Wireless Networks not found

Ok so I am at home on my laptop sitting right next to my router and It
cannot find my wireless network. My wireless network has been working
for about 2 months now and then all of a sudden today my laptop cannot
detect my wireless or any of my neighbors..

I did not change any settings on my router and I dont remember changing
anything on my laptop. Any ideas?

wmureports

wmureports wrote:

> Ok so I am at home on my laptop sitting right next to my router and It
> cannot find my wireless network. My wireless network has been working
> for about 2 months now and then all of a sudden today my laptop cannot
> detect my wireless or any of my neighbors..
>
> I did not change any settings on my router and I dont remember changing
> anything on my laptop. Any ideas?

Is the wireless on? Many laptops have a little button or switch that turns
the wireless on/off. Others use a key press combination (FN + some key).
Examine your laptop to make sure you haven't inadvertently turned the
wireless off.

If the wireless is really supposed to be on and it isn't working, then there
may be a problem with the hardware. Since you didn't mention what hardware
you have, you'll need to troubleshoot it yourself or provide more
information.

Malke
--
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic"

On 14-Jul-2006, Malke <> wrote:

> If the wireless is really supposed to be on and it isn't working, then there
> may be a problem with the hardware. Since you didn't mention what hardware
> you have, you'll need to troubleshoot it yourself or provide more
> information.

Most wireless adapters have a utility that shows signal strength,
signal quality, pkts in, pkts out and often other useful stuff.
You may have to turn off Zero Config before you see it.
In Admin mode WinXP has a lot of diagnostic information,
hardware status (the dreaded exclamation mark), as well as
various logs, including error logs.
Firewalls can also go pear shaped and start blocking when they
shouldn't. Most retail firewalls have logs.

>you didn't mention what hardware you have,

Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt
type the command ipconfig /all followed by Enter and report result here.

I have the same problem with a Inspiron 600 m. I got the Wireless Networks
tab to show up with the Wireless Zero Configuration but the system still
tells me I need to turnthe wireless switch on. Checked the dell manual for a
keyboard "switch" and found nothing. Dell won't help since it is not a
hardware issue. Sure would appreciate some help on fixing this. I had
turned the wireless off when we used the laptop for navigating the boat and
now I can't seem to get it wireless again to download updates to the
navagation program.
--
Alice


"wmureports" wrote:

> Ok so I am at home on my laptop sitting right next to my router and It
> cannot find my wireless network. My wireless network has been working
> for about 2 months now and then all of a sudden today my laptop cannot
> detect my wireless or any of my neighbors..
>
> I did not change any settings on my router and I dont remember changing
> anything on my laptop. Any ideas?
>
>

Alice wrote:
> I have the same problem with a Inspiron 600 m. I got the Wireless Networks
> tab to show up with the Wireless Zero Configuration but the system still
> tells me I need to turnthe wireless switch on. Checked the dell manual for a
> keyboard "switch" and found nothing. Dell won't help since it is not a
> hardware issue. Sure would appreciate some help on fixing this. I had
> turned the wireless off when we used the laptop for navigating the boat and
> now I can't seem to get it wireless again to download updates to the
> navagation program.

If wireless is builtin to your Inspiron, turning it on/off most
certainly IS a hardware issue. If it's not a physical switch, and it's
not a combination of keys, then open device manager, select the wireless
network adapter, right click and choose properties. There ought to be
something there that will turn it on an off.

Also note that Dell has a "network disabled" power management mode which
you may have turned on while on your boat. See your Dell "Tell Me How"
or other help files to change this setting.

"HINT: The Network Disabled power scheme disables your internal network
and wireless activity. However, you must set the power scheme through
QuickSet (not Microsoft® Windows®) for Network Disabled to work."