Yet more (self-inflicted) Wireless-Networking Problems

I was attempting to perform the operations listed below (copied from Nickspohn’s Wireless Guide)…

2H. Don't Broadcast you Wireless Network
By default, wireless access points broadcast the name, or SSID, of your wireless network so that wireless clients can discover and access it more easily. However, this broadcast capibility is simply a huge target for anyone who wants to steal your bandwidth or potentially hack into your network and access your private data. Therefore, the first thing you should do is change the name of your wireless network (and give it a complicated name) so that hackers cant guess what name to use. Then stop the access point from broadcasting the name.

Yesterday, I changed my SSID to something complicated, but ran out of time to complete the remaining steps.

So today I disabled my SSID from being broadcast. After I disabled the SSID, I went on to the next steps which are….

…. you have manually configure your XP based wireless adapters so that they know to look for the right wireless network. Here are the instructions on how too:
1. Open Network Connections, right click the wireless network connection, and choose properties. This displays the properties dialog box for the wireless connection.
2. Navigate to the wireless network tab if neccessary and click Add. This displays the wireless network properties dialog box.
3. Enter the name of your wireless network in the network name (SSID) text box and select WEP from the Data Encryption drop down list box.
4. Click OK to close the dialog box and return to the Wireless Network Connections Properties dialog box.
5. Under the Prefered Networks section, delete any network names other than the one you just entered.
6. Click OK to finish

Please note: My SSID name was already visible in the wireless network tab when I began this operation, but I clicked on “add” anyway. I retyped my SSID name and selected WEP from the data Encryption dialog box. I then clicked ok. When I went back to the Preferred Networks section, there was my SSID (just like before). Nothing seemed to change. To my surprise, there were not two SSID’s with the same names (this is what I was expecting). Oh well, nothing to remove. So far so good (so I thought). On to the next step….

2I. Filter Mac Addresses
The final task you can preform requires configuration only at the access point. Most access points can be configured to accept connections only from specific network adapters. This effectively shuts out other users from accessing your network wirelessly. Its called MAC filtering. And no, it doesn't mean…….

When I typed in my IP address I got the dreaded “Internet Explorer could not open the search page” message. I tried to open a web browser and got the "this page can not be displayed" page.

Just like that, I lost my wireless network on that computer (my other notebook is still connected to the wireless network). Since I still have a conection on my other computer, I know the problem is not with my network, it is with my computer configuration.

I tried the repair tool with no luck. I then called D-link customer support. They told me to disable all my firewalls and reboot. That didn’t help. Since I still have a wireless conection on my other notebook, they told me to contact Gateway and have them reconfigure my wireless card. I’m on hold right now…

In the mean time, does anyone else have any ideas?

Thanks again,

Adam

 

Oh yea, I removed my SSID name from the wireless-network tab and then rebooted. After the reboot, I added it back. That still did not solve my problem.

Adam

 

you may have filtered yourself out...I do that just about every time I set up a network.

The first MAC you enter MUST be the one for the computer you're on...otherwise you'll get booted w/o hope of return.

All you need to do is use your other computer to go back to the MAC filter screen and enter the MAC for the one that you lost connection to. It's a pretty easy process. I recommend only making changes like this when you're connected by wire to the router. You can really screw things up otherwise...though nothing may happen (another experiment I've tried).

I hope this helps. If not, I am POSITIVE you're not out of luck!! Don't lose hope!

 

Also, if neither computer can get on you should be able to do a HARD reset of the router to erase any broken configurations. That might be able to fix your problem, but you'll have to re enter your settings.

 

Double-check that you entered the correct MAC address on the router and the correct WEP key on the PC.

 

Sounds like you locked yourself out.

 

Problem corrected!!!!!

Thanks for all of the replies. To solve the problem, I deleted my SSID from the system and then ran the Wireless-Network Wizard. I inserted my USB Flash drive when prompted. However, I did not put it into any other device. I just clicked finish.

Everything is back online.

If you like challenges, just keep an eye on this forum...I'll be back with plenty of them.

Adam

 

Sorry i missed this. This issue happens to me often, and just takes a few clicks and its done. (Basicaly going back in time and just disabling what you just did).

Post here with your questions anytime, as im always here to help. (Same as the many others )

 

Thanks.

Adam