Wireless network issues

Factual Questions
1

I have just bought a new desktop computer and am having problems connecting to the internet.

I have a Belkin wireless router, which connects to my ISP through ADSL. I have a laptop with a wireless network card, and a new desktop also with a wireless network card (also from Belkin).

I know that the router is working, since I can connect to the internet through the laptop. I also know that the wireless network card is in working order, since I have tried it on an old (Windows ME) machine. The signal strength is reported on the new computer as “Excellent”, so it looks like the card is installed correctly. Also the SSID of my network is displayed and the WEP key should be correct. The problem is, that I can’t get the new machine to connect to the internet.

When I check to see if it has an IP address then nothing is assigned. On the other machines the router assigned an IP address of the form 192.168.2.x to each computer. The IP of the router is 192.168.2.1, but the new computer cannot access this IP either.

This is driving me nuts so any help is appreciated muchly.

2

First question - are the all the same type of wireless?

For instance, if your desktop card is 802.11g while your router and laptop are 802.11b, then you might not be able to connect. Sometimes (most times?) the newer g equipement will be backwards-compatible with the b equipment, but it’s not a guarantee.

3

They are all the same standard (g), from the same company and have worked together in the past.

4

Can you ping the router from the dekstop? Can you view your network from that PC? Can the other PC’s see the desktop? Also did you change the DCHP settings to allow for another IP address?

5

I have tried typing: ping 192.168.2.1 from the desktop. The answer I get is “Destination host unreachable”.

When I do the same from the laptop (ie ping the router) it gives me response times of the order of a few ms.

I’m not sure what your other questions mean. The router is set to give out IP addresses between 192.168.2.2 and 192.168.2.100. I have had two computers (the laptop and the ME machine) connected simultaneously before.

6

Just as a shot in the dark - do you perchance have MAC address filtering turned on at the router?

7

I’m not sure what your other questions mean.

Is your Windows Network working other than this connectivity issue with this computer? Can the new computer see the laptop, share files, etc. If not, then it is probably a networking issue as opposed to a connectivity issue.

8

Have you tried shutting everything down and restarting it all?

Do you have a cordless phone? Is it 2.4 ghz?

On a Linksys system, you can go to the program installed on the computer and there’s a scanning tab that looks for available networks. On this page, there’s a ‘connect’ button.
When you access the corresponding area and tell the machine to connect, does that solve the problem (temporarily)?

9

Dunno what the problem actually is, but a procedure that has worked for me, trying to “clear up” unknown network issues, is:

[ul]
[li]From the “start” button, open a Command Window.[/li][li]At the prompt type “ipconfig /release”[/li][li]Now type “ipconfig /renew”[/li][/ul]

If your computer is still not being assigned an IP address in the 192.168.2.X range, check whether it may have its IP address set manually (it should have the “Obtain IP Address Automatically” radio-button checked in the network connection -> properties window. If it isn’t, check it.) Also make sure that the “Obtain DNS Server Address Automatically” radio-button is checked as well – you’ll need that later!

If neither of these ideas works, try emailing me with the results of your attemps and I’ll try to help (mail in profile)

Hope this helps

Dani