Excellent WiFi Hotspot Connection But Web Page Won't Open

I am using an HP Pavilion DV4170 Laptop with Windows XP/SP2 and
Internet Explorer 7.0 and built-in WiFi.

I can connect at the local library's WiFi hotspot and have an
excellent connection but when I start Internet Explorer (which should
start automatically according to my settings), I get a message that
this page cannot be found.

I have the same settings on my HP Ipaq and can connect to the Internet
just fine at this location with that.

What could be wrong with my laptop? I've checked and all the settings
are identical. Is there another setting in IE 7.0 that needs to be
set? I have the IP address correct--it is the same on both the laptop
and the Ipaq.

Hope you can help.

Pat

 

Pat,

Typically you dont set your own IP. Try allowing your computer to pull
it's IP dynamically and see what happens.

Also, make sure that you do not have a proxy set up in Control Panel >
Internet Settings > Connections Tab > Advanced

HTH
Chris
NetSteady

 

XP or Vista?

That's correct. Most libraries have a "terms of service and what's
your library card number" web page appear before you can use the
system. If your default home page in IE7 happens to be Microsloths
check for updates, or some other web page that appears BEFORE the home
page, then you'll get a failure to display.

The solution is to simply type in any URL, such as:
http://www.google.com
into IE7, and you should get the library page with its request for a
card number.

Some other possibilities:

1. Have you tried this laptop at other hotspots? Duz it work there?

2. There are numerous ways to disable wireless, some of which do not
show anything on the screen. If you don't have another hotspot or
access point to use for testing, double check:
The bios wi-fi on/off setting.
The slide switch wireless on/off somewhere on the laptop.
The blue light push button found somewhere on the laptop.
Function key combination (typically Fn-F2) to enable the wireless.
Control Panel -> Network -> Wireless. Right click enable/disable.
The wireless icon in the System Tray. Right click enable/disable.

3. Windoze Wireless Zero config has an irritating mis-feature. If
you change the encryption key, you have to remove the saved settings
for the SSID before it will let you enter new settings. This doesn't
always happen, but I've been running into it lately. I know there's
no encryption key for the libary, but if you accidentally saved one
with the same SSID, you could have this problem. Delete the library
SSID entry, re-detect new networks, and try again from scratch.

4. If you're not using Wireless Zero Config, there may be some
oddities in whatever connection manager you're using. I'll need
details on the MiniPCI wireless card and connection manager version
before exploring this possibility.

5. There may be someone playing games by impersonating the library
SSID system or a "man in the middle" attack. Depending on how it's
being done, it can cause all kinds of strange problems.

 

Looks like here is your problem. Two devices should not have the same ip.
Try to just use DHCP, in other words let your computer get an ip address
automatically.

 

Thanks Chris,

The proxy set up was the problem. Once I fixed that I was able to
connect just fine.

Pat