Sodding Tech!

Warning: Geeky Tech Post! For the most part, I am a calm, placid thinker. If I need to fix something, I will go through it step-by-step, working out what is wrong, how it needs to be fixed, and how to do it.

Every now and then, however, I come up across something that I bash my head against over and over until I want to scream and throw something out the window.

My current frustration level is rated at "Ochre" or "Don't pass beneath my windows" all thanks to something that fits in the palm of my hand.

Er, no, naughty...

For my birthday, Kellie got me a Nintendo DSi. For the last few years, I've been playing on a original DS Lite which has seen better days. The brightness was stuck, the top screen was damaged, the hinge kept flopping closed, the buttons were a bit wonky, and it had the battery life of a 90-year old woman trying to run up a flight of stairs.

That is, it would collapse and roll over within moments.

So, for my birthday, I got a nice shiny spanky new DSi. Go me. My first thought was that - unlike the DS which didn't connect to any new-style router - the DSi WOULD connect, and not only give me internet access, but allow me to play games online with others.

Hurrah and Huzz - waaaait a minute...

Yes, the DSi connects to the router. YES, it lets me access the web and stuff. However, the games STILL don't connect to proper routers - the only way you can play online is if you disable all security or just have WEP security - which, to be honest, is like putting a sticky plaster on squirty artery.

I have spent the last few days reading, testing, trying, failing, starting over, trying to work out a way around this. As far as I can see, my options are:

Disable Router Security/Switch to WEP
Having no security would allow anyone to connect to my router and use my internet connection or access my files. Switching to WEP is pretty much the same thing, as WEP Security can be broken in minutes.

Set Up Access Point Isolation
This would mean the router has individual settings for every user on the network, BUT each user would be hidden from the other - stupid really, as we use the network internally all the time.

Get a Nintendo WiFi Dongle
For starters, they don't make them any more, secondly, they are known to be ranked up with Chocolate Tea Pots, and lastly, those that you CAN buy are now A) Old, and B) Second Hand.

Somehow Use a Second Modem/Router as an Access Point
I tried this with my old Netgear router - basically disabling the "Modem" part, connecting it to the existing Modem/router, and use it like a wireless hub/switch. I tried, confused myself several times, gave up.

Create a Virtual Access Point using my Computer Upstairs
It sounds easy - use the computer upstairs - which is connected to the net by wire - to use it's wireless card as an access point and go from there. However, using Windows 7 and Vista's "Create Ad Hoc Network" still didn't allow the DSi to connect to the net.

Now, as far as I can tell, the last two options SHOULD be the easiest. However, the only "help" I've found online for setting up a second router has been so bloody confusing, I had to perform a Factory Reset on it. Three times.

The Ad-Hoc network option in Windows seemed to be a good idea - it was quick and easy to set up, and the DSi even SAW the network, but wouldn't let me connect no matter how many times I did it, changed the settings, begged, pleaded and screamed blue murder... And I tried on both my Windows Vista computer, and my Windows 7 laptop.

I am starting to think that defeat is on the horizon, unless you, dear reader, have read through this, understood what I am trying to do, understood my frustrations, and worked out a way around it. So far, what I have read online has NOT been promising, but there has to be a way to do what I want it to do!

Answers ASAP please, before someone outside is clonked on the noggin by something flying from my window...


Footnote: Before someone says "Switch your router to WEP and just turn on MAC Address Filtering, I am not convinced that is still the safe way to go - but if the techy geeks of you out there think it's safe, I might consider it...