[colecampbell666]

I posted that from my desktop, which is wired to my router. That is the info from the desktop.

[MP-Ryan]

We're only seeing the Wired connection, not the wireless information in the IPconfig output.  Which makes sense if you posted from the desktop.  Now what I want you to do is the exact same thing on your laptop.  Plug it in, then run ipconfig /all and post the results again.

After you've done that, we're going to go through this in sections.

Section 1 - Network Connections
-Open up the control panel and go into the Network Connections folder.
-You should see 2-3 connections:  1394 Connection (maybe), Local Area Connection, and Wireless Network Connection
-NONE of these should be disabled, and none of them should be Bridged (if you expand the status column, it will say Bridged there if it has been).
-If any are disabled, enable them.  If any are bridged, deleted the bridges.
-Screenshot and post your network connections folder.

Section 2 - Wireless Network Connection
-Right-click on Wireless Network Connection and select "properties"
-Double click on Internet Protocal (TCP/IP)
-Everything should be set to automatic.  If not, change it now.
-Click on the Wireless networks tab.
-Click View Wireless networks.  If any are visible, your wireless card is definitely working.  If it doesn't detect any, then it is possible it isn't working, or is disabled (which you should have corrected in section 1 already), or the router isn't broadcasting.
-If you do see a wireless network there (any wireless network, not just yours) try to connect to it.  In point of fact, screenshot and post that window.  If you connect to your network, problem solved.  If you can connect to any other network but can't see yours, the problem lies on the router end.  HOWEVER - remember, after a hardware reset your router will be returned to its default name and configuration, so you won't see the name you've assigned but rather something generic (like the router name).

As you said you uninstalled and reinstalled the wireless card, it may also have the wrong drivers, but we'll rule this out first.

Follow the steps, post the things I've told you to post, and we'll go from there.

God this would be easier if I could just spend 10 minutes with your computer and router =)

[DeepSpace9er]

You might want to change your DNS addresses to the root DNS, 4.2.2.1 and 4.2.2.2. I have had it where everything appears to work,  when I ping a website by IP, it finds it, but not by domain name, and the router is not passing on the DNS to my computer. So just take that out of the equation.

Next thing to do is see if you can access other network resources, try pinging other computers, the router, etc. from the wireless network. If you can ping, then its most likely a DNS issue that works fine over wired ethernet but not wireless.

[karajorma]

Two reasons:
1.  It has no bearing on fixing his problem, and

Actually depending on how he's set up it might do. If he previously had the internet directly connected to his machine (something I'm still vague on) it could simply be that all he needs to do is clone his MAC Address on the WAN side of the router to get the net back. Of course he can do that without needing to show us what that address is.

2.  If he uses MAC address filtering to keep people off his network and by some extremely small chance his neighbour happened to stumble across this, they'd be able to clone his NIC's MAC address and access the network.

While the IP information doesn't matter for security, hardware identifiers CAN be more of an issue, though the likelihood of a problem is still pretty damn small.

Ah. Fair point. I'm used to wired networks where it doesn't matter as much unless your neighbour has physical access to your network.

[colecampbell666]

IPConfig from laptop:


Everything as is you described it, and the wireless NIC drivers are the right ones. There were no networks in range.

[MP-Ryan]

Problem located.  Or part of it anyway.

See that Internet Gateway icon you've got there?  That means you've somehow managed to set up one of your computers to act as the gateway, not the router.  Either that, or this is some goofy setup that the router's manufacturer has created.  Regardless, delete the gateway.  It's unnecessary.  The LAN Connection is capable of retrieving an IP from the router when plugged in, and the wireless connection should be able to pull it from the router's WAP.

Remove that gateway setup.  Chances are it wasn't there before you ran the setup wizard, and even if it was it shouldn't be.  Home networks should be directly connected to hubs or routers - the only reason a computer would ever have a gateway is if it was functioning as a hardware firewall.

See if that fixes your problem and allows you to find the wireless connection.  If not, then it could be a router problem.  We'll get to that if necessary.  You said you have two laptops, and neither detects the wireless network?

[colecampbell666]

1. My mom actually got the connection to work on one of her laptops - the untouched one.
2. I can't delete the Internet Gateway connection, I'll try off-line when I finish reinstalling The Orange Box.

You look to be right. The Internet Gateway has received a Mb more than my PC.


EDIT2: Oh, that's packets. Still a helluva lot more than my PC got.

[MP-Ryan]

You've managed to do something funky anyway.  Have you learned your lesson? =)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[colecampbell666]

I can't disconnect the connection when using the net (it instantly reconnects) and when I get off the intarweb completely (i checked it in the task manager) it hangs at "Disconnecting...". I think my mom may be on the net downstairs, I'll try tomorrow.

[MP-Ryan]

I can't disconnect the connection when using the net (it instantly reconnects) and when I get off the intarweb completely (i checked it in the task manager) it hangs at "Disconnecting...". I think my mom may be on the net downstairs, I'll try tomorrow.

You need to yank the connection entirely - if you are routing everything through he gateway, it's not going to let you get rid of it while connectivity is in use.  Shut down the other computers in the house, disconnect your network cable from the laptop, and delete the connection.

[blackhole]

This seems an appropriate time to relay a funny story that happened way back in the summer of '06. I was a beta tester for Windows Vista in a Microsoft pilot program for high school students called "Camp Vista" (living 15 minutes away from microsoft has its perks ). As a result, we got to toy around with Vista, and better yet, we were encouraged to find ways to break into it - and they didn't need to be conventional. As I recall, one of my methods of getting a blue screen involved shutting down a certian critical system process in Task Manager...

One day, we were told we would be setting up networks. Setting up networks in Vista was supposed to be really easy. The vast majority of us didn't agree - it was confusing, everything was in the wrong place, and you never could find what you needed. However, that wasn't the worst of it. The fact was, Vista's networking had some serious flaws in it. This was demonstrated when one networking group's leader encountered a slight problem.

He had created an ad-hoc network, and several other students had joined it. The other students were chatting and could see every else's computer on the network. However, the student that had created the network in the first place could not see any of the other students that had already joined his network (and were using it at that very moment). In fact, he couldn't see the network he had created at all.

As one of the Microsoft employees put it, "Oh, this is a problem." It took them the entire rest of the day to isolate the problem

[colecampbell666]

I can't disconnect the connection when using the net (it instantly reconnects) and when I get off the intarweb completely (i checked it in the task manager) it hangs at "Disconnecting...". I think my mom may be on the net downstairs, I'll try tomorrow.

You need to yank the connection entirely - if you are routing everything through he gateway, it's not going to let you get rid of it while connectivity is in use.  Shut down the other computers in the house, disconnect your network cable from the laptop, and delete the connection.

Not to be difficult; the gateway is on my desktop.

EDIT: There is one on my desktop too, and when I disconnect it from the network cable, it disappears.

[MP-Ryan]

I can't disconnect the connection when using the net (it instantly reconnects) and when I get off the intarweb completely (i checked it in the task manager) it hangs at "Disconnecting...". I think my mom may be on the net downstairs, I'll try tomorrow.

You need to yank the connection entirely - if you are routing everything through he gateway, it's not going to let you get rid of it while connectivity is in use.  Shut down the other computers in the house, disconnect your network cable from the laptop, and delete the connection.

Not to be difficult; the gateway is on my desktop.

EDIT: There is one on my desktop too, and when I disconnect it from the network cable, it disappears.

What've you've done using that @#!$ing wizard is to create an unnecessary gateway through one of your computers through which the others are trying to access the Internet.  The gateway will show up on the computer where it has been created, and on every other system that is trying to connect through it.  Chances are, since you probably ran the wizard on your laptop to create this unholy mess that that is where the Gateway has been created, and it should remain visible even if you unplug from the net.  If it disappears, then it may be on another of your systems.

You can try disabling the connection in order to delete it too.  Having never set up a gateway on a PC and knowing how ugly it could get by doing so, I'm only speculating as to how to get rid of it now because I have no intention of trying to create and remove one myself.

If you can get rid of it but still can't reconfigure your network settings to show you wireless, we'll take a look at router settings but this is rapidly approaching the point of where you're going to have to find a local computer tech to come fix your mess for you.

Google found me this:
If you want to remove the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client after you install Windows XP SP1a, follow these steps:
1.   Click Start, click Control Panel, click Add or Remove Programs, and then click Add/Remove Windows Components.
2.   In the Components list, click Networking Services, click Details, and then click to clear the Internet Gateway Device Discovery and Control Client check box.
3.   Click OK, click Next, and then click Finish.
4.   Restart your computer.

[colecampbell666]

No dice. Deleting the gateway has no effect. Neither does a system restore, I don't think that it's ever solved a problem.

[MP-Ryan]

No dice. Deleting the gateway has no effect. Neither does a system restore, I don't think that it's ever solved a problem.

OK... but your mother's laptop can access the wireless connection?  It finds and connects no problem?

[colecampbell666]

She has two laptops. The one that's had the problem all along (since I made the network) and one that's worked fine all along. The network was installed on the desktop, and the broken laptop. The other one wasn't touched.

[MP-Ryan]

She has two laptops. The one that's had the problem all along (since I made the network) and one that's worked fine all along. The network was installed on the desktop, and the broken laptop. The other one wasn't touched.

And therein lies the problem.

This isn't a router issue, it's a configuration issue on the laptop (and probably the desktop too but wired connections tend to be less finicky than wireless) which I'm guessing you used to create the network in the first place.  Using that wizard, as I've been harping on about all the way through here, is unnecessary - it is entirely possible to configure connections manually and indeed it is much safer to do so.  The wizard does not access external machines to add them either - it merely alters your local computer settings to access it (which can again be done, properly, manually).

Did you remove the gateway from both the laptop and the desktop systems, or just one of them?

Aside from that, there is some setting that hasn't been properly adjusted or you haven't done one of the many things we've mentioned and that is continuing to mess with your connectio.  Unfortunately, aside from driving across Canada to help you there isn't much further I can do.  I suggest contacting Microsoft support about their networking (they may have a really direct fix), or find a local network/computer technician who can help you.

Your other (extreme) option is a format/reinstall of the windows operating system on the laptop which will totally clear your network settings and allow you to start from scratch.  Unfortunately, I don't know what you've managed to do but if the other laptop can access the wireless, your desktop wired connection works, but your laptop doesn't, the problem is definitely ON your laptop, especially if it's where you ran the Network Setup Wizard.

[karajorma]

Wouldn't simply uninstalling and then reinstalling the NIC drivers have the same effect? I'm reasonably sure I did that once on Windows 2k when I was having problems.

[colecampbell666]

I removed the Gateway from both PCs. I realized that it was a config issue with the laptop. Thanks for all the help.

Why not drive out? It's only 6 days. I've got delicious cake.

Wouldn't simply uninstalling and then reinstalling the NIC drivers have the same effect?

I already did that.

[MP-Ryan]

Wouldn't simply uninstalling and then reinstalling the NIC drivers have the same effect? I'm reasonably sure I did that once on Windows 2k when I was having problems.

Usually it would, but there are a few network settings that are NIC-independent.