Connecting to wireless router

I recently purchased a laptop and I'm having trouble connecting to my wireless router. I installed XP on the laptop and noticed that unlike Vista, which shows a list of wireless connections in the area, showing signal strength and whatnot, XP has nothing of that sort (to my knowledge).

Using a verizon fios router and a realtek wireless card, what information (and where) do I need to give my laptop to allow it to connect to the router, or do I need to connect it via ethernet prior to establishing a wireless connection?

 

Ooooo...u got the Montevina huh...finally I see someone on here with one. Kudos to u...anyhow..to the matter at hand. Let's start with the basics...do a Start-->Run and type services.msc hit enter and make sure the DNS and DHCP Client services are set to automatic and both started. Next, while there make sure that the Wireless Zero Configuration service is set to automatic and started as well.

Now do a Start-->Run and type ncpa.cpl hit enter and right click on the wireless card, go to properties and make sure the two checks are in at the bottom of the window, and then scroll down to Internet Protocol..select it and click properties, and make sure the selections are "Obtain automatically...." I've attached print screens for ur viewing pleasure.

BTW, how's that Montevina treatin' ya so far?

 

Some things you could try checking are whether or not you have the correct drivers installed for the wireless card, check to see if the wireless switch is turned on, and that you have wireless enabled(Fn + F# key that has antenna picture).

I work at a help desk for people who can't connect to wired/wireless networks and those are the most common problems I've come across. If the card is disabled or turned off, by default windows xp will not tell you that they are turned off it just says that no networks are in range.

The windows software for XP does tell you the wireless strength however. If you need to enable the windows software make sure that Wireless Zero Configuration is started in the Services window(will be toward very bottom (Start->Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Services)) and then go to Network Connections(Start->Control Panel->Network Connections) and right click the Wireless Network Connection icon and go to Properties. From properties click on the wireless networks tab(it doesn't normally show up unless Wireless Zero Configuration is started) and make sure the very first check box is checked. It will say let windows manage my wireless connection. Once all of that is done you can click apply and whenever you get back to network connections you can right click on the wireless network connection icon and go to View Available Wireless Networks. Or if you aren't connected to any you can double click on the Wireless Network Connection icon and it will bring up the available ones. If you happen to be connected, however, it will bring you to a status window telling you what you are connected to.

 

You were a little faster on the draw than I was.

 

LOL...yea!

 

The DHCP and DNS don't have as much to do with actually seeing and pulling up the wireless networks. They are for communication with the router and then internet. If you have a static address set you can still see the network and connect to it, you most likely won't be able to communicate unless you have those really high dollar expensive routers that are designed to let traffic through as long as the gateway matches the static address that you have set. That would be really nice for everyone to have that calls me because I talk to people a lot that just have static addresses set instead of allowing it to pull from the router.

One time my manager told me to cut a hotel's internet access off because they were behind on the bill and kept sending checkst that bounce. Just disabled the DHCP assignment because most all travelers that I have dealt with don't know anything about computers. They just think you boot the computer up and open Internet Explorer and you're on the internet. No one got out from there either

 

You work for an ISP?

 

Kinda. We do have isp services for some local businesses that come off of our backbone, but for the most part we own and maintain the wired and wireless equipment that allows guests to connect to the internet. We do very very little isp work. Most of the stuff that I deal with is just walking people though how to connect to the network, checking to make sure they have correct network info, making sure they aren't using proxys and trying to bypass the router, and making sure that I have to take people out of the mac filter when they've been looking at pr0n. That's not all of what I do that's pretty much just it in a nutshell with the most common problems.

 

Gotcha!, I think I know exactly what ur line of work entails.

Edit: Anyhow..enough spamming of Liquid's thread

 

I was actually carrying on the conversation in the same thread hoping they would reply saying if any of our suggestions worked or not so I know whether or not to break out the advanced methods.

 

Well, since the OP just wanted to know how to see the various wireless networks in his vicinity, and is under the misapprenhension that XP is somehow deficient in this area, I'd suggest the following:

Do Start->Network Connections
Right click on the icon for your wireless adapter
On the context menu that pops up, select the item "View available wireless networks"

Provided that you have XP configured so that the default wireless manager is managing your wireless connections (i.e., you haven't installed any third-party software to manage your wireless connections), you should see a box open up showing the wireless networks in your vicinity by SSID, with signal strength indicated.

 

I didn't go completely off. I told about doing that, I just made sure that if there was third party software installed that you would use windows to configure the connection.

 

So you did. Just think of it as a confirmatory jumping on the bandwagon - strength in numbers and all that rot!

 

Well for the life of me I wouldn't think that would have been the OP's problem. Knowing how to "view" wireless networks in the area!..but ur right Shyster...it seems that that's what he can't figure out.