[Webby29]

I have just got a new laptop and am trying to connected it to my wireless network. The wireless card in the laptop is working and so is the wireless network. In "view avaliable wireless connections" the laptop finds the wireless network, but when I click connect it attempts to connect and then after a few minutes tells me that it cannot connect, but will keep trying.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

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Hi Webby29,
Do you have WEP/WAP or some other form of encryption enabled on your Wireless Network? Have you run the Wireless Setup Wizard? If so, is your SSID and Encryption Key correct? How do you know your Wireless router is working? Do you have another computer already connected to it?

Run the Wireless Network Setup Wizard:

• The easiest way to open the Wireless Network Setup Wizard is through the Start Menu: go to Programs, Accessories, then Communications, and you'll find it there.
• The first thing to do when the wizard appears is read the welcome message, and click Next.
• Now, type a name for your network -- anything will do, as long as it's relatively unique to you. You're allowed up to 32 letters to express yourself, but remember that your neighbours might get to see this name at some point! (Note: if you already have an SSID and Encryption Key, then you must enter these, rather than creating new ones.)
• Unless you already have a network key that you absolutely must use, select the Automatically Assign a Network Key radio button.
  (Note: You should write down -- on a piece of paper -- both your SSID and your Network Key!)
• If you bought equipment with WPA (stronger encryption), tick that box. Click Next again.
• Unless you have a USB flash drive (it's unlikely), choose the option for manual setup. Don't worry -- it's just a matter of printing out some settings and entering them into your other computers. If you don't use encryption, you can usually skip this step.
• Now, right-click on the wireless icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen -- it looks like a small computer with two lines on the right of it.
• On the menu that appears, click 'View Available Wireless Networks'.
• Now, you should see a list of the wireless networks your computer is in range of. Look for the name of your own network. This will be the name you typed in the setup wizard earlier or, if you use a router, it will probably be the name of your wireless equipment's manufacturer.
  (Note that this is the screen to come to if you ever want to connect to a wireless network other than your usual one -- just double click the one you want, wait a while, and it should work.)
• To make sure Windows knows which network is yours, you need to click 'Change the order of preferred networks' on the left of the available networks screen.
• You should click the 'Add' button to add the name of your network to this list, and use 'Remove' to take away any that aren't yours.
• When you've highlighted your network, click Properties, and then go to the Connection section.
• Make sure 'Connect when this network is in range' is ticked. If all else fails, you might have to take your printout from the Wireless Network Setup Wizard and enter that information on each computer.

[Dan]

Hi Webby29,
Do you have WEP/WAP or some other form of encryption enabled on your Wireless Network? Have you run the Wireless Setup Wizard? If so, is your SSID and Encryption Key correct? How do you know your Wireless router is working? Do you have another computer already connected to it?

Run the Wireless Network Setup Wizard:

• The easiest way to open the Wireless Network Setup Wizard is through the Start Menu: go to Programs, Accessories, then Communications, and you'll find it there.
• The first thing to do when the wizard appears is read the welcome message, and click Next.
• Now, type a name for your network -- anything will do, as long as it's relatively unique to you. You're allowed up to 32 letters to express yourself, but remember that your neighbours might get to see this name at some point! (Note: if you already have an SSID and Encryption Key, then you must enter these, rather than creating new ones.)
• Unless you already have a network key that you absolutely must use, select the Automatically Assign a Network Key radio button.
  (Note: You should write down -- on a piece of paper -- both your SSID and your Network Key!)
• If you bought equipment with WPA (stronger encryption), tick that box. Click Next again.
• Unless you have a USB flash drive (it's unlikely), choose the option for manual setup. Don't worry -- it's just a matter of printing out some settings and entering them into your other computers. If you don't use encryption, you can usually skip this step.
• Now, right-click on the wireless icon in the bottom-right corner of your screen -- it looks like a small computer with two lines on the right of it.
• On the menu that appears, click 'View Available Wireless Networks'.
• Now, you should see a list of the wireless networks your computer is in range of. Look for the name of your own network. This will be the name you typed in the setup wizard earlier or, if you use a router, it will probably be the name of your wireless equipment's manufacturer.
  (Note that this is the screen to come to if you ever want to connect to a wireless network other than your usual one -- just double click the one you want, wait a while, and it should work.)
• To make sure Windows knows which network is yours, you need to click 'Change the order of preferred networks' on the left of the available networks screen.
• You should click the 'Add' button to add the name of your network to this list, and use 'Remove' to take away any that aren't yours.
• When you've highlighted your network, click Properties, and then go to the Connection section.
• Make sure 'Connect when this network is in range' is ticked. If all else fails, you might have to take your printout from the Wireless Network Setup Wizard and enter that information on each computer.

[Webby29]

I know the wireless network is working because I have another laptop connected to it. It is an open network at the minute and I have used the network CD that I created from the first computer that I put on the network on the laptop. It all seems to be working fine and the wireless signal is being received as my network name is on the avaliable networks list with a four bar signal strength (out of four). However, when I click connect or when it tries to connect automatically it says it is unable to connect, but that windows will keep trying to connect.

I have put three laptops onto the network over the last few months and have always done it using the original network CD and have never had any problems. Could it be a problem with the wireless card?