Wireless working great for 4 months - then suddenly......

[BALOO]

[U]Problem[U]: Mrs B has a laptop which, until recently, was able to connect (wireless) to the internet via linksys gateway (worked really well!) – then it didn’t…….

[U]Indications[U]: Wireless networks show that the network connection is ‘excellent’ - but now, when trying to access the internet/check E-mails all we get is the dial-up connection window (which tries to connect to our normal ISP with correct username/password as was the case before wireless - so no hijacking – I think!)

[U]Remedies[U]?: I’ve tried:
1. Tools / Internet Options / Connections / ….’Never dial a connection’
2. Tools / Internet Options / Connections / LAN settings / …..’automatically detect settings
3. Run various wizards to set up connections for just about everything!

All to no avail…….in the case of remedy 1, it just won’t connect and if ‘never dial etc’ is not selected then the dial up window appears ……. Aaarrrgh!

[U]Causes[U]: Well, something must have changed – but I’ve no idea what! Of course, I’ve now changed almost everything in a vain attempt to impress Mrs B of my ability to fix anything - so I’ve no idea now what any of the settings were/should be!

Equipment: Toshiba laptop (XP home) with Linksys Notebook adapter
Linksys ADSL Gateway (stand alone, just connected to BT)
(2 other desktop computers connect to the gateway via linksys cards – and still work perfectly)

[U]Help[U]: Can anyone come up with a solution? I’ve a feeling that it is awfully simple but, hey, I’m used to looking a fool. Very simple step by step instructions would be really appreciated……

BALOO

[zoink]

Hey Baloo

Can you answer these questions.

Is the wireless network connection enabled in Network Connections?

Have you tried to repair the wireless connection in Network Connections?

Can you do an "ipconfig" on the machine and see if the access point is giving you out an IP address (Start » Run » type cmd then type ipconfig).

Can you dump the contents of the window out here?

Have you tried resetting all items in the network. PC cards, access points etc..?

[swh]

Sound to me like service pack 2 problems, turn your firewall off, restart your machine, you should see the networks again, then connect, then turn your firewall back on.

[BALOO]

Thanks for the replies
I,ve just got back from a long long day - full of delays etc and I've got exactly the same trips tomorrow when, hopefully I'll be back nearer the scheduled time which will give me the chance to answer your qustions/ try out your suggestions - but now I'm off to bed 'cause I'm knackered!
BALOO

[BALOO]

Zionk - to answer your qustions:
1 Yes - well, it doesn't say 'enabled' or 'disabled' but it does say that it is connected
2 Yes - but it makes no difference. Everything looks as it should but when you open either Outlook Express or Internet Explorer it wants to use a dial-up to connect to my normal ISP. In the past it wirelessly (made up word?) connected via the gateway without having to enter any username etc.
3 Here you go:
Windows IP Configuration
Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Media State . . . . . . . . : Media Disconnected
Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:
Connection-specific DNS Suffix :
IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 192.168.1.102
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
4 hummm - now what exactly do you mean by resetting. I've tried via various wizards to reset the connection but to no avail.

swh
The computer can see the connection - eg if you move the cursor over the icon bottom right on the task bar it shows:
Wireless Network Connection (SSID)
Speed 54 Mbps (sometimes a lower number)
Signal strength Very Good
Status Connected
It's also there under 'Network Connections' so I'm not sure I'll achieve anything by doing what you suggest - but I'll give it a go!
Thanks again for your help so far............any more ideas?
BALOO

[G7SWZ]

Is your computer running XP and set up for automatic updates?

If it is try turning off automatic updates and do a system restore back to about 10 or 12 April.

I had exactly the same problem with my computer - the wireless ad hoc connection would appear to be working and did for internet connection but file sharing ceased to be available.

I tried reinstalling the network with no effect.

When I turned automatic updates off and did a restore to 10 April everything worked fine again.

G7SWZ

[swh]

BALOO,

I have seen with some service pack updates the firewall is more restrictive, by turning it off and turning it on again after the network link is in place will allow that wireless link to continue when you turn the firewall back on.

Cheers