Having a wireless connection to access your home network or a public network at an airport or other hotspot is a wondrous capability. Not being able to get your wireless connection up and running, or having your functioning network suddenly stop working, can be a thunderous inconvenience. The complex workings of WLAN (wireless local-area network) connections sometimes break. But there are some basic fixes you can try to get your network humming again. For the purposes of this article, we’re assuming you have Windows XP on your computer. We will walk you through steps to solve the three basic wireless connection problems you may experience: no connectivity, chronic dropped connections, and slow speeds.No Connectivity
Connectivity problems can afflict your computer when you’re first installing your network. They can also occur after your network has been running perfectly for months and you’ve long forgotten how to access the network interface on both your remote PC and your wireless router. Perhaps it wasn’t even you who set up the network, further adding to the challenge of solving the problem. In most cases, you’ll begin your troubleshooting efforts by checking the configuration on your remote PC.
Note that it is the frustrating nature of wireless connections that any one of the suggestions below or a combination of them may work, or not. In many cases, there is no definite “this solution fixes that problem,” only a series of “things to try.” You have to keep trying fixes until the network works. Open Network Connections by clicking Start, My Network Places, and View Network Connections. In the right pane in the window that opens you’ll see a list of all the possible ways you can connect to the network and the Internet based on the networking hardware your system is currently set up to work with. Our computer, for example, shows four types of connections: a dialup connection via modem, a 1394 FireWire connection, a 10/100BaseT Ethernet LAN connection, and a wireless 802.11g radio connection. The Status column shows whether the connection is enabled or disabled. If it’s disabled, it will say so in the Status column. If it is enabled, the status will be Connected, Not Connected, or Disconnected. When the system is working, the status of your connection of choice will be Connected. Unfortunately, just because it says it’s connected doesn’t mean you’ll actually have network access. If your Wireless Network Connection status is Disabled, you or another user (say, a co-worker if you’re using a laptop that co-workers share) has manually disabled it. To enable the connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection in the Name column and select Enable. The menu will close and a status box will show that “Enabling” is in progress. In a few seconds the status of the device should change to Connected, Not Connected, or Disconnected and the status box should disappear. If the status has changed to Connected, try opening your browser. You should be connected and running. If the status changes to Disconnected, right-click Wireless Network Connection again and choose Connect. In a moment or two the status should change to Connected. If it does, try accessing a Web site with your browser. Under most circumstances you should be on the ’Net. If there’s still no Internet connectivity, you’ll have to dig deeper. If the status is Not Connected, the problem may be as simple as the wireless radio being off. Check the physical switch (if there is one) on your notebook or type the appropriate key combination (for example, FN-F2) for turning on the radio. The status should change to Connected. If it does, open your browser. You should be connected and online. If, when checking the radio, you find that it’s already on, right-click Wireless Network Connection and choose View Available Wireless Networks. A new window, Wireless Network Connection, opens. This window offers a list of all the available wireless networks within range and prompts you to Choose A Wireless Network from the list and click Connect. You should recognize which network is yours. If the window doesn’t indicate any network as connected, you should first try your own network. If your network is not listed, the trouble could be that your router or modem is not working properly. Check them to make sure that all the indicator lights are on as they should be. If necessary, check the manuals for those devices to get them in working order. If your network is on the list, double click it. A status box will appears showing the attempt to connect. After a few seconds the network chosen will give the message, “Acquiring Network Address.” If everything goes well, a Connected message will appear. Open your browser and you should have access to the Web. If both the Wireless Network Connection and Network Connection windows show your network as Connected but you still can’t access the network or the Internet, your problems run deeper. The list of available networks will indicate which networks are secured and which ones are open. If you can’t get online using your own network, you can try connecting to one of the other open networks. Try to only connect to networks you know, however, because connecting to unknown and/or unsecure networks can open your computer to potential security hazards. In the list of networks, double click the open network with the best connection (that is, the one with the most green bars). A status box shows that your computer is attempting to log onto the chosen network. 
This attempt can take some time, so be patient. When the connection completes, try accessing the Internet. If you are successful, you know that the problem with your network is probably at the router, not the remote PC. If the attempt fails, the problem could be with your PC or with the network you tried to access. If there are other open networks available, try accessing them. If you can’t log on to any, the problem is likely the configuration of your remote computer. If your Wireless Network Connection reads Connected and the available network list also shows it as Connected, the problem could be with your broadband modem or your router’s connection to it. If the modem’s indicator lights all read OK, try replacing the cable between the router and the modem and try connecting. If you still have no Internet access, you’ll have to dig deeper into the Windows Network Connections interface. To go to the next level of troubleshooting, right-click Wireless Network Connection in the Network Connections window and select Properties. In the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog box the General tab displays a list of items your wireless connection uses. In fact, depending on what’s listed and checked, your system may not be using all of the services, and one or two could be causing your headaches.On our computer the items listed include Client For Microsoft Networks and File And Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks. Both of these services can be disabled, and in simple wireless networks where you mainly just want to share an Internet connection these services should be disabled. If they are listed and active in your network and you’re sure you don’t need them, uncheck them. Another item that you can uncheck, if listed, is Client Service For Netware. There can be other unnecessary items in this list to uncheck. The three basic services you want to have active at all times are QoS Packet Scheduler, Network Monitor Driver, and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or Microsoft TCP/IP Version 6 (both may be listed; keep only one active).
Click the Wireless Networks tab to get a list of available networks. You should see an antenna symbol next to the network name. If you see a red X, the configuration has problems. In this event check the router for possible problems and/or try moving the remote PC closer to the router. Click your network and click the Properties button under the network list. The resulting dialog box will show the encryption standard in use and include a box in which you can enter your WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) key. Windows can occasionally lose this key. Try typing in your WEP key. While you’re here, click the Authentication tab and make sure that authentication for the network is enabled. In most cases it should be, and when used it must be activated on the router, too. Check the router configuration to be sure. Click OK to close each of the open dialog boxes. Chronic Dropped Connections Everyone who’s ever used a radio has experienced periods of static, white noise, and, depending on the location, other stations coming through on the current frequency. Common (802.11b/g, but not 802.11a) wireless networks use the 2.4GHz band of radio frequency, as do many other radio-wave producing devices, including wireless phones, microwaves, various household wireless devices, and some toys. If your work area is several rooms away from the router or on a different floor, wave interference can disrupt the signal enough to keep it from passing cleanly through walls and floor.
There are a few things you can do to improve reception and keep the signal clear. The easiest, but not necessarily the most convenient, thing to do is to shorten the distance between the router and the receiver. You can, for instance, move the computer to a spot near the router. This is easily done if your receiver is in a laptop, but although your signal may improve your computer may no longer be in an environment conducive to getting your work done efficiently. The next best thing to moving the computer is moving the source of the signal. Moving the router or installing an access point or range extender can move the wireless signal’s origination point to a direct line of sight to the receiver and dramatically shorten the distance the signal has to travel to reach the receiver. This requires an additional outlay of money (although neither piece of equipment is very expensive, and well worth the cost if they fix the problem) and some additional wiring (which is what wireless networks are supposed to help you avoid). You can get wireless range extenders or signal boosters, but you need to power these devices. So wherever you place them you’ll need an outlet nearby. Before you invest in additional equipment, check that the channel in your router’s setup utility is set for automatically finding the clearest channel. If the channel is assigned, the default channel is usually channel 11, and that channel often ends up being the most heavily trafficked. There should be a radio button or other selection method to choose the automatic channel selection option. Choose that and be sure to apply the change or click OK if your router software requires it. Then close the setup utility and try your connection again. If you want an assigned channel, try one that’s used less frequently than channel 11. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are normally used for public 802.11b WLANs and by many home networks. Optimally you want your channel to be as far away as possible from the others. If there are only a few other competing networks, try channel 1; the logic here is based on the probability that the others are set to the default channel 11. One of the utilities built into Windows, WZC (Wireless Zero Configuration), is smart enough to recognize when the access point you’re using may not be pumping out the strongest signal within range of your computer. Its job is to switch your laptop to the available access point with the same SSID (service set identifier) issuing the strongest available signal, all without any user intervention. That’s a great idea when all the access points are hooked into the same network. If, however, the new access point is on a different network, which in the case of a home network it will be, your connection to the network with the weaker access point gets broken. For a home network, all it takes is for your neighbor to have an access point in range to prompt the WZC to attempt to switch you to the access point with the strongest signal. This cuts you off from your own network and connects you to your neighbor’s. You can disable this service, but your best bet is to simply reassign your network a unique SSID, which is recommended in any case. You might also encounter a problem after installing WinXP Service Pack 2 or a Windows Update, in which your connection hangs when acquiring a network address or your connection becomes limited or nonexistent even if your radio is on. Microsoft offers a patch to fix these problems. It’s called the Update For Windows XP Service Pack 2 (KB884020) and is available for free from its download center. To find the patch visit www.microsoft.com/downloads, enter 884020 in the search box, and click Go. If none of the above suggestions fix your WLAN’s chronically dropped connections, try resetting the router, which will restore all its settings to the factory defaults. You’ll then have to set up the network as if it were new, including choosing a personal SSID, WEP encryption key, and other settings. Be sure you are familiar with all the terms and functions and closely follow the steps in the router’s documentation if you try this tactic. Resetting the router means that you also have to put the required settings in place in Windows, too, as we’ve seen throughout this article.
The Wireless Network Connection window offers a list of available wireless networks within range and prompts you to Choose A Wireless Network from the list.
Slow Speeds
Speed is a relative issue. In WLANs your actual wireless transmission speed rarely reaches the rated speed. Even so, when your wireless network has been tooling along at speed X and it suddenly slows to speed Y, you’ll find you’re waiting for Web pages to load and files to download longer than before. At that point it doesn’t matter what speed X is; you’re at speed
Y and not happy. Unfortunately, if you’re getting the signal but the signal is not strong or clear, it’s more likely about airwaves than about anything else. If all has been well and now isn’t, the most probable cause is signal interference. There are some questions you can ask yourself to help determine possible problems and solutions. Have you moved the position of your remote PC? If you’re working on a laptop, are you in your usual workspace or have you set up in a different location? If you’ve moved, try going to your regular location and see if things are back to normal. If you are in your normal spot and you’ve notice the slowdown for a while, check the list of available networks in your area. If there are some new ones, they may be causing interference. Try not broadcasting your SSID. (You set this in your router’s interface.) Have you bought any new radio wave emitting devices recently? They may be wreaking havoc on your signal. Have you bought any new heavy pieces of furniture that happen now to be standing between the receiver and the router? Have you spoken with your neighbors? Perhaps one of them has a new wireless phone. Try changing channels on your router as described above. If that doesn’t work, try talking your neighbor into exchanging the phone for a router friendly one. Move the router and receiver close together.Further Support
With most WLAN problems have to do with settings rather than equipment. If the solutions in this article don’t fix your WLAN problems, use a computer with working Internet access to visit Smart Computing’s Tech Support Center. Go to www.smartcomputing.com, click the Tech Support Center link, and under the Basic Troubleshooting Articles heading click the View ALL Basic Troubleshooting Articles link. You’ll find further information under the Networking Wired & Wireless heading.
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