Can't open web page through network adapter.

Question

I have a Dell Dimension 4500 with Windows XP and am trying to access the internet through a Linksys USB54G wireless network adapter but keep getting the message 'page cannot be opened' when I type in the website addresses. The signal strength on my adapter is 'excellent'. I can ping IP addresses but when I try to ping websites by the domain names eg yahoo.com -- I get a message saying 'the host could not be found'. I have also flushed the DNS but still not working. I have a macintosh connected to the main Linksys router and I have no problems accessing the internet on that so I know the router is fine. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

jmwills · Answer

Has it ever worked before and if so, what changed?

mcodoc · Answer

Its a new desktop so I have to say I've never actually accessed the internet at all on it.
I thought it might be an issue with internet explorer so I've tried the Mozilla browser and the msn browser but they also don't work.

jmwills · Answer

Do you have the correct access settings for the router set up on the card? If in doubt, reset the router to factory specs and start from scratch with no encryption and add settings only afetr you have connected.

Can you connect with a wired connection?

mcodoc · Answer

I tried to connect through a wired connection but again the same thing happens. I can access a website if I put in an IP address but not if I type in the name.

I tried changing the router settings to default factory settings but again no change.

The wireless adapter works fine through the same router on the same settings when I apply it to a laptop.

I really appreciate your help and any other ideas would be welcome.

jmwills · Answer

Power down everything and start back up in this order: modem>router>PC  waiting a couple of minutes between each.  You either have an incorrect DNS entry set somewhere.

ostell · Answer

I believe Dell are installing Norton Internet Security by default. If this is on and the firewall active then that may be causing you to not have connectivity. Try turning the Norton Firewall off (and the XP firewall as well) and see if you get the connection back.

You can then try turning them back on if things work again.

Your router will probably have some firewall function to protect you while you test.

mcodoc · Answer

I tried the power cycle in the order you suggested -- didn't help.

I turned off the firewall on Norton antivirus but can you tell me how to turn off the XP firewall as well. Turning off the Norton firewall didn't help.

Thanks again.

jmwills · Answer

It's not a firewall issue to connect but more than likley a seeting between the card and the router.
You will need to know the network name (SSID), encryption code (WEP or WPA) key and whether or not the router uses MAC filtering.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,4149,1277020,00.asp

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

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