Intel 5300: can't type in WEP key

Hi Rick,

Thank you for the valuable info. Here is a bit more detail: when I first bought the system I upgraded to the Intel 5300 wifi card and installed the Intel driver from the Dell website. This drove ControlPoint totally nuts for some reason, causing various crashes and hangs and blocking certain icons from appearing on the taskbar which I needed, and eventually after several failed restores I gave up and reinstalled everything except ControlPoint (and minus the Smart Card driver). I installed from the driver disk in the order on the driver disk. If this was incorrect then I think it is incumbent on Dell to provide the correct info at the source and not hide in on some webpage which I only found out about from you on the forum.

From the get-go--before the reinstall-- I had the same problem. When connecting from the Intel app to a secure wifi network, I am first asked if I want to connect to the selected network. Then a window appears asking me to input the key. In the single field in this window, I cannot type, even though the cursor is clearly there--it is as if the keyboard is suddenly dead. This is the *only* point in any field in any program that I see such behavior. I had hoped that the clean reinstall would change this behavior, but it does not. Everything else works absolutely perfectly, and the system is much quicker and more stable without ControlPoint--not to mention much less complicated--so I do not intend to ever put CP back on if I can possibly help it. Managing wifi from CP was a total nightmare, and I like the Intel interface and behavior much more.

I sincerely doubt that I have a problem with an incorrect install order, since the system is flawless except for this one annoying quirk, but if indeed the install order does turn out to be a problem how can I solve that, short of yet another clean reinstall, which I do not look forward to for at least another year or so?

TIA,

Toby

Toby,

I have read many complaints about ControlPoint. Many have un-installed it. Ususally during a clean installation, chipset drivers are needed on most computers and on Dell computers, the notebook/desktop Utility is needed, if there is one. We usually try to have everyone use the factory image and then it's easier to remove the programs you do not want or use. Restoring Your Computer´s Software to the Factory Settings

What do you see in the device manager? Is this your network? Why are you using WEP Security when it can be hacked? I had some help a few years back, when I first went wireless. I got a wireless router and asked for some help. My first router was a Netgear WGR614v6. It eventually started to fail so I purchased a Linksys WRT54GS. Here are the settings I use and never had a problem with a wireless device connecting to my network.

Update the firmware from the manufacturers website(they sit in a warehouse and get out of date)

Broadcast SSID(People disable this and then have trouble connecting) (I usually recommend people change this to make connecting easier)

WPA-PSK(TKIP) Security (Personal) (Many devices work with this type of security)

Mixed mode b and g, n if available. I use this because I have a Dell Wireless Printer Adapter 3300 attached to my Dell 964 printer. (Even though my wireless print adapter is a b,g , I suspect that it likes the b bandwidth better.)

Use channels 1, 6 or 11 (Most wireless devices work best on these channels) I use channel 11.

Do NOT use Mac Address filtering.

Save and exit. Power everything off for 30 seconds, then power everything back on. After you restart your computer, connect to the new network.

I have had 6 different laptops connected to my network, different brand names, my printer, two iPod Touch(s), USB Wireless adapters, with no problems.

Rick

Hi Rick,

Again, thanks for responding and for all the good info. It may not be specifically WEP that I am talking about. It is simply the act of trying to enter a p/w or key to gain entry to a secured network. For instance I was at the Beijing airport last week and was killing time in a network cafe with wifi. The Intel wifi connection window located about 20 wireless networks in the vicinity, one of which was the network for the cafe. The waiter gave me the password to connect. In the Intel wifi window I chose the correct network and selected it. Next, up came a window telling me that it was a secure network and asking me to type the p/w in the field provided. I tried to do so, and as always, I could not type anything in that field, no matter what I did or how many times I tried to do so, closing and reopening the window, etc.

My only workaround was to enable Zero Wireless in the services and go through all the motions again using the standard XP wifi window. Again I was asked to choose a network, and again I was asked to enter a p/w, and in Windows it is no problem to type (and retype) the p/w in the provided fields. And in fact once that p/w is in memory either Windows or Intel will automatically connect to the network as a preferred network. It is only a problem when I try to connect the first time and have to type a key or p/w in to connect. I really dislike having to go through all the motions to enable Windows to manage wifi just to be able to enter the p/w.

So it certainly does not seem to be a problem with the actual driver, because as soon as I revert to the default Windows wifi connect it works just fine. I am only trying to understand why I am not able to type a p/w in the field using the Intel s/w.

Because everything works fine and dandy apart from this one little annoyance, I sincerely doubt that I have a driver problem--it seems more like a bug, but if that were the case I guess that someone would have reported it by now. So any idea what gives??

Thanks,

Toby

Toby,

I'd just use Windows Zero and leave ControlPoint un-installed. That seems to be working better, unless you try installing the driver from Intel's Website. I updated the driver for my 5100 from Intel's website and have no issues.

Rick