Need help with a (probably) basic problem

When it comes down to basic computing I do ok, but when networking comes into the picture I fail miserably.

My problem is this: I bought one of those Gateway 7510GXs about a week ago and it was connecting to my dad and friend's wireless just fine without me touching it.

I then bought my own Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router – Model WRT54G, which hooks up to my Linksys Cable Modem – Model BEFCMU10.

After following the router’s instructions on the disk I found out that I didn’t have any connection to my desktop, but I did on my laptop. My dad came over and I think made things worse, but when he left I messed around and got both my desktop and laptop connecting to the internet with no trouble. I know one of the simple things I did was make sure the workgroup names were the same and did something with the WEP stuff, but that’s all I remember.

Today I went to my dad’s and couldn’t connect to the internet and he said it was because he added security or some such thing. He plugged in a direct Ethernet connection and I still couldn’t connect. While I was there I didn’t play with any of my laptops settings. My wireless networking always said I was connected too, but I couldn’t get on to the internet.

When I came back home to my computer the same thing happens. It says I’m connected and the connection is excellent, but I can’t get on to the internet.

I am totally lost, everything looks fine it’s probably something simple, but I just can’t see it. Can anyone help me out?

 

It sounds like at a minimum you turned on WEP security, which means you have to enter a password on your laptop to get online. If you don't know what you set it to, then reset the modem, there should be a button on the back or some such to get it back to factory settings. From there, all you need to do is enable WEP and write down your password. Enter it in your notebook and voila. As for plugging directly in, that should work fine unless you enabled MAC address verification. That should go away when you reset though.

 

Still can’t get it to work. I’ve reset the router, restarted the computers and nothing seems to change.

I did set my desktop to WEP (from WPA-PSK which was the last thing my laptop actually connected to) and when I did that my laptop says it can’t connect because it’s a security-enabled wireless network. My router does have me enter a password during setup which I've got written down, but I'm never asked to enter it on my laptop at anytime.

BTW, I’ve been trying this on different browsers and different web addresses, but they all say that the webpage can’t be found.

 

LunarFox,

1st thing you need to do is goto the Command Prompt (Start -> Run -> CMD and click OK). When you get to the command prompt, type IPCONFIG and hit enter. If you get an IP address of 169.xxx.xxx.xxx (starts with 169, the x's are just variables), it means that your notebook is not getting an IP address from your router. Most routers give an IP address of 192.xxx.xxx.xxx, so if you're not getting that, there's a config problem somewhere.

You can try the following:
1. When you get an excellent connection, make sure it's with your router and not someone else's.

2. Once verified, goto your router's setup page and disable all security/encryption (for now), enable SSID broadcasting, check for MAC filtering and disable it. Finally, verify that your router has DHCP enabled and is setup to dish out IP addresses.

3. On your notebook, connect to the router via wire, goto the command prompt again (directions above) and type IPCONFIG /RENEW and hit enter. What's your IP address, does it start with 192 or 169? If it starts with 192, try surfing the web as it should work now, if it's 169, that means you're still not getting an IP address from your router.

4. Now, on your notebook, goto Control Panel -> Network Connections -> Wireless Network Connection -> Change Advanced Settings -> Wireless Networks Tab.

5. Make sure you have Use Windows to Configure My Wireless Network Settings checked. Also, under Prefered Networks, make sure you don't have anything in the list.

6. Click the Add button under Prefered Networks -> enter your SSID (same as the one you entered in your router). Network Authentication is set to Open & Data Encryption is set to Disabled. Make sure the Ad-Hoc option at the bottom is unchecked.

7. Goto the Connection Tab and make sure Connect When Network Is In Range is checked. Click OK to save your settings & click OK to Exit the Network Properties.

8. Pull the network cable out of the notebook & double Click on Wireless Network Connection (Step 4), but this time, click on Refresh Network List and wait. You should see the network and should automatically connect within 1-2mins (depends on the card/drivers used).

If it doesn't work after these steps, then it's something else that's not configured right (network card properties) or your wifi/router is possibly defective.

Give the above steps a try first and see what happens. If wireless starts to work, all you need to do is enable encryption on both the router and notebook, disable SSID broadcasting and enable MAC filtering (can be done later) on the router.

Good Luck!

-Vb-

 

just to add to Venombite's post (very comprehensive, btw),

Is this the first time you've added a router to your network?
If so, make sure your ISP allows you to use routers with their modems, and make sure your internet connection is set up correctly in the router. Most DSL connections use PPPoE, while Cable is generally just a DCHP setting. Sometimes ISPs also filter what MAC addresses are allowed, so you may have to enter your desktop's MAC into the router.

 

Thanks so much for your help that was very nice. Unfortunately I still couldn’t connect and I gave up and called Linksys. They were very helpful and we tried many different avenues, but like them, I don’t think it’s my router.

My dad’s laptop is connecting fine to my router. My laptop says that my connection is excellent and all is well, but when I click on any of my browsers it says something like “webpage cannot be found”.

So I’m thinking it has something to do with my wireless card.

 

I’ve now talked with the Linksys people and the Gateway people and neither could help me. The only thing that was settled was that it wasn't the router.

I’ve done a system restore and uninstalled/ reinstalled the wireless card’s drivers. But nothing changes, my connection looks wonderful, but I still can’t get onto the internet (which I’ve tried through FireFox, IE and a mmog).

Unless any of you have any ideas I think I’ll just have to give up and return the laptop.

 

Are you getting an IP address?

 

Yes, I’m getting an IP address. I’m also not close to any other wireless routers (I live sort of in the middle of nowhere).

When I was working with the Linksys people I went into RUN typed in CMD and did the IP config stuff. I was even replying to yahoo.com (doing the pings), but even with all that I still could not connect to the internet.

I’m at a total loss.


UPDATE:
After a desperate move I did a recovery. The only things I had put on the laptop was FireFox and WoW and those things are easy to replace. It did however fix my internet problem. Now I just wish I new what caused it in the first place.

Thanks for all the help. I really appreciate it!

 

If yahoo was replying to pings, then it's most likely just a browser configuration problem. I haven't used firefox for several years, so I don't know how it currently handles everything, maybe someone else could chime in

but good to see that you're up and running