Need help with Bluetooth internet access

[Tog_]

I work the night desk at a hotel, which means I have to be an expert on just about everything, whether I've heard of it or not. I have guest here that has a laptop with no wireless card that I can find, but she does have Bluetooth, wich I've never even seen before.

Is Bluetooth in compatible with 802.1b/g in any way?
Also, I tried to install a USB Wireless card and the computer refuses to acknowledge it at all. I can't set up a new connection, nor can I get it to understand that there is something in the USB port. WHen I plugged my flashdrive into the same port, it recognized it.
I'm fine with the fact that I can't get it to work, but the part that bothers me is that she says she's never had a problem at any other hotel before. I just can't see how, unless this is the first non-bluetooth hotel she's ever been to.

Any thoughts?

[HenrikOlsen]

I work the night desk at a hotel, which means I have to be an expert on just about everything, whether I've heard of it or not. I have guest here that has a laptop with no wireless card that I can find, but she does have Bluetooth, wich I've never even seen before.

Is Bluetooth in compatible with 802.1b/g in any way?

No, different frequencies, different hardware layer protocols.

Also, I tried to install a USB Wireless card and the computer refuses to acknowledge it at all. I can't set up a new connection, nor can I get it to understand that there is something in the USB port. WHen I plugged my flashdrive into the same port, it recognized it.

No idea, unless it's a case of "Install driver first, then plug in hardware".

I'm fine with the fact that I can't get it to work, but the part that bothers me is that she says she's never had a problem at any other hotel before. I just can't see how, unless this is the first non-bluetooth hotel she's ever been to.

Any thoughts?
Bluetooth has multiple types of payload using the same frequency and hardware level protocols, one of these is network traffic.
For this to work, you need a bluetooth adapter both in the laptop you try to connect to the net and in your router or in a pc set up as router.
I only use Bluetooth to interface my cellphone to my PC, but I can say that plugging in the Bluetooth adapter and installing the drivers for it caused a new Local Area Connection to show up in network administration, so to Windows it looks as is a new network is added.
This tells me that once the connection is established, which may require extra steps, handling the net connection is done using known methods.

[Whirlpool]

I think Bluetooth has limited distance which maybe she cant get the signal to connect.
I use bluetooth only in transferring data from my cellphone to PC or cell to cell.

[HenrikOlsen]

I work the night desk at a hotel, which means I have to be an expert on just about everything, whether I've heard of it or not. I have guest here that has a laptop with no wireless card that I can find, but she does have Bluetooth, wich I've never even seen before.
This caused me to guess the problem is not distance between devices, but the actual existence of one in the first place:)

[Tog_]

Thanks for the replies.

Her network connections listed a total of four.
There was a Bluetooth Dial up not connected, cable unplugged
A LAN, not connected, cable unplugged
A 1394 Connected, firewalled, but no TCP/IP service active, and 0 packet transfer.
A Bluetooth Connection not connected cable unplugged.

The slider switch on the front of the computer that said Wireless was a blue light when on the right, and amber, when on the left. Moving this switch to the amber position made Bluetooth connection vanish from the network connecions screen. I was thinking that it might alternate from bluetooth to wireless, since neither seemed to be an "off" position. What I thought was odd was that I could not set up any new connections at all. It took me through the steps, but none ever appeared.

I'm also wondering why it said the cable was unplugged on the bluetooth high speed connection. She said several times that she never had to connect anything to it to make it work.

[HenrikOlsen]

From what I've come to understand, Bluetooth works by establishing a pairing of two Bluetooth devices, then use this pairing for data exchange.
Cable unplugged is probably an indication that there was no active Bluetooth connection established.

[Tog_]

Ahh okay. I guess that makes sense. Thanks.