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wireless woes

Hi folks, i really do hope somebody here can shed some light on this.

ok - i have problems with two totally different systems in different locations but the problems are the same.

system 1 - xp pro pc with wireless adsl router connected by ethernet. xp pro pc 20 feet away connected via wireless. all works perfectly well 'without' WEP or WPA enabled. as soon as i try enabling any sort of security on the wireless it refuses to connect to the network.

system 2 - xp home dell lappy connected to wireless adsl router via wireless 'with' WEP enabled. works perfect. xp pro pc 20 feet away refuses to connect to network with WEP enabled. if i disable WEP on the router it all works perfect.

before routers were bought (both different makes) both systems was connected to coresponding computers through wireless cards/dongles 'with' WEP enabled no problems.

that suggests that maybe the routers are the problem, but - how can the router be the problem because system 2 connects ok to the dell lappy with WEP

its kinda doing my head in and no matter where i look i've not been able to find any answers on the net.

please help me somebody

TIA

Chris

Reply to
chris_young3
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Don't be offended by my question. Anyway, being that we're unaware of your computer experience, I'll first ask a simple question. When you enable WEP or WPA via the wireless router, are you typing in a WEP key / WPA passphrase? Furthermore, are you also enabling WEP or WPA via your PCs wireless client and typing in the same WEP key / WPA passphrase? In other words, if you enable WEP or WPA on the w/router you must do the same on the wireless PCs and the WEP key or WPA passphrase must match that of the one you entered in the w/router. A mismatch WEP key or WPA passphrase is usually the culprit in your situation.

Now, if this does not solve your dilemma, please provide specific details about your hardware. For example: provide the make & model & revision number of your wireless router and wireless notebook cards / wireless desktop adapters. Furthermore, provide whether you're using the Windows Zero Configuration utility to control your wireless connection or another utility. Take care.

Reply to
Doug Jamal

i'm not offended in the slightest but - i'm not unaware of computer experience - i've been succesfully building and repairing pc's for god knows how many years. its only the past few months that i have had anything to do with wireless. i know that the WEP keys have to match which is why i wrote this in my origional post - "before routers were bought (both different makes) both systems was connected to coresponding computers through wireless cards/dongles 'with' WEP enabled no problems."

all i have done was to add routers and enter the relevant information. which if you read back through my origional post, it states that it worked fine with the dell running xp home.

the wep key is ok between two xp pro machines and is also ok between an xp home machine and a router. but a combination of xp pro and router with WEP enabled just doesnt work.

i have tried the windows utility and the wireless device's own utilities. both with the same results. i have even tried 'cirond winc' and 'elektron'. none of them are able to make the units connect.

ok. one of the routers is an 'A-LINK ROADRUNNER 24AP' not sure about the other right now. i'm not near it

Reply to
chris_young3

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