I was given an old Dell Latitude CP laptop with 160 Mhz processor, running Win98SE. I would like to set this up to access the Internet from library hotspots, etc. However, I've tried using NetGear and Tenda USB dongles, a Zyxel USB device, and a D-Link cardbus wireless adapter, all unsuccessfully. All of these adapters have worked on other computers. The drivers and utility programs all install normally, Device Manager says that the devices work properly, and the control programs see access points and show wireless signal strength as expected. But they don't establish usable Internet connections; Internet Explorer will not display Web pages, nor can I make telnet connections to my ISP.
I'm beginning to suspect that the 160 Mhz processor is simply not fast enough to handle wireless Internet. Can anyone here confirm or refute that? Are any USB or cardbus wireless adapter models known to be able to make functional Internet connections on computers like this?
--Donald Davis