Wifi Help

I have a Toshiba Satellite A105-S4284 laptop and have recently tried unsuccessfully for the first time to connect to the internet via of my wireless connection. Our RV park has just set up a wifi system. I have a couple of problems. My ConfigFree says that I have no IP address. Also my "Local Area Connection" has a red X and says "Network Cable Unplugged". I have a connection to the RV park under "Wireless Internet Connection". Theres more (Configuration) but I guess One Thing at a Time. Can anyone tell me if my laptop has everything needed to connect or do I have to buy something else. I'm fairly experienced with computers but this wifi is new to me. Thanks

 

That is referring to a non-wireless connection. Don't worry about that.

Have you spoken with whoever maintains the wireless network? They likely restricted access with a password that you need to enter to connect. Ask the park manager to give you all appropriate password/encryption-type information available.

 

Thanks for your reply Gregory. I haven't talked to the guy that set up the system yet but I know I have more problems then a password. I don't have a IP address for setup and I have to figure out about DSN, WIN, Gateway and the other stuff that it seems that I have to configure. My configfree says that I am connected to the campground and also says "IP address was not set properly" and gives codes like a-14,a-15,a-19,a-23,a-24,a-37 and so on (whatever those mean). My config/all says my IP address, Subnet Mask, and DPCH Server are all 0.0.0.0 The Default Gateway is blank

 

You actually have less to do than you think. The IP and DNS addresses are usually provided for you.

You have to find out what the SSID of the network is (name of the network) and the gateway address (usually something like 192.168.1.1) and if he has some kind of security set up (which he should have minimally WEP, WPA is better, WPA2 is best) and if so, what the key or key phrase is and you can enter that into your configuration. Subnet mask is nearly always 255.255.255.0.

It may be that the operator does not run his router using the DHCP server, so he may assign you a static IP address, in which case you'd have to find out what that is and enter it in your config. Also, if he's smart he will probably have a MAC filter running so you will have to provide the operator with your wireless adapter MAC address. If you don't find a sticker on the bottom of your laptop with the wireless MAC address, you can get it by opening a command prompt (DOS window) and giving the command:

ipconfig /all

The MAC address will be a string of 12 hexadecimal numbers given like 01:23:45:67:89:AB. The operator can enter those into his MAC filter and you should be good to go.