Router/Wireless problem?

I've just formatted and reinstalled XP HE SP3 on an Acer laptop, and Vista
Basic SP1 on a Packard Bell machine, for two friends. Neither laptop could
detect my wireless network, despite being only a couple of feet from my
router, a 3Com (US Robotics) OfficeConnect ADSL Firewall Router. And yet, on
returning the laptops to their owners, both detected networks in range and
connected quickly and easily to their respective ones.

I've checked my router's settings, and none have changed. It's still
working okay, connecting one PC and two laptops in the house on an existing
network, without a hitch.

Is there a setting I can check? I did check firewall settings, SSID, and
both wireless switches on the laptops were on...

Thanks for any advice.

Sam

 

If your routers wifi is on channel 12 or 13, you need to make sure that
the drivers for the wifi devices have their region set to UK as some
default to US and in the USA, they only go up to channel 11. You can do
that in Device Manager, network devices, right clicking on the wifi
card, selecting Properties, clicking on the Advanced tab then scrolling
down the list to the appropriate entry.

 

Have you disabled SSID broadcast on your router? It's a good thing to
do WRT security, but one more configuration setting needed on the client
machines.

 

HI Conor, My router is on channel 12 - I did as you said above, and in the
list under the advanced tab, I couldn't see anything which suggested it was
a driver version... what exactly am I looking for, please? Funny thing is,
no sooner had I said that the existing network works okay, than on one of
the networked laptops, the wireless connection had disappeared completely,
not even showing up in 'network connections', until I rebooted.

Wish I knew what was going on

Thanks,
Sam

 

No Rob, I hadn't disabled the SSID, I double checked to make sure it was
enabled.

 

You're looking for the entries under Advanced and one of them should
say "Region" or similar. Depends on what the drivers include.

 

I think you might be right!

 

Didn't see that listed, Conor. The router must be knackered, yet another
laptop couldn't see my network, but easily found three others at a friends
house.

Thanks for your help, anyway.

Sam

 

Thanks for that info.

Sam

 

After serious thinking Sam wrote :

I cannot see anywhere where you say you have turned the wifi on or
enabled it in the router.