Windows 7 Wireless Networking

[phileefan]

Hi,
I hope someone can help me. A little history. I have a home network with 4 computers. 2 are hard wired for internet and 2 are wireless. The other evening for unknown reasons the 2 wireless computers dropped their internet connection and the 2 wired ones did not. I've tried to reboot the cable modem/wireless router, spoke to Comcast tech. support and even replaced my wireless modem with no luck. My home network is showing up but when I try to connect I get a box saying "windows was unable to connect to the network" When I try to trouble shoot windows cannot find the problem. I've tried to disable my Norton Security Suite, firewall and even setting my security options to none in my router options still with no luck. This morning I even tried to do a system restore to a point prior to this problem happening still no luck. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks.....

 

[chev65]

You should try resetting the router by pushing in the small hidden button, most routers have a certain procedure for this and they sometimes require that you hold the button down then unplug the router and plug it back while holding the button down. Also, in general Windows 7 likes to use WPA2 security and AES encryption.

After that it may help to locate a clear channel that isn't being used by one of your neighbors. The Xirrus wifi scanner is good for this, it's free and easy to use. You will need to go into your routers settings to change to an unused channel.
Xirrus: The Leader in High Performance Wi-Fi - Advanced IT Wi-Fi Networking Tools

 

[phileefan]

This is a new router. If the router is the issue needing reset should my wired LAN internet connections still work?

 

[chev65]

It is intirely possible that you can lose the wireless network with the wired one still working. A router reset is standard procedure to fix your particular problem. I had a similar problem just last week in fact, fixed by simply resetting the router. Although the process is made easier if you create a .gws file from inside your routers set up page which can save your routers settings.

 

[phileefan]

Update, I've tried to reset my router with no success. I was able to connect to my neighbors wireless network so I would say that my wireless adapter is working. I'm totally lost.

 

[chev65]

After resetting the router did you set up the wireless network from inside the routers wireless connection set up page?

Most routers require this procedure in order to get the security settings correct,choose an SSID "network name" and you can also choose a wireless channel.

After doing that you need to use the Windows 7 wireless connection manager to set the connection up to work with WPA2 PSK security and AES encryption.

The tutorial in the link shows you how.
http://www.7tutorials.com/how-connect-hidden-wireless-networks

The next possible problem I would suspect would be the Norton firewall.

 

[phileefan]

Is there a difference between WPA PSK (AES) and WPA-PSK (TKIP) + WPA2-PSK (AES) security options? Netgear prompted me to use the later of the two.

 

[chev65]

Yes there is a difference, for some reason Windows 7 seems to work best with WPA2 AES only not mixed. You should also define those settings when you set up the wireless in Windows 7.

It also usually works best to define which version of 802.11 band to use. It's best to use G and N only if you have those options, this assumes your adaptor can use G or N.

 

[phileefan]

Ok that finally got it to work. (at least so far) Thank you. But that is funny when I set this new router up about 2 weeks ago Netgear suggested to use WPA-PSK [TKIP] + WPA2-PSK [AES] security option. It worked the whole time until the other night. Yes this is a N band router. Thanks for your help now I can make these changes to my other wireless connected computer. Thank you again.....

 

[chev65]

Yes those mixed settings have been known to cause endless problems for people, that is why I recommend the more precise unmixed settings which usually work better. The wireless connection should be more stable for you now.

It's also better to choose the wireless channel based on the readings that Xirrus wifi scanner gives you rather than letting the router find a clear channel.

If you havn't run the Xirrus wifi scanner yet it might be a good idea just in case you are on a crowded channel which can also can cause seemingly random disconnections and also slow connections.

Anyway, enough rambling on for me, glad you got it working phileefan.