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Hello,

i posted this on virtualdr.com, and they have always helped me and provided great advice but lately its been...slow so i figured i'd put it up here too.


I have an HP laptop running xp and have a wireless network at my living space.

when i view the list of available networks, i see the network, highlight, and press "connect." it says "detecting network type" then, after two bar scans, it says "windows is unable to connect to the selected network. The network may no longer be in range. Please refresh the list of available networks, and try to connect again."

there is a network key, which of course i will keep secret. it is 5 letters(not numbers.)

What is bizarre is that this wireless network works on my roommate's laptop, which is the same hardware as mine, only it is running vista. he also said he had some difficulty establishing a wireless network connection when he first attempted to use the network, but somehow was able to get onto it fine(he does not remember what he did.)

what is also bizarre is I am able to connect my Nintendo Wii to the wireless network; the network was detected, i selected it, typed in the key code, and it did a connection test and works fine.

let me mention what i have done to try to resolve this problem. i typed in the above error message into google, and went to the first site listed, a microsoft site(You cannot connect to a wireless network access point that uses shared authentication from a Windows XP-based computer or a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005-based Tablet PC) and tried what was listed there(manually input the network SSID, make it shared, type in the code, retype the code, click ok, etc) but when i would go back to that window, the network would disappear.

ok, so im at a loss. any suggestions? im open to anything. thanks a lot guys

eric

Hi Eric,

Welcome to PCHF. We have a wonderful team of excellent techs, and I feel certain that we will be able to get you connected.

May I ask you a few questions first tho?

Has this laptop ever been able to connect to a wireless network?
If so, do you know what the security settings for that system were?
What software are you using to connect your laptop to the wireless network?
Can you post a screen shot of the errors you are getting?

Looking forward to your reply,

TTFN

LGW

You mentioned Room Mate, have you tried contacting Campus IT?
Also, are you using the Standard Windows XP Wireless Network Setup Wizard in the Control Panel?

I am in a private apartment and I am my own IT department.

I am using the windows XP wireless network finder program. since there is already a network set up in this place I did not feel it was necessary to reset everything and mess up connections with my roomates.

here is a screenshot:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...1Sep072354.gif

this laptop(HP pavilion dv2109nr) has connected to wireless internet before, and it has done so in a variety of locations.

the security settings were on low at the time I tried to connect to the wireless internet.

thank you for your quick replies and I appreciate the assistance.

well, you can close this thread because i figured it out.

while initially following the steps offered by microsoft(support site) I must have incorrectly typed something in(such as the ssid or the wep.) i know i tried it two times but it didnt work either time.

anyways, i followed those steps again and it started working.

thanks anyway for your time and energy.

Hey Eric,

That's what we're here for. Glad to hear you got it working. Just goes to show, "If at first you don't succeed...", or "99% of all computer problems = Operator Error ".

Look forward to seeing you in the forums. Make sure to recommend us to your friends and family. I see that someone has already closed the thread so I will just say..

TTFN

LGW