Sony FW Wireless Stuck on Local

Hi everyone, thanks for your help in advance.

I just bought a sony fw 250 j/h

I tried connecting to public unsecured wireless hot spot provided at various locations, some worked some didn't

The ones that didnt were mostly the same. All were stuck on "local" meaning they recognized and connected the the wireless network but did not continue on to connect to the actual internet.

The wireless button is switched on, vista recognizes the wireless spots, vista will connect halfway to local only the network and will not connect all the way to the internet.

I suspect that its a vista incompatibility w/ various wireless routers. Is there a way I can downgrade the drivers or modify vista so I can use those wireless spots?

Thanks!

 

err I don't think its a vista problem? why would it be? I have connected to numerous networks, secure and insecure with no problems, and I am on vista 64 bit.

Perhaps some of these public networks have no internet and are just that, public networks with no internet access?

 

it's funny how so many people blame Vista for their computer problems..

 

Probably depends on the location you are connecting to. They may not be free or they require you to register before access.

 

The last two were both free, panera bread, honda customer wireless, two people came in after me plugged in their laptops worked, one person had vista and it failed and he left.

I used my xp laptop and it worked fine.

In addition, when I plug in my cable modem from my desktop to the laptop, the sony vaio only recognizes the that I plugged it in, calls it unidentified network and then stops there not connecting to the internet.

If its not vista, then what do you think it is?
I did not think it was the wireless card, since it connects to starbucks, and other wireless hot spots.
The ones that dont, when I ask the providers of the free wireless, they sometimes tell me people with vista always have problems.

If you do think its something else and have actual suggestions, thanks for your help

 

Actually I finally found an article on the Sony support website

""
The computer may not be able to connect to the Internet and the Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI) [FIG. 1] or the Network and Sharing Center window [FIG. 2] may display Access: Local Only or Unidentified Network when using a wireless network connection. The following conditions may cause this issue:

NOTE: If connecting at public or fee-based wireless hotspot, before viewing Web pages you may have to login or make payment at an initial Web page. This login page will usually appear when the Internet browser is first opened. If you change the Web page before logging in, the browser will fail to display Web pages.

* The wireless router or wireless network adapter is not compatible with Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6).
* The wireless router firmware needs to be updated.
* The wireless network adapter needs to be updated.
* The wireless router or wireless network adapter does not support the Vista DHCP BROADCAST flag.
* Security software is blocking the network connection.

""

I guess Ill try these things first, if youve have any other suggestions that would be great as vista is driving me insane right now and im thinking about last resort downgrading to xp

 

Sometimes you might have to restart your laptop. Upgrade your wireless driver. Even thought vista might say "local only", when you open your browser, you will be connected to the internet. This happened to me a couple of times. Not all public hot spots have free internet. Vista is very slow in recognizing the network (public/ private). It will say "unidentified" for a while.

 

I heard there has been some issues with the atheros wireless card in the FW, try upgrading your wireless driver if you can