Advice much needed...

My wireless hasn't been working for a while now. Even though it gets the maximum signal and lists it at 54 mbps of speed, I'm still unable to get online. It said there was limited or no connectivity. (My sister with her wireless laptop can get online as well as my other family members can get online through ethernet cords) My router is a linksys so I go to their Q&A section of their site and they said that it is most likely the router enabling wep while my Intel 2200bg doesn't have it turned on. Does this seem like the most likely cause?

Also, if it is how do I turn the wep on my laptop or turn the wep off my router?

 

There could be so many reasons that you are not getting internet. Are you getting a prompt that asks you to enter a security key or password? If some people are getting on, and other are not, you might have MAC address filtering on for just some MAC addresses (and not yours). You might also have other issues - the list goes on. Best thing to do is to enter the router setup menu and find out what notebooks are registering with the router. If security is enabled, you might want to keep that on, and just enter the security key.

 

Well, I know the password though so I can get through the prompt. I know that right now only two computers are registered with my router and they are hard wired. When my sister comes home from college she uses the wireless though.

How do I enter the router setup menu?

 

For most its the gateway IP like "http://192.168.0.1" You should be prompted for user and password.

 

Wait, how can I tell what's the wep password of my router. Where do I go?

 

Like blue68f100 go to your routers gateway it should be 192.168.2.1 and click on router security settings or something like that to find out the WEP settings it should be 26 letters and numbers.Its most likely that you haven't put the network key in your Intel 2200bg wireless configuration.

 

Well, I have fixed my internet but now it's not very stable. My speeds keep dropping to 48 mbps, then back to 54 mbps. I downloaded the newest drivers and still it occasionally drops to 48 mbps every once in a while. Any ideas?

 

if you have an internet connection that can max out 48 Mbps, you are a god!

interference between your laptop and the router could easily cause that kind of signal loss. it's not going to be an issue, as most broadband connections are less than 10Mbps, nevermind 48Mbps. the only place it will come up is if you are routinely transferring large files between computers. in which case you might as well plug in and take advantage of the 100Mbps of an ethernet connection.

there could possibly be a firmware upgrade for your router, check the manufacturer's website. When you update the firmware, make sure MAKE SURE MAKE SURE MAKE SURE you are on a wired ethernet connection. Otherwise you could turn your modem into a very lovely paper weight.