Wireless in Vista Home

[lamsf]

I hv a laptop, Acer Aspire 4715Z, running on Vista Home. It has built-in wireless. However, I could not connect to the internet using the wireless. The laptop detects the wireless lan, but when I clicked on connect, it will try to connect but later it will says that it's failed.

Any reason for this? Anything I shld check?

Thanks a lot.

 

[SimonDavies]

Did you configure the wireless connection it's going to use (with the SSID and Key)?

Go to the network, click on manager wireless networks and try connecting to your connection, enter the correct details (SSID if hidden, Wireless key) and you 'should' be good to go. I am not aware of any restrictions for the use of wireless networks on Home.

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[linney]

Any clues in these threads?

Trying to connect to Wireless network - getting DNS Errors
thread1583-1457052

Why U can't login to internet using Wireless Netowrk on Windows Vista?
thread1583-1341162

Sony Vaio SZ4XWN & Wireless Problems
thread1583-1412373


Use these as a guide (only) to troubleshoot.

How to troubleshoot wireless network connections in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313242/EN-US/?FR=1

How to troubleshoot wireless network connections in Windows XP Service Pack 2

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/870702/en-us?FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

I like this story from Fred Langa.

"As for configuring your wireless, with each of the last four laptops I've gotten over the years, I've ended up eventually stripping out the vendor's proprietary wireless access management software and letting Windows manage the connections on its own. In XP especially, the wireless connection tools are pretty good and not hard to use. And, with only one tool trying to monitor and manage the wireless, things are much simpler. For example, you can tell the Windows tool NOT to try to connect to just any network it happens to find; to forget about networks you'll never see again; to connect automatically only to networks you know about and preapprove; and so forth. I keep hoping that some vendor will ship a truly effortless tool, but none in my experience has even come close; instead, the built-in Windows tool is still the best I've found".

 

[lamsf]

Did you configure the wireless connection it's going to use (with the SSID and Key)?

Go to the network, click on manager wireless networks and try connecting to your connection, enter the correct details (SSID if hidden, Wireless key) and you 'should' be good to go. I am not aware of any restrictions for the use of wireless networks on Home.
SimonD.

Actually, I do not know how to configure the wireless connection. I can see that the wireless signal is detected and click to connect but failed.

From the event logs, I did see something on SSID and Key but not sure what that is. Can you show me how to configure the SSID and Key? Thanks a billion!!

 

[linney]

You may have to manually/physically communicate with any Router you have installed to get to the Wireless Settings that are stored inside of it. Your documentation for it should tell you how, it will give you the relevant IP Address and any Default Username and Password. To get inside of it you type the Router's IP Address into your browser (and sort of surf there). Once inside you can then configure that side of the Wireless.

These refer to what you need to get the Wireless configured on your Vista machine itself.

Windows Vista Tip: How To Setup And Connect To A Wireless Network

http://www.watchingthenet.com/windows-vista-tip-how-to-setup-and-connect-to-a-wireless-network.html

http://www.google.com/search?q=setup+wireless+in+vista&rls=com.microsoft:

File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727037.aspx

Windows Vista: Networking

http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/networking.mspx

 

[lamsf]

I hv another laptop which is runnning Windows XP. This laptop is fine connecting to the same wireless network. The wireless network is unsecured.

However for this Home Vista, it just could not connect even though it can detect the wireless network. It could not get an IP.

I am not familiar with Home Vista, hence it is double difficult for me to make the wireless work on this Home Vista.

I hv gone through the links given (thanks!!) but I still am not sure how to make it work. Help!!!

Thanks...

 

[linney]

What do you see when you run the command IPconfig /all from an Elevated Command Prompt?

This is part of mine which refers to Wireless -

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : D-Link AirPlus DWL-G520 Wireless PCI Adap
ter(rev.B)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : xx-xx-xx-xx-xx-xx
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.57(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : xxx.xxx.xxx.x
xxx.xxx.xxx.x
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

x = some private numbers.

Compare it on the Laptop that connects and see if you have anything different besides IP addresses with the non-connecting machine. If both machines use the same Router make sure the Default Gateway (your Router address) are identical.

Unsecured Networks are OK for testing purposes, but not too good for normal circumstances, that is where all the information you read about WEP and WPA and Encryption and Network Security keys comes in to play.

Have you got an experienced friend or relative who can help you out? Maybe the local paper has someone you can employ for a couple of hours to get you going?

 

[lamsf]

Thanks, linney.
The laptop with Vista Home did not get any IP at all. It tried to connect but failed everytime. Still no idea why is that. Could it be some configuration problem? Thanks...

 

[SimonDavies]

OK, first thing you now need to do is plug that laptop directly into the router, this should then give you an ip address.

Do the ipconfig, when you get the ipaddress it will normally either be 192.168.0.x or 192.168.1.x, depending on the address will depend on where you're going to go now.

Open up IE (or Firefox), browse to

http://192.168.x.1

(where x is the version of address you got from the ipconfig), this 'should' then prompt you to enter your routers username and password (generally admin and then either admin, password or 12345 unless it's been changed from the default).

You now need to browse the config on the router to where it's gotten your Wireless settings, ensure that the wireless settings are correct (it should show you 'your' SSID) and check to make sure that you aren't using any key protection (ideally you want to set up protection as soon as possible, use something like WPA2-PSK and create your key).

Once you are sure that you have your wireless settings noted down correctly then remove the lan cable and go to the control panel, open the network and sharing center, click on the Manage Wireless Networks, in there you should see your own wireless network, high light it, right click and choose properties. check to make sure everything in there is correct.
If you can't see it in there, close the Manage Wireless Networks window, click on connect to a network, refresh the list and your wireless network should appear, connect to it and you 'should' be good to go.

SimonD.

The real world is not about exam scores, it's about ability.

 

[tlcscousin]

Some older routers are not compatible with Vista without a firmware update.Have you checked the manufacturers site to ensure yours is compatible?

 

[linney]

Once you get the IP address of the Router (Default Gateway) and insert it in the Wireless Adapter Properties under the Properties of the highlighted line "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then your computer should start to communicate with the Router.

 

[lamsf]

Thank you all for your advice and comments.
The wireless works after we update the driver of the wireless adapter to a newer version.
Thanks...