HELP please with wireless seemingly impossible situation...

Question

I really need some kind help with a wireless internet connection situation I am having.
I am giving as much details as I know, but please feel free to ask for whatever information you need as I can get it if necessary but Im just not sure what you need to know to help!

I am from the US but now currently working in France. I have an Inspiron 5150 currently running XP 2002 Home Edition Svc Pack 2. It has an INTERNAL wireless card (DELL wireless WLAN 1350 Mini PCI Card)

Until May 10, 2006 (when I arrived in France) I have been able to connect to wireless internet perfectly fine, including on the plane with no issues. Since getting here to where I am living I cannot see the wireless unsecured network running through the house.

There are 2 other wireless laptops running on the network which are picking up the signals perfectly fine. One is older running windows 2000 I believe and the other is an XP as well. The modem is a BELKIN 54g (I think) I have even tried configuring my own computer (as best as I know how) with the IP address of one of the others on the network and it still does not see it.

Occassionally, I can see another connection pop up as available from a neighboor in the area, however that one is secured so I cannot connect to it.

There has got to be SOME way to make this work right? Please let me know if anyone has any troubleshooting ideas. We called tech support for the modem and they seemed to think it was my computers issue and were basically clueless as to how to figure out what my computers settings should be. I have troubleshooted everything and it all seems to be working but still no connection showing as available. I have also rolled back my computer to May 8th 2006 using system restore and that didnt help either.

Thanks in advance for all your help. I am only hoping as it will be a long 5 months without internet if I absolutely cannot get this working.

esquire · Answer

Do you have access to the administrator of this wireless network?  You will need to know a few wireless network parameters when troubleshooting this.   Is your adapter driver and software up-to-date?   What are you using to manage your wireless connections?    Is the Belkin's SSID set to broadcasting?  (i.e., is it made to be visible for anyone to see)    Since you mentioned the network is unsecured, it is possible that the router/network's identifier has been mistakenly set to be 'invisible', and if you are using Windows XP Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) to manage your connection, you won't 'find' it - some software can see non-broadcasting networks, some software can't, and WZC belongs to the latter.     Try downloading a tool called Network Stumbler (or NetStumbler) and see if it can scan the area for possible wireless networks.  I use it to provide diagnostic information such as S/N ratio (signal strength and quality), channel in use, etc. - it can even see hidden networks.  If the Dell WLAN 1350 is a Broadcom based adapter, NS should work with it.   http://www.stumbler.net/     Do remember to reset your IP parameters - you can't have two machines on the same IP once you have eventually connected successfully to the network.  Good luck.

Euroducky84 · Answer

Thanks for answering...

By administrator are you referring to the person who owns it? Yes... I do. He lives here!

How do I see if the driver and software are up to date? (Assuming this means the 5150)
Also, what do you mean by what am I using to manage the wireless connections? Is there a choice?

How would we find out if the Belkins SSID is set to broadcast as visable? If another computer can see it (internal wireless as well) then wouldnt that not be a problem? Other computers can pick up the signal.

How do I download network stumbler onto my computer when I cant get an internet connection?

Sorry I guess Im not as computer saavy as I used to think I was... Thanks for all your help! If youre more specific I can print this out and have someone else look at it to see what he thinks. He knows computers better than me I think. Thanks!

esquire · Answer

It is not imperative to connect wirelessly - each router has 4 LAN ports that you can plug your notebook directly using a LAN cable, and that's how you can download the NetStumbler onto your computer, but there is an easier way to find out what settings the router is using instead of using NS since the router's Administrator is there: ask him!   Things you need to find out from him: 1.  Which router model exactly?  (not very important but it helps) 2.  Is the SSID broadcasting? 3.  What security is being implemented if any?  For example, WEP, WPA, WPA2, or MAC Address Filtering - are you sure it is unsecured?   Yes, there is a choice in the software that manages a connection.  The network adapter only provides the hardware to having a wireless connection, the actual connection is taken care of by software - actions such as providing the network key to enable secured access is done by software.  Wireless network manufacturers will bundle their own wireless connection management (WCM) client with their wireless adapter, but there is always a choice - Windows XP include its own WCM service called Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC).   To see a difference between the two WCM, i.e., WZC and the Dell Wireless WLAN Card Utility, see: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/network/p70008/en/index.htm   Like I said whether a wireless adapter can see a hidden network depends on the software it uses, some can, some can't, so it can be crucial to know what you are using, especially if the SSID is indeed not broadcasting as a measure (albeit non-effective) to protect a unsecured network.   You can find out if you have the latest driver and WCM for your computer by checking Drivers & Download online tool:  http://support.dell.com/, and check the driver version number against your adapter's current driver version in Device Manager.     I can be more specific but there is not enough info to do so and uncertain how much you know about using your computer. Message Edited by esquire on 05-19-200607:06 PM

BBraxton · Answer

Euroducky84

You mentioned trying with the IP address of one of the other systems on the wireless network. That would not work and would cause problems, since each IP address must be unique. By the way, what was/is that IP address you tried? Is it "real" or is it Network Address Translation (as are those on this campus)?
My own preference is to have the client set to "Use DHCP to assign TCP/IP address automatically"

IPCONFIG /ALL >My.txt
and report back with the results (from the computer not working for wireless)

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

HELP please with wireless seemingly impossible situation...

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