Interesting wireless lan problem?

Question

I justpurchaced a new HP desktop with built in wireless lan and an antenna connected.

I have Linksys router with 5 latops that already succesfully access the router at any time of the day.

The computer along with this laptop are located about 50 feet away.

Problem is the desktop wont pick up a signal what so ever.
The laptop get a full signal.

The desktop did get a signal of a measly 2 bars but worked great for 20 mi. Now nothing comes up.

How can i connect the computer to stay connected to the router?
The laptops do this seamlessly witgh much better reception rather than no reception at all. Yet the desktop has its own external antenna!

No i dont want to connect it with a wire directly because its upstairs in another room and that would defeat the purpose of owning a wireless router.

In theory, the computer should work absolutly fine. The problem is, it just doesnt. I did, now it doesnt.

IT JUST DOESNT MAKE SENSE!

I turned off all filtering and passwords on the router and all the other computers adjusted to the change fine.

The computer wont report any signal strenght at all being recieved.

Answer 1

Contact HP support and tell them what's happening. They should have no problems sending you a new wireless network adapter.

Answer 2

...usually when a wireless card picks up no network or signal around it usually means the radio waves for the antenna are off...in your case since it is a new pc this can be a default settings (EX: on a laptop usually pressing the key - function + the key - F2 at the same time will turn it on or off - refer to model or manufacturer manual - ) ...or it can be a defective wireless network card (-look in your device manager -update the drivers if necessary )...I would also look at how many connections the linksys can take...try connecting only your desktop (like turn off all other laptops/pcs) that way for sure you will know since 5 other pcs can connect without a problem. Hope these tips helps :)

Answer 3

Two possible suggestions, 1) Cross compare the properties of the wireless settings in your desktop to a working laptop, perhaps the desktop is set up differently than your working latop. To do this, right click your network connection and select properties then begin comparing the settings. 2) if your lan card in the desktop uses one of the little antennae directly attached to the card and is up against the back of the case in close proximity to your power supply, you have have EMI interference. You might want to consider replacing your lan card for one that uses an external antenna that connects to the lan via a short cable allowing the antenna to be positioned for optimal signal reception. Here is a link to one such lan card with an external antenna, this one is the linksys 'N' which will be backwardsly compatible to 'A', 'B', and 'G' bands as well. Link: http://www.linksys.com/servlet/Satellite?c=L_Product_C2&childpagename=US%2FLayout&cid=1144763512962&pagename=Linksys%2FCommon%2FVisitorWrapper&lid=1296239789B01 . I hope this gives you some insight.

Answer 4

First and easiest option would be to hard wire the desk top to the router, if the router and desktop are right there together.
If you do not want to do that, then start with uninstalling and reinstalling the wireless card in the desktop.
Check the settings on the wireless router (usually http://192.168.0.1) to make sure that you have the right WEP key and you don't have something like MAC address filtering enabled.

Answer 5

Take the desktop downstairs and see if it connects. If it does there might be some obstruction to the signal from your router to the upstairs. I suppose you could also take one of the laptops upstairs to see if it works there. If the laptop works upstairs, you probably need a new network adapter or different drivers.

Answer 6

I am not sure exactly what your situation is but I must say that the problem might be that there are too many laptops connected to the wireless network which doesn't leave enough "bandwidth" to connect the desktop PC to the wireless network.

Answer 7

the first thing to do it to remove all obstructions between the router & the PC. If that improves performance, then problem solved (new problem - where to put the PC). If it doesn't, then it's likely a problem with the wireless device on the PC - maybe hardware or software. Try uninstalling & reinstalling the device or check if there are driver updates from HP.