Wireless network "working" but no connection points

[jhsachs]

I hope someone has ideas that will help me get my laptop's wireless connection working again. It's a Toshiba M200, probably made around 2005, running Windows XP.

Here's the background: last year we moved into a new house. We ordered internet service via Comcast, with a wireless router.

The cable guy told my wife (I was not home) that my laptop's built-in wireless modem was too old to handle Comcast's current standard encryption, and we had to either downgrade the encryption or disable my laptop's built-in wireless modem use a wireless card. She chose the wireless card. The cable guy set everything up and left me with a free wireless card.

When he was gone, my wife found that she couldn't get her wireless connection to work. When I got home, I couldn't get mine to work either. We attached our desktop computers to the router by cable.

Later my wife got her wireless connection working. I never got around to it. I wasn't using the laptop and didn't think about it.

Last week I found myself in a motel room with my laptop, a client's laptop, and wireless service provided by the motel. My laptop couldn't make a connection. It said that its wireless modem was enabled and working, but no connection points were detectable. (Yes, the wireless switch was in the "enable" position.)

I remembered what the cable guy said, muttered something unkind, and plugged in the wireless card. It gave me the same results: Windows claimed the card was working and the network was working, and no connection points were within range.

I then tried my client's laptop, which found almost of dozen connection points, several with three or four bars.

How do I diagnose the problem on my laptop?

 

[Guest]

If the laptop has wireless built in and it was switched on, is it feasible this was still being selected rather than the newly installed wireless card ?

Have you installed the manuafcturer's most recent driver for the wireless card or are you relying on (possibly outdated) Windows' own driver ?

 

[jhsachs]

The switch turned out to be the problem. The cable guy ripped out the drivers for the built-in card, but left the switch enabled. I didn't realize that the switch applied only to the built-in adapter, so I made sure to leave it that way. When I moved the switch to the "disable" position, wireless worked.

I was misled by the Network Settings, which assured me that the built-in adapter's driver was working. My bad -- I believed it. Yay, Microsoft.

 

[steve55152]

I hope someone has ideas that will help me get my laptop's wireless connection working again. It's a Toshiba M200, probably made around 2005, running Windows XP.

Here's the background: last year we moved into a new house. We ordered internet service via Comcast, with a wireless router.

The cable guy told my wife (I was not home) that my laptop's built-in wireless modem was too old to handle Comcast's current standard encryption, and we had to either downgrade the encryption or disable my laptop's built-in wireless modem use a wireless card. She chose the wireless card. The cable guy set everything up and left me with a free wireless card.

When he was gone, my wife found that she couldn't get her wireless connection to work. When I got home, I couldn't get mine to work either. We attached our desktop computers to the router by cable.

Later my wife got her wireless connection working. I never got around to it. I wasn't using the laptop and didn't think about it.

Last week I found myself in a motel room with my laptop, a client's laptop, and wireless service provided by the motel. My laptop couldn't make a connection. It said that its wireless modem was enabled and working, but no connection points were detectable. (Yes, the wireless switch was in the "enable" position.)

I remembered what the cable guy said, muttered something unkind, and plugged in the wireless card. It gave me the same results: Windows claimed the card was working and the network was working, and no connection points were within range.

I then tried my client's laptop, which found almost of dozen connection points, several with three or four bars.

How do I diagnose the problem on my laptop?

 

[steve55152]

I hope someone has ideas that will help me get my laptop's wireless connection working again. It's a Toshiba M200, probably made around 2005, running Windows XP.

Here's the background: last year we moved into a new house. We ordered internet service via Comcast, with a wireless router.

The cable guy told my wife (I was not home) that my laptop's built-in wireless modem was too old to handle Comcast's current standard encryption, and we had to either downgrade the encryption or disable my laptop's built-in wireless modem use a wireless card. She chose the wireless card. The cable guy set everything up and left me with a free wireless card.

When he was gone, my wife found that she couldn't get her wireless connection to work. When I got home, I couldn't get mine to work either. We attached our desktop computers to the router by cable.

Later my wife got her wireless connection working. I never got around to it. I wasn't using the laptop and didn't think about it.

Last week I found myself in a motel room with my laptop, a client's laptop, and wireless service provided by the motel. My laptop couldn't make a connection. It said that its wireless modem was enabled and working, but no connection points were detectable. (Yes, the wireless switch was in the "enable" position.)

I remembered what the cable guy said, muttered something unkind, and plugged in the wireless card. It gave me the same results: Windows claimed the card was working and the network was working, and no connection points were within range.

I then tried my client's laptop, which found almost of dozen connection points, several with three or four bars.

How do I diagnose the problem on my laptop?

When you got to the point that windows said there were no connection points, That is not true! Windows states that "There are no wireless networks found in range, Make sure your wireless switch is turned on.

Is your wireless switch on?

If the switch is on---->

Remove the wireless card and then make sure Wireless Zero Configuration is enabled. Go to Network Connections and view wireless networks and see what SSIDs window lists.

Don't let the cable guy mess with your laptop. They're network techs not desktop techs