One laptop just cannot connect to a wireless network in one room...

5tephen

5tephen

5tephen

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16 Oct 2003
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This has me completely and utterly baffled.
I got a cheapo Dell Inspiron 6400 for a guy a month or two ago but it just will NOT connect to his wireless network. I've used two different routers (netgear dg834g and linksys wag200g), tried different levels of security (open, wep and wpa), run on different wireless channels (1, 6, 11 and others), updated the drivers off windows update, and nothing.

My p1i phone and 3 other laptops connect to the network just fine.
If I bring the router to my house, the 6400 connects no problem at all.
I've set up countless wifi networks and it's usually a two minute job but this one stupid machine has me stumped.
All that is in the room is a PC, a piano, a desk, no cordless phones or any other electronic devices.
 
Though you did not say, and it is probably a bit silly of me to suggest giving that you are familiar with wireless. But have you first set it up by connecting the ethernet cable to the wireless router like you have to do a lot of the time to begin with ?

And as the Laptop seems to have no problem connecting to your network, have you removed all traces of your wireless system from the laptop before attempting connection to your mates?
 
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I set up the wireless network a few months back. The guy since bought two laptops from me, both were working fine on the wireless and still are. He bought the dell 6400 for his daughter just a few weeks back.
Doesn't matter about other wireless networks being saved in the wireless profiles, they all have different names. My laptop has 30 or 40 networks saved. When I said it connected fine in my house, I mean I actually brought the router from his house to my house and it connected fine.

Plug wireless router into his house = laptop cannot connect.
Plug same wireless router into anywhere but his house = laptop can connect.
Why. :mad:
 
Does the wireless router have something like a 'quota' limit?

As i understand that his wireless laptop works fine when its moved to anywhere else on the same router, and as you mentioned that he has bought 2 others from you, could it be possible that the actual router in question has a limit on it on the number machines linked to it at once?

Could it be possible that there is a conflict in ip addresses or that the router is unable to distinguish the laptop between one other machine in that persons house?

When you first set up the wireless network have you tried creating a connection with the dell first before creating profiles for and adding the other machines?
 
It does have wireless built in. When I get hold of the laptop again I'm gonna stick in a PCMCIA card and see if that solves anything. Otherwise I might check to see if it has the same computer name as one of the other laptops but I'm 99.5% sure that this will make no difference since the other laptop was rarely on at the same time as this one.
Keep throwing me ideas since I might get something to latch onto :)
 
My daughter had a Dell Inspiron and it kept dropping the connection to a netgear router. It worked with my netgear router. I bought a £15 PCMIA (?) card - and it connects via this every time - Dell internal cards are a bit suspect I think!

Mel P
 
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