wifi not connecting
- Thread starter fenster
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Martyn
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Well I don't know where to start without getting technical
The obvious, can anyone else connect to the wireless router?
Will the laptop work on another wireless router?
Does it work ok on wired Ethernet?
Ok for starters
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I have seen silmliar issues on some of the older BT Homehubs with XP machines. The laptops would connect to other wireless networks, but not the main one, even though other PC's could succesfully connect.
In these cases I restored the routers back too their defaults as rebooting them was not enough to solve the problem. I think your next step is to try and connect to an alternative wireless network. I always carry a small netgear wireless router for testing this type of thing.
Are you using the windows wireless management tools, or a third party application to manage the wireless connections?
In these cases I restored the routers back too their defaults as rebooting them was not enough to solve the problem. I think your next step is to try and connect to an alternative wireless network. I always carry a small netgear wireless router for testing this type of thing.
Are you using the windows wireless management tools, or a third party application to manage the wireless connections?
G
gazza
Guest
Is norton's or mcafee installed on this system?
Martyn
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Yes good point. If Norton is involved, uninstall and use the removal tool then try the connection.
meanderer
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does your wifi card + driver support the encryption protocol?
I have seen this a lot more frequently. I have both WEP and WPA2 signals here. Some laptops can connect to WEP but will be stuck with the authentication on the WPA2 signal.
I have seen this a lot more frequently. I have both WEP and WPA2 signals here. Some laptops can connect to WEP but will be stuck with the authentication on the WPA2 signal.
dannyd
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Delete the wireless connection under manage wireless networks, windows will then treat the laptop as a new connecting device, this has worked in the past for me.
Run the norton removal tool as norton may of been on the system at some point.
Check that wireless isolation is disabled in router settings as the router might only allow certain devices to connect.
Run the norton removal tool as norton may of been on the system at some point.
Check that wireless isolation is disabled in router settings as the router might only allow certain devices to connect.
I carry around a USB Wireless Adapter for this type of problem with such as old laptop. Install the USB adapter and see if it can connect. Then work backwards from there to figure out where the problem is. A person can pick up a adapter for under $10 and it makes a good troubleshooting tool for wireless connection problems.
snifferpro
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Run a wireshark trace. It will tell you where the problem is.
glricht
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This caught me a couple of weeks ago. Customer had me setup their new Win 7 laptop and everything worked fine EXCEPT it would not connect to their wireless router. He had the SSID & password written down and his other two laptops connected just fine.
Went into the router to verify the password and noticed that he had turned on MAC filtering - which he then remembered he had done "quite a while ago and I forgot about it". Turn off MAC filtering and everything worked perfectly!
snifferpro
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MAC filtering was probably turned on to limit access to only specific MAC addresses.
By turning it off, anyone can access with the correct credentials.
The address of his new laptop should be added to the table and then MAC
filtering turned back on.
It's another level of security.
By turning it off, anyone can access with the correct credentials.
The address of his new laptop should be added to the table and then MAC
filtering turned back on.
It's another level of security.
glricht
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I know what MAC filtering is and what it's used for. But it's RARELY seen in a home user environment (I've seen it maybe 2-3 times in the last 8 years), so it didn't occur to me to check for it ahead of time. When I explained to the home owner what it was and the pros/cons of using it, he couldn't remember why he had turned it on in the first place and asked that it be turned off.
Was just mentioning that it can be a less-obvious reason for failure-to-connect problems.
I do use it occasionally in business environments if the situation warrants it.
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