no, this is not the simple WiFi hotspot access requiring a user, customer, or guest password.....
A friend called, and said one of her laptops at home always asks for a "password" to get on the WiFi at home - and none of the other laptops do this....
First - since EVERYTHING is now called a "password", it's hard to guess what is really happening.
SO - is there any scenario where the WiFi access key is not stored locally on the client, or where there is some overt request to always ask for a key to access the WiFi ?
Since all other devices appear to access & store the key normally, it must be something unique to this single laptop and how it is configured. Could it be Windows related vs WiFi client related ?