New laptop, having trouble with WiFi

I've recently changed jobs and have a new laptop (Dell D620). When I
try to connect to my home wireless network, I get a connection, but I
cannot get an IP address. The little computer with the "roaming" dot
runs for a while, and then it times out.

I tried this with a public wireless AP and it doesn't time out, but I
never do get the IP address, DNS, etc. It just shows a successful
connect and then nothing.

I've tried connecting to my home network with other devices, with no
problems (have been doing this for several years, now). I have WEP
enabled, but MAC filtering turned off. I'm positive I'm entering the
correct WEP key.

OK, so maybe the built-in WiFi in the laptop is broken. So, I tried
installing a Netgear PC Card (one that I've used many times with
another laptop) with the latest drivers and software. Same result!

So, I'm thinking that maybe there is something in the way my new
employer has the laptop setup. What could this possibly be? Before I
go bugging our tech support (who will take away my laptop for several
days while they determine if the machine is physically broken), I want
to see if there are other things that might be the cause.

One thought is that the machine is "registered" to our company's
domain. Would this prevent me from accessing outside networks?
Control Panel, System, Computer Name. Under "Domain" is
mylocaldomain.mycompany.com. Before I take drastic steps, could this
possibly be it? I wouldn't think...

Any ideas?

I've been a WiFi user for several years, now. I've successfully setup
several APs/routers, computers, laptop, PDAs, bridges, wireless printer
servers, and a ReplayTV. But this one has me stumped.

I'm using XP SP2. Windows Firewall is off.

Thanks.

"Squeff" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
> I've recently changed jobs and have a new laptop (Dell D620). When I
> try to connect to my home wireless network, I get a connection, but I
> cannot get an IP address. The little computer with the "roaming" dot
> runs for a while, and then it times out.
>
> I tried this with a public wireless AP and it doesn't time out, but I
> never do get the IP address, DNS, etc. It just shows a successful
> connect and then nothing.
>
> I've tried connecting to my home network with other devices, with no
> problems (have been doing this for several years, now). I have WEP
> enabled, but MAC filtering turned off. I'm positive I'm entering the
> correct WEP key.
>
> OK, so maybe the built-in WiFi in the laptop is broken. So, I tried
> installing a Netgear PC Card (one that I've used many times with
> another laptop) with the latest drivers and software. Same result!
>
> So, I'm thinking that maybe there is something in the way my new
> employer has the laptop setup. What could this possibly be? Before I
> go bugging our tech support (who will take away my laptop for several
> days while they determine if the machine is physically broken), I want
> to see if there are other things that might be the cause.
>
> One thought is that the machine is "registered" to our company's
> domain. Would this prevent me from accessing outside networks?
> Control Panel, System, Computer Name. Under "Domain" is
> mylocaldomain.mycompany.com. Before I take drastic steps, could this
> possibly be it? I wouldn't think...
>
> Any ideas?
>
> I've been a WiFi user for several years, now. I've successfully setup
> several APs/routers, computers, laptop, PDAs, bridges, wireless printer
> servers, and a ReplayTV. But this one has me stumped.
>
> I'm using XP SP2. Windows Firewall is off.
>
> Thanks.
>

It may sound silly untill you've seen it happen: Numlock enabled?

--
Spete

On 18 Oct 2006 10:24:18 -0700, "Squeff" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed). com>:

>I've recently changed jobs and have a new laptop (Dell D620). When I
>try to connect to my home wireless network, I get a connection, but I
>cannot get an IP address. The little computer with the "roaming" dot
>runs for a while, and then it times out.

Probably security failure. Try connecting with *all* security disabled.
When using WEP (bad idea -- use WPA instead), enter all keys in *hex*.
This is covered in Fast Fixes below.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

John Navas wrote:
>
> Probably security failure. Try connecting with *all* security disabled.
> When using WEP (bad idea -- use WPA instead), enter all keys in *hex*.
> This is covered in Fast Fixes below.
>

I'll give it a shot. The reason I'm use WEP is because I need to
connect from some devices (PDA) that simply do not have a WPA option.
Wish it did, but it does not.

"Squeff" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I've tried connecting to my home network with other devices, with no
>problems (have been doing this for several years, now). I have WEP
>enabled, but MAC filtering turned off. I'm positive I'm entering the
>correct WEP key.

Try again, this time using the Hexadecimal version of the WEP key
instead of the ASCII version. There are problems with some products
converting from ASCII to Hex. Hex always works.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

"Squeff" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>I'll give it a shot. The reason I'm use WEP is because I need to
>connect from some devices (PDA) that simply do not have a WPA option.
>Wish it did, but it does not.

Which PDA? The Funk Odessey client for various PDA's will support
WPA-PSK etc. However, it's not free and needs to be licensed.
http://www.juniper.net/customers/sup...oducts/oac.jsp
--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> Which PDA? The Funk Odessey client for various PDA's will support
> WPA-PSK etc. However, it's not free and needs to be licensed.
> http://www.juniper.net/customers/sup...oducts/oac.jsp

Thanks, but I have a Sony TH55. PalmOS based, which does not appear to
be supported.

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> Try again, this time using the Hexadecimal version of the WEP key
> instead of the ASCII version. There are problems with some products
> converting from ASCII to Hex. Hex always works.

Thanks, but my key is already in hex. In fact, it's a key that's the
same in both ASCII and Hex.

Squeff wrote:
> Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> Try again, this time using the Hexadecimal version of the WEP key
>> instead of the ASCII version. There are problems with some products
>> converting from ASCII to Hex. Hex always works.
>
> Thanks, but my key is already in hex. In fact, it's a key that's the
> same in both ASCII and Hex.

Then hows it know to use hex instead of acsii?

"Squeff" <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>
>Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> Try again, this time using the Hexadecimal version of the WEP key
>> instead of the ASCII version. There are problems with some products
>> converting from ASCII to Hex. Hex always works.
>
>Thanks, but my key is already in hex. In fact, it's a key that's the
>same in both ASCII and Hex.

Impossible. The hex and ascii keys are different lengths.

Type of key Length (chars)
64 bit ASCII 5
54 bit Hex 10
128 bit ASCII 13
128 bit Hex 26

Your PEG-T55 is determining whether the key is Hex or ASCII by the
length of the key, not by its contents. The key should be 10 or 26
characters long, which will always be Hex. If it's 5 or 13 characters
long, it's always ASCII, no matter what characters you use.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558