[justinhess]

Well,Im a bit confused.I had a laptop before that had some sort of auto enabler/finder thang that searched out any available wireless connections to connect to in my area.On this other laptop im using now,im at a loss as to how to work this.It has a wireless button on it that lights up when i push it,but there is no 'wireless network' icon in the 'network connections' to view or work with.when i search for help on my laptop,it guides me to access the 'wireless network ' icon but its just not there?and i dont know how to get it there.What do i need to do in order to connect to various wireless spots around town such as the coffee house or other places that offer free wifi?thanks so much

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Hello justinhess,

What happens if you use the Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Control Panel?

This might help too:
How to troubleshoot missing network connections icons in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows XP

Regards,

Ax

[Ax238]

Hello justinhess,

What happens if you use the Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Control Panel?

This might help too:
How to troubleshoot missing network connections icons in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows XP

Regards,

Ax

[justinhess]

Hello justinhess,

What happens if you use the Wireless Network Setup Wizard in Control Panel?

This might help too:
How to troubleshoot missing network connections icons in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows XP

Regards,

Ax

hey thanks for the response!when i go into the wireless network setup wizard,it takes me thru the motions,but a few steps in it prompts me to do something to a usb flash drive or print out the info seperately w/o the flash drive.either way....it tells me to either pop the usb into my wireless access point or enter the info i printed manually.i went out and bought a usb flash drive and did that step but now i dont know what a wireless acess point is...i am pretty sure i have wireless already in my computer as i have a button that lights up for wireless when i push it,am i wrong or what am i missin here?thanks so much for your patience btw...i am just at a loss how to get the wireless icon for something to work with.to try to detect the various wifi spots to hook up to...thanks

[justinhess]

still could use some advice,thanks

[justinhess]

here is what it says when i go thru the wireless wizard

select a task
setup new wireless network
or
add new computers or or devices to already existing

next

name it and autoassign network key

next

use a usb flash drive or setup a network manually

next

plug flash into usb port,saves settings onto it

nextj

plug flash drive into wireless access point....(this is the part i dont get? hows this work for free wifi spots?)

plug flash into any other comps u want on network n/a

plug flash back into this comp then click next

any help on how to get this rollin is appreciated,thanks

[Ax238]

Thanks for the extra information. Have you seen the following page?
Set up a Wi-Fi Connection

Ax

[justinhess]

thanks,i just still dont know how to even get a wireless icon though.ill print this and check it out at home and see if it helps,;thanks!

[Ax238]

Sounds good, let me know how it goes.

[justinhess]

those are great instructions but they all hinge on having a wireless network icon which i do not...

[Ax238]

After turning on the wireless button, go to Start | Run, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter. See if there are any items there that have a yellow exclamation or red 'X'. If so, double-click the entry and copy-paste the information from "Device status" to here.

If there are no problems, the following MS KB might be helpful:
Network connection icons are missing from the Network Connections folder in Windows XP

Regards,

Ax

[justinhess]

thanks ill check that out.ive been looking into a wireless service like tmoble or sprint and getting their equipment and service.i do have an ethernet card...any suggestions for that?

[justinhess]

After turning on the wireless button, go to Start | Run, type devmgmt.msc, and press Enter. See if there are any items there that have a yellow exclamation or red 'X'. If so, double-click the entry and copy-paste the information from "Device status" to here.

If there are no problems, the following MS KB might be helpful:
Network connection icons are missing from the Network Connections folder in Windows XP

Regards,

Ax

i did this(forgot my paper that i wrote it down on though)and there are some things with a question mark and exlamation point next to them in yellow.no red x's though...
ill have to bring in specifics on monday when i can log in again but yes,there is something,having to do with this i believe.any prelim advice?

[justinhess]

ok,it seems the only thing wrong with my laptop is what i need most hehe!aside from my audio not working now for some reason.

in the section 'other devices' it has a yellow question mark and yellow exclamation mark.seems relevant to my not being able to work the wireless icon stuff.then under that main section there are the sub headings
multimedia audio controller
-network controller
-pci simple communication controller
-unknown device
-unknown device
-video controller(vga compatible)

under properties of all of these it says 'the drivers for this device are not installed(code 28)to reinstall the drivers for this device,click reinstall driver.

advice?thank!

[Ax238]

Items in blue which are underlined are clickable to give more information about the process

Download and install Everest Home Edition

Run the programme, click + next to computer then summary

Look on the right for Network Adapter

Look at the manufacturer’s site for the suitable drivers for your Operating System

If you are unable to find them, please post the make and model here before you download anything

Please set a system restore point before you install anything