Okay, I finally bought my new laptop computer with Vista Home Premium and I am absolutly in love with this thing. I couldn't believe that it was originally a $600 machine and I got it for $449 and with taxes $491.98 all at Best Buy yesterday. 1G of memory, Duel Core processor, wireless internet, vista premium, DVD Rom...etc.
Anyway when I try to connect to my wireless network at home it finds the signal and everything but when I try to connect it says can't connect and then diagnose the problem and then it says Windows can't connect because it's not picking up a response to the wireless router or an access point. However it connects fine with other networks. All the unsecure networks around my house and even the one at the College Library. It just won't connect to my home network. Can someone please tell me how I can fix this.
Also if your looking for a laptop and your on a budget I strongly recommend this lapto. Nice big screen and everything is crystal clear. Very fast laptop.
2007-09-10 05:45:32 · 4 answers · asked by UCLA kid, Go BRUINS!!! 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Computer Networking
Here is the link to the laptop. I highly recommend this!
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?type=product&tab=7&id=1180743304365&skuId=8404158
2007-09-10 05:45:56 · update #1
My home network is an unsecure network
2007-09-10 06:03:19 · update #2
Are all of the computers on your home network Vista OSs? If not, then you need the Workgroup Name to view other computers on the home network.
In past Windows OSs a network had to use the same Workgroup Name in order for the network to be able to "see" each other.
This is no longer true in Vista, where a network with different Workgroup Names can "see" each other via Network Discovery. However, using the same Workgroup Name even in Vista does make Network Discovery go faster.
However, just to access the Internet via a Home Network with a Router should not be impeded by the Workgroup Name.
You say the network is unsecured. First of all, an unsecured network leaves the network open to all sorts of ugly affects. Anyone could hook up to that network, use the connection and access files and data on any of the computers. A home network truly needs to have security enabled.
It is simple to see which networks are secure, by opening the Available Wireless Networks and looking for a lock icon next to the networks SSID, or Name. If it doesn't have a lock, it is a wide open network and anybody can connect to it very easily, and with Vista, that means full access to all shares if access is via the Guest Account. Anough of the lecture. lol
This really sounds like a secured network. I know you say it is not secure, but all of the symptoms point to a password protected network.
You can easily connect to public networks, but can't connect to your home network. Just make sure it is not security enabled by going into Available Wireless Networks and checking if there is a lock icon next to the networks name. If there isn't, then there is a real issue here.
Did you go into the Network and Sharing folder and start the "Set up a A Connection Or Network Wizard?
If not do so. Then, once the Wizard opens, select Set Up A Wireless Router Or Access Point, and then click Next.
On the Next page, click Next again.
Click, Configure this Device Manually. You'lll then have to provide the user name and password for your router's configuration page. check its documetation for details.
If you have already done all of this, try this:
If you created a USB flash drive with configuration setting for the Connect Now process, plug it into the computer that you want to add to the wireless network. When the AutoPlay dialog box appears, click Wireless Network Setup Wizard, then click OK a couple of times and you are done!
To confirm that your computer is part of the Network, open the Network folder, click Start--Network, and you should be able to see other computers adn devices on that network.
If you do not have a USB configutation settings key, whenever you have a Wireless Network Adapter installed and turned on, windows scans for Available Wireless Access Points. When it finds at least one, it displays a stutus message in the notification area as the network icon and a signal strength indicator.
Click the notification area's Network icon and then click Connect To A Network to display a dialgo box of Avaiable Wireless Network. or right click the computer icon and then select Available Wireless Networks and a window will open with the Available Networks listed.
Simply click the Connect button to join the network.
If this does not work I highly suggest you contact the adapters manufacturer. Either go to the website and then to the Support section, or call the 800 number listed in the instruction booklet which came with your adaper, or contact the Routers support technicians to find out what is going wrong. I am sure it is something very simple.
This is as much information as I can provide in this forum. If these steps do not work, then contact the manufacturer. That will be your best bet in gettng this solved as quickly as possible.
You could do a ping command at a command prompt and see if your adapter can show a connection with the adapter.
To do this opena command prompt, you may need to elevate to do so, just click and put in your password if needed.
Then, type ping then a space, then your Routers IP Addres, which would perhaps be 192.168.1.1 or: 192.168.2.1
You can locate what it is in the Routers instruction manual. If the packets all come back then you have a good connection, if not then something is definantly wrong. You may just have a single setting wrong, it could be that simple.
It could also be that the Router is configured to allow only certain MAC Addresses. A MAC Address is basically the serial number of your adapter. You can find out what it is by opening a command prompt and type: ipconfig /all a space is between ipconfig and /all. Your MAC address is listed at the top after the MAC line in a format like this:
00-11-20-P2-U9. Routers can be configured to allow or disallow MAC addresses. It is easier to allow certain ones while all others are blocked that are not on the allowed list. Check with the owner of the Router to see if this is the case.
Good luck and I hope you get this figured out soon. Have a nice day.
2007-09-10 06:50:16 · answer #1 · answered by Serenity 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually you most likely identified the problem yourself. You stated the pc connects to all the unsecured networks in the neighborhood and at the library. The key word was unsecured.
I suspect your router at home has been properly configured with security and the security feature of the router is blocking the access as it is designed to do. Remember that the security features keep freeloaders and hackers off which is what you want to do. Just because your neighbors don't implement security does not mean you should not (if they leave their doors unlocked when they leave does this mean you should also leave doors unlocked?).
Now to resolve your access problem -
First you need to determine what sort of security was implemented on your router. Encryption, encryption type (WEP, WPA, WPA2), preshare key, and MAC address verification are typical security on low end home grade routers. See what has been activated. You must configure the lap top wireless for the same encryption, include the preshare key (password) if applicable and if the MAC address verificaiton is invoked you must provide your wireless notebook's wireless LAN port's MAC address in the listing of permitted MAC addresses on the router. (You can determine the wireless lan port's MAC address by opening command prompt (start, run - type in cmd and hit enter) and in command prompt, at the prompt type in "ipconfig /all" and hit enter. It will show all connections (wired and wireless), ip addresses, and MAC addresses (which it calls physical address). MAC addresses are 12 characters long, and often displayed with a : between pairs of characters.
2007-09-10 06:01:09 · answer #2 · answered by GTB 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it could be that when your rebooted everything some of the settings were lost. They shouldn't be but it can happen sometimes. Also it depends where you are in the house, it might be that your in a part of a room that doens't get good reception although this is less likley. Check that your laptops inbuilt wireless settings for ip address set so the ip address is assigned from the router and not set by windows.
2016-05-21 03:52:43 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is possibly a router/vista problem. I have seen them all over, as I am a Geek Squad wannabe. (Interview in 2 hours...yay!)
My best bet for you would be to back up all of your vital files to an external drive, and have the Geek Squad at best buy wipe the laptop and put in a fresh install of XP Pro SP2.
Seriously. The laptop I'm on came with Vista, and now I'm on XP, running through a Linksys router.
It works.
2007-09-10 05:56:53 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋