Laptop won't connect to wireless, but only sometimes

I have a Dell Latitude laptop I got about 5 years ago. The house i'm living in now has a linksys wireless router that I connect to. When I connect, a message pops up and tells me its a unsecured wireless network. However before I could get onto the network I had to type a code into my computer to gain access.

My problem is that sometimes I can connect and other times I can't. Sometimes I turn on my computer and it connects and the connection remains for as long as I need it. Other times, i turn on my computer and it won't connect and never does until many hours later. And other times, Im connected but then I lose the connection and "repairing" doesn't help, or it takes 20 or so trys.

In the meantime none of the other computers in the house have this problem.

Thank you!

ivegotapples

[technoplume]

If the network is unsecured you should not have to enter a password. Find the IP address of the router and log in to the menu. I suspect that the router has limited the number of device that can be connected to your router. If your in a populated area many people might connect to your router and bump you out of it. Make sure to enter a password in the router Hex 128 BIT, save it on a notepad.txt file and on a usb stick. So u can cut past it in the other PC of the house. Now you limited the access to your house only. Then make sur that the router has enough room for all the computer. My Linksys limit the number of connection to 50 by default. If u want more security, you can add MAC filtering.

Finaly, I found that Linksys has very week signals and it can'T pass more then 1 or 2 wall. The connection senn ok but it drop often, to go around this you can have a special antena to boast the signal, or have a relay station. Both are very easy to set up.

technoplume

[succubus]

i highly recommend calling this guys... they're great with computers and related stuffs... supportrix

succubus

[bigal]

I suspect the built-in networking in your laptop is going down the tubes. You might consider buying a plug-in wireless card (like a wireless G cardbus or PCMCA or USB solution) and disable the internal wireless adapter. I would normally suspect the wireless router but if it's working fine with other wireless devices in your house then it should be ok. If the wireless router is only connected to hard-wired devices and your laptop is the only wireless device, then I highly suspect the wireless router. They go bad too.

bigal