Hi, I have had an old laptop from an ex-employer cleared of passwrods etc and fitted with a wireless card. Whilst I was able (after a bit of a struggle) to connect my daughters brand new compaq I have been unable to get on to the internet on the old laptop. I am a computer cretin I admit but this is driving me mad. Anyone got any helpful ideas?
OK, I see. No wonder it has been tricky compared with the laptop! I'll do what I can to help, though I am more 'helpful neighbour' than expert here. :)
First, I'd want to double check the adapter is installed and working. The Device Manager should help.
In the Control Panel, click the 'System' icon. On the System Properties box, click the Hardware tab. You should see a 'Device Manager' icon on the screen: click that if necessary to bring up a list of hardware devices (see screenshot here). Assuming there is a 'network adapters' icon on the right hand screen, click any '+' signs you might see to view which network adapters are installed on the laptop.
If you do see your wireless adapter there, are there any red crosses or yellow exclamation marks to be seen? Can you right click and select 'properties' ...if so, does Windows show any messages about the adapter?
If everything is OK, you will need to connect to your network using Dlink's own utility, which you should find in Start > Programs. I can't be more specific without the model number, but hope this moves things another step forward.
However, if you don't see the wireless adaptor, or there is a problem with this or anything else....please come back to Fixya...
If you can note down the model number of the Dlink adapter, this should help with further troubleshooting...
Many thanks for your kind feedback! Sorry this is a long posting, but you'll see why...
It sounds like there is no driver installed for the adapter. That's not usually a problem. I've a couple of concerns though, having taken a look at the Airplus G DWL-G630 at the DLink website. See what you think:
1) The setup of the adapter and network will either be very straightforward - or quite complex. This is because Windows 2000 is not as network friendly as Windows XP. You have to use Dlink's own utility to set it up. The manual is quite large
2) Wireless encryption: do you know if you have WEP security or WPA security on your router? (WEP security is an older technology, and very weak. WPA is strong and more modern.)
On Win2000, the Airplus DWL-G630 can only work with WEP security.
So you can certainly give it a go, and I'll lend a hand if I can, but I won't promise success. :) **
If you do want to try installing the adapter, you need the version number of the adapter card. To find this, switch off the laptop, take the battery out (to be on the safe side) and gently pull out the wireless card. There should be a label on the base of it. At the bottom it will say H/W Ver :B1 (or A1, or C1) - you need this information to download the correct driver.
See examples on this page - and in fact, this is where you download the drivers for the DWL-G630 (which I assume is your card).
So that's the next step if you decide to go ahead....
(** Unless of course, you can persuade Santa to bring you a Windows XP disk and maybe a new wireless card to go with it!...
:))
All the best
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HIya, thanks for your suggestions but i am still struggling. There is no network connections icon in the control panel. There is no wireless button that i can see and the operating system is Windows 2000. The laptop has a DLink Air G wireless card fitted. Any more ideas??? :)
Hiya, I followed your instructions and the wireless adapter details were NOT showing. What should I do now?? Thanks so much for all your help so far :) The Dlink adapter is an AirPlus G
You have connected your daughter's laptop, so you're halfway there.:)
To make a start, is there a button on the laptop to enable wireless networking? Sometimes a slight knock will switch it off.
Secondly, when you go to Start > Control Panel > Network Connections ('Network and Sharing' on Vista) do you see a wireless network icon there? If so, is it enabled?
If so, try clicking this icon (in XP) and click 'View Wireless Networks': Is your network in the list of available networks? If so, what happens when you try to connect?
I'm not sure what you've tried so far or whether you have Vista, XP or something else. However, these steps are a good place to start.
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