Does my computer need some kind of adapter to find wireless?

Hi i have a Hp2159m and i got a netgear router. im on my laptop right now so i can use airport or whatever to find the internet. But my hp doesnt find it or what do i do to find it? or do i need like a usb or something??
please help thanks

hi no periods, and welcome to sevenforums,

all modern laptops have a wireless controller already built into them, you shouldn't need any more hardware. however, most desktop pc's don't have them inbuilt - only a few do, and you will need to buy a usb 'dongle' for wireless to work.

you say you have an hp2159m computer, but a google search tells me that's only a monitor.

in theory, any wireless dongle should work, but if you do buy a wireless adaptor for your desktop, try to find one that's also made by netgear - then there's more chance that it will work without too much faffing about.

thanks mickey, what i bought was the monitor and it came with everything it was like a deal pack or whatever. I have a dell laptop that my cousin gave me some kind of usb drive and its so it can find the internet, like use wifi. On the usb thing all it says is the mark "diamond" can i use it for my pc or anything?

i'm not sure if i understand you completely.

you have a dell laptop, and you plug your usb dongle into it (looks like a usb drive), and it's made by diamond?

i'm surprised that your laptop needs a dongle - is it an old laptop?

if the dongle works with the laptop, then it should also work with the desktop pc, so long as the correct drivers are installed. (a driver is a piece of software that tells windows how to make the thing work.)

are you using windows 7 on both machines?

The dell laptop is a latitudeD800 i believe and yes it looks like a usb and its made my diamond. I took of the usb and it doesn't find the internet. uhmm i dont know how old the computer is and a dongle is a usb? I don't know if its windows 7 on the dell but it has a sticker and it says Windows Xp

ok, let's take this one step at a time:

what i call a dongle is a little usb gadget which does look like a usb drive, like the picture below: they are also sometimes called wireless adaptors.



you have one of these plugged into your laptop to make wireless work, i believe.

now, that same dongle should also work in your pc - but only if you also install the correct drivers to make it work.

i assume your dell laptop runs windows xp.

to help you install the correct driver, i need to know whether your desktop is running xp or 7.

when you first turn it on, does it display 'windows xp' like the picture below?



OR do you get a swirly type animation like this picture below, which would mean you've got windows 7?



the reason i'm asking you this is because you will need a different driver (to make your wifi dongle work) depending whether you have xp or 7.

once i know what operating system (7 or xp) you have on your desktop, then i can hopefully help you find the right driver.

no periods, i have to shoot off for a few hours - i will be back to offer more help later.