object to push.
Some routers require the the power to be on for the reset, some require it to be off.
Consult the manual or manufacturers website to determine the correct way to reset your router to
factory defaults.

Hold the button down for 30 seconds to reset the router.

After resetting the device, plug in the power (if required), turn on the device (if required), and
connect the router to the computer with which you will be performing the conversion to DDWRT with an ethernet cable between one of the ports on the router and your ethernet jack on the
computer.
It is a good idea to recycle the power one more time before moving on to the next step. If your
device has a power button, use it to turn off the router, if it does not, unplug the power cord. Wait
a minute or two, then turn the router back on.
Do not connect to the port labeled "internet" or similar on the router. That is the port that would
be connected to a modem or another router, not a workstation or laptop. It is usually by itself, or
has a different color surrounding it, or some other indication that it is not one of the ports for
normal workstation connection.

Flashing your router with DD-WRT - Step 2

With your router now on and connected to the computer, make sure that:

Wi-Fi is disabled

You have assigned a static IP to the ethernet connection that follows the
subnet scheme of your router (i.e., if your routers I.P. address is 192.168.1.1,
assign the address of your controller to 192.168.1.9 or similar.)

You have disabled your firewall and antivirus

Your files for flashing to DD-WRT are available to you on that computer

Log on to your router by opening a browser (DD-WRT recommends Internet Explorer, but many
have used Firefox, Chrome and Safari without issue) and type the routers I.P. address into the
address bar. In my case, the I.P. address for the router is 192.168.1.1.
You should be greeted with a login dialogue box. Since you've reset the router, the device has
reverted back to factory default user name and password. Consult your manual or the
manufacturers website to determine the default username and password. For my router, the
username was "admin" and the password was, simply, "password".
After entering the username and password, you will be taken to a webpage that is the control
panel for your router.

Stock Netgear Control Panel

This is the default control panel for the Netgear WNR2000 v3 with it's earliest
firmware. Click on "Router Upgrade" to begin the first firmware flash as described
above in Step 2.

Flashing your Router with DD-WRT - Step 3

Depending on your router model and it's firmware version, the location of the firmware upgrade
labeling and location may be in various places.
For me, it was on the left hand side labeled "Router Upgrade".
Clicking on that brought me to a section where I choose the first file to flash this router with.
I simply clicked the "browse" button, located the .img file, selected it and then clicked the
"upload" button.
In a few minutes, the first step was was finished and I was greeted with the DD-WRT (build
18777) control panel screen.

Your first page upon the router restarting itself after the first firmware installation will ask you to
change the default username and password.
It is very important that the upgrade process is not interrupted. Do not turn off either the
computer or the router while the process is happening. Do not unplug the cable between the
devices while the process is underway. Do nothing to interrupt the upgrade process.
Now that we've got the initial firmware installed, we're almost ready to move onto the next step.
Do NOT skip the 30/30/30 hard reset outlined at the beginning of the next step.

After the first Firmware Update

This is the first page I was greeted with after completion of the first firmware update
described in step 3. Enter a username and password. You will be required to do so
again after the next firmware update.

Flashing your Router with DD-WRT - Step 4

With the first flash sequence finished, it's now time to do what is called a 30/30/30 reset.

Please refer to the Wiki for the proper execution of the 30/30/30 reset.
After you've done the 30/30/30 reset, cycle the power (turn off, then back on) your router.
Now is the time to do the final flash. You've already flashed once with the .img file, now it's time
to flash with the .bin file you downloaded at the same time.
Log back into your router using the routers I.P. address in your browsers address bar.
You will be asked again to change the default username and password to ones of your choosing.
Complete this, then in the new control panel, click the "Administration" tab. Enter the username
and password you just created, then click on the "Firmware Upgrade" tab that appears directly
beneath that.
Click the "Browse" button and navigate to the .bin file that you downloaded from the dd-wrt site.
Once it's selected, click the "Upgrade" button, and let the router upgrade to the new firmware.
See the 3 images below for location of the buttons.

Upgrading the Firmware to it's Final Flash

As described above in Step 4, after logging back into the router after the 30/30/30
hard reset, click the 'Administration' button.

Continuing to install the 2nd Firmware Update

The location to the button for continuing Step 4 of the final flash upgrade.

The Final Steps to Updating the Firmware

The location of the Browse button, which you use to locate the final .bin file, and the
Upgrade button to install it.

Client Mode or Repeater?

Will you be using a DD-WRT modified router as a Wireless
Repeater or in Client Mode?

Wireless Repeater

Client Mode

See results without voting

The Final Flash is Done

To reiterate:
It is very important that the upgrade process is not interrupted. Do not turn off either the
computer or the router while the process is happening. Do not unplug the cable between the
devices while the process is underway. Do nothing to interrupt the upgrade process.

Allow the upgrade to complete, and wait a few minutes after it's done just to be on the safe side.

If the router did not reset itself after this period of time, go ahead and power cycle the nowupdated router.
After the router is back up, reconnect to the router, at which time you will be required to enter a
username and password once again.
Now it's time to setup the router as either a client or repeater.
From the website:
"Repeater Bridge

A wireless bridge connects two LAN segments with a wireless link. The two segments are in the
same subnet and look like two ethernet switches connected by a cable to all computers on the
subnet. Since the computers are on the same subnet, broadcasts reach all machines. DHCP
clients in one segment can get their addresses from a DHCP server in the other segment."
"Client Mode

A router in Client Mode connects to another wireless Access Point (the host router). It uses its
wireless connection as the WAN interface, and shares the internet connection only to the LAN
ports. It is not seen as an access point by laptops or other computers scanning for AP's and does
not accept wireless connections from client devices. The AP is not required to be running DDWRT firmware."
My requirements are for "Client Mode." It's up to you to decide which mode best suits your
needs.
Rather than copy and paste the instructions for configuring your router in Client Mode, head on
over to the official webpage and follow the instructions implicitly.
If you'd like to set up your newly empowered router as a repeater, head over to the official
webpage with those instructions.
I should note that the instructions for repeater mode are for Broadcom and Linksys routers. I do
not know if other router support this mode, though I may attempt it on this Netgear and report
back.

Results and Final Thoughts

After setting up my 'new' router in client mode, I ran a few speed tests on two of my computers,
a laptop with intel Wi-Fi and an intel NIC, and a workstation with a Netgear USB Wi-Fi dongle
and a Broadcom NIC.

Latency (the amount of time it takes for a signal to go somewhere and then return) was
unchanged on both machines, whether plugged into the ethernet cable to the the new router, or
connected wirelessly to the main wireless cable modem/router.
Oddly, download speeds increased some 15% over both the Netgear USB dongle and the intel
Wi-fi adapter when attached to the DD-WRT equipped Netgear router with an ethernet cable.
I ran the tests numerous times just to make sure it wasn't an anomaly, but the results were
consistently higher using the new setup for download speeds.
I must reiterate, that should you decide to flash a router with DD-WRT, to do complete and
thorough research on your model before attempting this, as it is quite easy to ruin the router in
question if everything is not done just so.