CJ - possibly the last attempt from me - what happens if you type in 192.168.1.254? If nothing works, I reckon your wifi is knackered in the router. Cannot see it as problem for the lappie. Have you tried another wireless PC?

Indeed so, Mr O. - Unfortunately, when I try to make contact from my desktop, I get a request for User Name and P/W and the standard admin/admin isn't accepted :sad:
Ther is a certain amount of time constraint on this 'cos SWMBO is off on her travels until tomorrow and I can spread my domestic confusion unhindered! :E

Ah!!! BOAC - now there's a thought! ... could well be. Anyway, the die is now cast - rehash in progress and we shall see if that has any improving effect. Will report back and many thanks to all. The suggestions made may well be useable for other members with similar problems.

that last comment of yours rather reinforces the suggestion that the router is the problem

Ah. If its any consolation the local Fun Prevention Officer has found a social conscience and gone off to do something community spirited. It's just a coincidence that it involves sitting down talking to other women is it? And in the meant I am left to tackle a hawthorn hedge armed with nothing more than seceteurs and a spirit of hope. Ok well usually the default ip address is on a sticker on the thing but a Google search should get you the default password and username and reset procedure. Is it locked to BT ? Using ipconfig from one of the pcs should get the actual gateway address. For name/password try blank/blank, admin/admin, admin/Admin......Someone on Google will have been through this already.

Oh, too late!

- crikey - this is worse than trying to get blood from a stone!

Do we NOW understand that 192.168.1.254 reaches your router wirelessly or wired or not?? If so, your router wifi is ok. Answers on a postcard?

If we are talking wired and you cannot get in, do a factory reset on the router and use the default u/n and p/w

Too late. Rehash in progress, presumably reset of laptop from recovery partition?

BUT it is not the laptop, is it? On the other hand, perhaps the lappie 3com card is knacked. We may never know, without the third degree.:)

but from my reading of things he can't log into the router from the machines which are cabled, so he still can't check the wireless settings on the router.
I think even after the laptop has been reloaded the router is still going to have to be reset to defaults before we can make any sense of this
It would help to know the exact model of the router and the ISP - as these are sometimes supplied with fixed settings for the ISP

An issue here is that the OP has got confused by too many of us chipping in with ideas and has stopped listening, or else has just decided to listen to what he fancies

As Donald said "We don't know what we don't know":) I reckon C J would have been an excellent secret agent and resisted all interrogation methods.:ugh:

...but we were all saying the same thing!

Let me summarise two pages:

We don't know which IP address he is using to connect to the router by cable or wireless

We don't know whether the router has been reset to factory and default used.

We don't know details of the router.

In my opinion, laptop reset etc is a waste of time at the moment, as is ipconfig /all

Still, it is raining here and I cannot get out to the Amberley Gardens Festival.

Now threatening rain here too. Wouldn't ipconfig off a pc have at least given us the gateway address? Then check laptop set up to receive dhcp address or stuff in a static address.Then check card config. If OP confesses to router details then can find router reset process and defaults. Only fly in the ointment is suspicion of BT involvement.

I'd agree with that summary from BOAC, except its sunny here

As to using IPCONFIG, the problem is we don't know if he's using a fixed IP address or DHCP

...suspect we'll hear shortly.

Gosh chaps, I really am most grateful for all your help - just need a better brain to understand it!
Update ... Have, at last managed to login to the router:ok: Helps enormously if the password is entered correctly!!! Anyway, have completed a reset plus resetting the networking setup and the result is - zilch. The only new thing is that when I try to connect to the Plusnet wireless net (which is visible and strongly received) is a message something like "Windows is unable to find a certificate to allow you to connect to this network" or some such. Have no idea what this means ... any suggestions, please?

The wired in pc can or cannot get online(irrespective of laptop)? Think there is a setting in xp to override the certificate issue-MM will know.

Heard of Google? Let me google that for you


First hit:ugh:You just never know.

Fix “Windows was unable to find a certificate to log you on to the network”

Beat me to it....

Thank you chaps - Whoops of joy followed by ashes!! the 'certificate' message no longer appears but still no wireless internet:sad: One slight change is that using ipconfig generates the autoconfig address and the subnet mask. I then tried ipconfig /renew. It activated (I think) but no change.I now have wads of paper covered with indecipherable scrawls but no progress to report. Ain't pooters wunnerful!:yuk: