Instructions to add an airport express to your existing network

Adding your airport express to your existing wireless (none apple) network seems a hard thing to do since the instruction manual doesn’t tell the simple steps to be taken. Changing the network settings once configured causes the same trouble. Many of you will have got the famous 10057 error trying to…
It took me a while to figure out the solution but I found it and here it is….
Start with setting your airport to default factory. This is an important step, so don’t skip it.
1. First of all. Connect your airport express directly to the router of your own wireless network by a normal network cable. Now start your PC and make sure the Airport express utility program is installed (can be found on the installation cd or at the apple website).
2. Now do a HARD reset of the airport express into factory settings. This will erase every setting you’ve entered and starts with a clean “new” machine.
a. Push the reset button and keep it pushed. (button is located on the bottom and can be pushed by a paperclip or so)
b. Now connect your airport to the power outlet so it starts up. Still keep the reset button pushed.
c. After a few seconds the status led will start flashing orange (amber). Now release the reset button and let the airport completely start up for about 1 minute until it slowly flashes orange (amber). Your factory settings haven been restored and the password is reset to ‘ public ’
Once your airport has started and flashes amber, proceed with the following steps:
3. Start on your pc the airport express utility program. If necessary, hit the “look for devices” button.
4. Your aiport express is shown on the left. Select it by single click and note down the IP address as shown in on the right side in your airport utility program
5. Under the menu “File”, choose “configure other base station” Don’t bother the strange description, just choose this option. Now enter the IP address of your airport and the password “public” (has been reset to this remember). Hit the OK button.
6. Now the miracle happens. Your airport is suddenly found and shown. A new screen opens with all settings of your airport express and you can change them.
a. By default the icon Airport is selected.
- The first tab is called overview and is not relevant.
- Go to the second tab, called base station.
--> Give your airport express a name and add a password
--> Note: you might want to open the Options Button and unselect the “look for new firmware option”. If you unselect it, you will keep the airport from constantly downloading new firmware forcing you to reboot it almost every week.
- Now go to the tab wireless
--> Select in the dropdown “wireless mode” the option “connect with wireless network". Doing so, you instruct the airport not to create a network but to join an existing one (in this case your own network)
--> Select your own network in the dropdown under “name Wireless network"
--> Select the security mode (in most cases WPA/2) and enter your network security password. This is the password you have been creating on your network configuration.
b. Now click the Music Icon
--> Select the option “activate Airtunes”
--> Enter a name you want to be shown in Itunes for this airport.
c. If you want, you can set up your printer on by clicking on the printers icon and fill out the settings.
d. Now finally hit the button “Update” at the bottom.
7. A dialog is shown to warn you. Of course you want to proceed, so hit the “next” button.
8. Now your changes are sent to the airport device.
LET FOLLOWING STEPS FINISH COMPLETELY:
First it writes to the device (a dialog screen is shown telling you that).
Secondly your device is restarted (again a dialog is shown).
Third step is to try to read the airport express again. A dialog is shown.
Let it finish and at the end you will get a “error” message telling you it can’t read the airport you just configured. Don’t worry about that. Just close this message.
9. Close the Airport Utility program on your pc
10. Disconnect your airport from power and network.
11. Reboot your airport now anywhere you want in your home and let it start up for about 1 minute until the green led becomes solid.
Yes, it will work.
Message was edited by: Carlo Mantels

Carlos,
This is an excellent tutorial.  For some Windows users, however, who have not made changes to their network settings and yet still encounter the dreaded 10057 error code, my post below might resolve:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3289924
My problem was my Windows PC's TCP/IP settings/configuration, which had become corrupt.  I could use Airport Utility without incident on my Macs, but not via my Windows machine.  Refreshing the TCP/IP settings via the instructions above resolved the issue.
Kind regards,
Jason Havens
Destin, FL, USA

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