Need help with new wireless network

I set up a Linksys WRT54G and my cable modem with a wired connection to a
Windows ME computer and put a Wireless Adapter WMP54G in a new Windows XP
Home Edition computer upstairs on Tuesday.

We had no problem with an internet connection with Internet Explorer on the
XP computer until I downloaded Service Pack 1.

It 'insisted' that I must have WEP enabled which I did on the wired computer
using the Linksys web-based utility. I had a hard time entering the network
key for WEP in the Windows XP it would only accept a 64-bits hex digits key.
I'm still not sure if that is set up correctly. I entered 10 digits but
whenever I check the Wireless Network setting there are only 8 digits
displayed.(As dots of course so I can't tell what they are.

On the XP computer now the Wireless Network Connection is "Enabled", Status
is "Connected" and the wireless cared is recognized.

When I try to open Internet Explorer I get the message, "No connection to
the Internet is available."

I have tried to run the Linksys Setup Wizard to set up a Second PC but that
does not work either.

Does anyone have any suggestions. Should I try uninstalling Service Pack 1?
Should I install the latest driver for the wireless card? Should I update
the firmware in the router? Or is their a setting I'm missing in Windows XP
or Internet Explorer? I am not very familiar with Windows XP. We use it at
work but we have an IT there.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

"Duane Arnold" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns93C8BE5046842notmenotmecom@204.127.204.17. ..
> "Donna" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> news:OxYVa.18162$(E-Mail Removed) et:
>

My WinMe computer is connected throuh ICS to my XP computer. The XP is the
host computer. I found that although I could setup networking and sharing
using Me Networking wizard and the network setup on XP, that it would only
partially work. I had to start over, create a floppy disk with the Home
Networking wiz on it using XP and then use that on the Me computer to setup
networking and sharing.

Hope this helps,

Steve

Thank you for that suggestion. I'll try it first thing after work tomorrow.
Hopefully that will work. Any suggestions on taming WEP on Windows XP Home
Edition with Service Pack 1? If I have another failure should I remove the
Service Pack? Or is WEP and Windows XP a problem? Should I upgrade the
firmware on the router and/or the driver on the wireless card?

I'll take you suggestion about resetting the and starting from there first.

Thank you again.

Donna

"Duane Arnold" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns93C8BE5046842notmenotmecom@204.127.204.17. ..
> "Donna" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> news:OxYVa.18162$(E-Mail Removed) et:
>
> > I set up a Linksys WRT54G and my cable modem with a wired connection
> > to a Windows ME computer and put a Wireless Adapter WMP54G in a new
> > Windows XP Home Edition computer upstairs on Tuesday.
> >
> > We had no problem with an internet connection with Internet Explorer
> > on the XP computer until I downloaded Service Pack 1.
> >
> > It 'insisted' that I must have WEP enabled which I did on the wired
> > computer using the Linksys web-based utility. I had a hard time
> > entering the network key for WEP in the Windows XP it would only
> > accept a 64-bits hex digits key. I'm still not sure if that is set up
> > correctly. I entered 10 digits but whenever I check the Wireless
> > Network setting there are only 8 digits displayed.(As dots of course
> > so I can't tell what they are.
> >
> > On the XP computer now the Wireless Network Connection is "Enabled",
> > Status is "Connected" and the wireless cared is recognized.
> >
> > When I try to open Internet Explorer I get the message, "No connection
> > to the Internet is available."
> >
> > I have tried to run the Linksys Setup Wizard to set up a Second PC but
> > that does not work either.
> >
> > Does anyone have any suggestions. Should I try uninstalling Service
> > Pack 1? Should I install the latest driver for the wireless card?
> > Should I update the firmware in the router? Or is their a setting I'm
> > missing in Windows XP or Internet Explorer? I am not very familiar
> > with Windows XP. We use it at work but we have an IT there.
> >
> > Thank you for any help you can give me.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> The router has a Reset button. You can hold it down for 30 seconds or
> more, and the router will set itself back to its out of the box factory
> default settings. Then you can go to the wireless network card and
> disable WEP. And you're good to go and try it again.
>
> Duane
>
> --
> The protection of the machine is a process and not a given!

"Donna" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
news:Qj%Va.19583$(E-Mail Removed) et:

> Thank you for that suggestion. I'll try it first thing after work
> tomorrow. Hopefully that will work. Any suggestions on taming WEP on
> Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 1? If I have another failure
> should I remove the Service Pack? Or is WEP and Windows XP a problem?
> Should I upgrade the firmware on the router and/or the driver on the
> wireless card?

My suggestion to you is keep the WEP key simple by using the PassPhrase
for now, until you get the hang of things.

I don't think the XP SP has anything to do with it, and you should keep
the SP in place and continue to update the XP O/S with new updates.

Also, I like to keep current with the latest releases for the firmware
for the router and network card.

One of the O/S you have has the means to protect itself XP. You should
learn how to enable some of its protection features. The protection of
the machine starts with the O/S and everything else is secondary to it,
including the router, AV, and firewall, if you have a FW on the machine
enabled. I cannot say much about ME, other than, get rid of it.

http://www.uksecurityonline.com/husdg/windowsxp.php

You may need to use network protocol Nwlink IPX/SPX NetBios over TCP/IP
(with TCP/IP) with WEP enabled with wireless for both machines and MS
File and Print Sharing between machines, that's a maybe.

You may be interested in basic wireless security.

http://netsecurity.about.com/library.../aa022703a.htm

HTH

Duane

--
The protection of the machine is a process and not a given!

Donna,

I've successfully setup my new WRT54G with a D-Link DSL300G+ Modem which I
connect to through my wireless PC Card.

First thing I did was upgrade the Router firmare to the latest version as
this includes support for WPA (Wireless Protected Access) which supercedes
WEP. WPA is easier to use and uses a passphrase.

To use WPA support on XP you need to have SP1 installed then you download a
1MB update and install it on XP. You don't need a new NIC driver

Hope this helps.

John

> Thank you for that suggestion. I'll try it first thing after work
tomorrow.
> Hopefully that will work. Any suggestions on taming WEP on Windows XP Home
> Edition with Service Pack 1? If I have another failure should I remove the
> Service Pack? Or is WEP and Windows XP a problem? Should I upgrade the
> firmware on the router and/or the driver on the wireless card?

> I'll take you suggestion about resetting the and starting from there
first.

> Thank you again.

> Donna

Thank you everyone for your suggestions.

I followed Duane's first advise. I reset the router and set up the network
from scratch.

Windows XP was 'insistant' that I set up WEP so I did so. At first I had the
same problem with IE but it finally worked when I hit the "Refresh" button
in the Wireless Network Connection tab of Connection Properties. The icon
for the network turned into the "pawn" with the halo which it had not before
and the icon pop up on the task bar shows the SSID name now which it also
did not before. Hum, could have sworn I tried that 'Refresh' button
before....

I just bought a wireless LAN card for my Sony Clie. I don't know if it can
handle WPA so I am not going to upgrade the router firmware unless I have to
or I find out that the LAN card will work with WPA.

By the way, Duane, my ME computer is a 3 year old Dell which came with
Windows 98SE. I had a great deal of trouble with 98SE especially the
'hanging shutdown" problem which I tried everything to fix. I bought ME the
day it came out and it has been very stable and trouble free ever since.
Best computer I ever owned. Everyone I tell that to has been extremely
surprised. I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

It's getting a bit long in the tooth and the video card is strarting to give
me trouble. I think I'll replace the card while I save up for a new
computer.

Thank you again everyone.

"Duane Arnold" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:Xns93C8BE5046842notmenotmecom@204.127.204.17. ..
> "Donna" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
> news:OxYVa.18162$(E-Mail Removed) et:
>
> > I set up a Linksys WRT54G and my cable modem with a wired connection
> > to a Windows ME computer and put a Wireless Adapter WMP54G in a new
> > Windows XP Home Edition computer upstairs on Tuesday.
> >
> > We had no problem with an internet connection with Internet Explorer
> > on the XP computer until I downloaded Service Pack 1.
> >
> > It 'insisted' that I must have WEP enabled which I did on the wired
> > computer using the Linksys web-based utility. I had a hard time
> > entering the network key for WEP in the Windows XP it would only
> > accept a 64-bits hex digits key. I'm still not sure if that is set up
> > correctly. I entered 10 digits but whenever I check the Wireless
> > Network setting there are only 8 digits displayed.(As dots of course
> > so I can't tell what they are.
> >
> > On the XP computer now the Wireless Network Connection is "Enabled",
> > Status is "Connected" and the wireless cared is recognized.
> >
> > When I try to open Internet Explorer I get the message, "No connection
> > to the Internet is available."
> >
> > I have tried to run the Linksys Setup Wizard to set up a Second PC but
> > that does not work either.
> >
> > Does anyone have any suggestions. Should I try uninstalling Service
> > Pack 1? Should I install the latest driver for the wireless card?
> > Should I update the firmware in the router? Or is their a setting I'm
> > missing in Windows XP or Internet Explorer? I am not very familiar
> > with Windows XP. We use it at work but we have an IT there.
> >
> > Thank you for any help you can give me.
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
> The router has a Reset button. You can hold it down for 30 seconds or
> more, and the router will set itself back to its out of the box factory
> default settings. Then you can go to the wireless network card and
> disable WEP. And you're good to go and try it again.
>
> Duane
>
> --
> The protection of the machine is a process and not a given!

> I should clarify that's the only way WEP will work between my wired and
> wireless Win2K machines on the 11S4 v1 router, with File and Print
> Sharing.

You have something else as a problem then because IPX with Netbios does
NOT sit on top of IP and that's all there is to it.

David.