HELP: wifi not working after wep enabled, then disabled

I need help here please. I have a network composed of a router and 3
comuters, one computer is connected with an ethernet cable, the two
others on wifi.

up until yesterday it worked fine. then i tried to install wep on it
(which worked last night and this morning on one of the computers) but
the other could never connect and now the first one which could connect
anymore either.

so i turned the wep protection off, and restarted the modem, router,
main comuter and the two others and now my computers dont even
recognise my wifi and i cant connect to it.


what can I do???

thank you very much for any help.

catherine

> so i turned the wep protection off, and restarted the modem, router,
> main comuter and the two others and now my computers dont even
> recognise my wifi and i cant connect to it.
>
>
> what can I do???

Post again including the make and model of the router and modem and
wireless cards in the PC's.

It makes life much easier for Jeff.

:)

David.

On 1 Sep 2005 06:49:34 -0700, catherine.e.clark@gmail.com wrote:

>I need help here please. I have a network composed of a router and 3
>comuters, one computer is connected with an ethernet cable, the two
>others on wifi.
>
>up until yesterday it worked fine. then i tried to install wep on it
>(which worked last night and this morning on one of the computers) but
>the other could never connect and now the first one which could connect
>anymore either.
>
>so i turned the wep protection off, and restarted the modem, router,
>main comuter and the two others and now my computers dont even
>recognise my wifi and i cant connect to it.

I'll assume a cheap junk wireless router, however it would be helpful
if you kindly disclose the manufacturer and model number. Just
substitute the real model number for my cheap junk wireless router.
I'll also assume a laptop with Windoze XP Home running a Centrino
based wireless card with Windoze Wireless Zero Config. It would be
nice to know how close I've guessed.

My guess is that you've setup a profile for the connection on the
laptop. When you changed the encryption configuration, the profile
was no longer valid.

Find the wireless icon in the system tray (lower right of screen).
Right click and select "Show Available Networks". It should show your
cheap junk wireless router. If not, you've mangled something in the
setup of the router. Check the page with the encryption and see what
else was accidentally changes, such as "wireless on/off".

Also, check if the router itself is working by plugging a CAT5
ethernet cable temporarily between the laptop and one of the 4 LAN
ports on the back of the cheap junk wireless router. If that works,
then it's a wireless issue. If it doesn't work, then something in the
router WAN/ISP setup went awry when you started tinkering.

Also, on the 2nd laptop, if you can't get a working WEP encryption
key, try using a binary key instead of an ASCII key. It's longer,
uglier, messy, but always works.


--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

ok, sorry, I'm new to this sort of thing. its a netgear router, MR314.
is that a cheap junky router?

one is a laptop that i dont have in front of me, the other is a desktop
dell with a usb port wireless adaptor also a netgear MA 101.

the router itself is working because i have internet on a desktop
plugged into it with an ethenet cable (RJ45).

the wireless network does not even show up as available when i click on
the wireless networking icon.

i'll check and see if i accidentally turned it off, but the little
green light (sorry i cant think of anything more technically for that)
that says wifi on the router is on.

excuse my lack of an intricate understanding of the techy forum world,
i hope i will pick up the proper comportement quickly, and most of all,

thank you for your help,

catherine

On 2 Sep 2005 01:56:18 -0700, catherine.e.clark@gmail.com wrote:

>ok, sorry, I'm new to this sort of thing.

Hint: Numbers, not vague descriptions. The more numeric detail you
supply, the more detailed the answer. Also, some devices have version
specific issues.

In general, when you have a question, please supply:
1. What problem are you trying to solve?
2. What do you have to work with? (Hardware, operating system,
software, drivers, version numbers, etc).
3. Optional: What have you done so far and what happened?

>its a netgear router, MR314.
>is that a cheap junky router?

http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/MR314.asp

It's old and no longer sold. It's 802.11b only instead of the faster
and better 802.11g. It uses the old style interface which is
difficult to configure. LImited options and features. The last
firmware update was in Aug 2002. About $30 on eBay so it's cheap.
Yes, I would call it cheap wireless junk. However, I do like the
rugged metal blue box.

You might wanna check if you have the latest 3.29 firmware. However,
don't install it until things are mostly working.

>one is a laptop that i dont have in front of me, the other is a desktop
>dell with a usb port wireless adaptor also a netgear MA 101.

Can the Dell desktop and unspecified notebook connect to any *OTHER*
wireless networks besides yours? If so, they're working. I'm trying
to determine which part of the puzzle is broken by substitution. Do
your testing with encryption off so that part isn't in the puzzle.

>the router itself is working because i have internet on a desktop
>plugged into it with an ethenet cable (RJ45).
>
>the wireless network does not even show up as available when i click on
>the wireless networking icon.

I can't tell what you're clicking from here. Is it the Windoze
Wireless Zero Config icon, or the Netgear MA101 driver software? For
that matter, are you running Windoze XP SP2?

The wireless light is listed in the "tech manual" as on when "The
wireless circuit is functiona" which can mean almost anything. My
guess is that it has power and nothing more. The manual has nothing
on wireless troubleshooting.
ftp://downloads.netgear.com/files/mr..._guide_326.zip

>i'll check and see if i accidentally turned it off, but the little
>green light (sorry i cant think of anything more technically for that)
>that says wifi on the router is on.

Judging by the age of the MR314, something might have blown up.

If you make no progress, and it's time for desperate measures, I
suggest you verify that the MR101 desktop and unspecified laptop setup
works using someone elses wireless router. A free internet hot spot
would work. Then, dive into the MR314 setup, write down every setting
that looks useful, in particular the ISP and wireless settings. Punch
the reset button, and put all the setting back. Leave encryption off
for now. If that doesn't work, then there's something broken in the
MR314.



>
>excuse my lack of an intricate understanding of the techy forum world,
>i hope i will pick up the proper comportement quickly, and most of all,
>
>thank you for your help,
>
>catherine

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 01:56:18 -0700, catherine.e.clark wrote:

> ok, sorry, I'm new to this sort of thing. its a netgear router, MR314.
> is that a cheap junky router?
>
> one is a laptop that i dont have in front of me, the other is a desktop
> dell with a usb port wireless adaptor also a netgear MA 101.
>
> the router itself is working because i have internet on a desktop
> plugged into it with an ethenet cable (RJ45).
>
> the wireless network does not even show up as available when i click on
> the wireless networking icon.
>
> i'll check and see if i accidentally turned it off, but the little
> green light (sorry i cant think of anything more technically for that)
> that says wifi on the router is on.
>
> excuse my lack of an intricate understanding of the techy forum world,
> i hope i will pick up the proper comportement quickly, and most of all,
>
> thank you for your help,
>
> catherine

I've had a lot of problems with Netgear stuff - even the current stuff.
I'm using Linksys now and have relatively few problems with these devices.
The only problem I've had with Linksys is using the utility program with
XP - just loading the Linksys driver and letting the XP wireless manager
take care of connections worked best for me.