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Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

alberthall2
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎22-06-2011

Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

I am attempting to use an Acer laptop (Aspire 1352LC) with a PCMI wireless connector (D-link Air DWL-610). OS is Windows XP.
Very occasionally it will connect wirelessly to the Thomson TG585v8 router, but mainly won't, and sometimes youcan detect that it is lacking an IP address.
If I make encryption disabled, the laptop will connect.  I don't want to leave the router unprotected, however!  Also, ethernet cable works perfectly, if you don't trip over the cable!
I am not very familiar with finding my way round the more advanced internet connection settings, and I would greatly appreciate any advice anybody can give me.
Thanks in advance Wink
12 REPLIES 12
AxeMurderer
Grafter
Posts: 164
Registered: ‎18-05-2011

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Is your XP laptop fully patched? Have you got the latest drivers for the D-Link?
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

What is PCMI?  Cheesy
Do you mean PC-Card or PCMCIA?
That is a VERY OLD card that only supports 802.11b, not g.
Chances are it doesn't have enough "poke" to do what you want.
I'd get a newer card, plenty on eBay going cheap.  Wink
alberthall2
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎22-06-2011

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

HPSauce, I have checked Amazon and Wikipedia, and have to admit I should have said PC card or PCMCIA card.  Apologies!
I have also got a recently bought USB wi-fi dongle, so I will try that first, and see what happens.  As you say, you could get a new PCMCIA wi-fi card for about £10 to 15 on Amazon or e-bay.
AxeMurderer, I received the card secondhand from my son, with no driver disc.  Windows supplied the appropiate driver.
Thanks to you both, I will report on progress when I have tried my USB wi-fi dongle.
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Quote from: alberthall2
 Apologies!

I was only joking!
A PCMCIA card will generally give better results than USB.
If the laptop has an internal slot for a mini-pci wireless card (and inbuilt aerial) even better. No idea if that model has though.
mattturner
Grafter
Posts: 246
Thanks: 2
Registered: ‎25-06-2009

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Quote from: alberthall2
I am attempting to use an Acer laptop (Aspire 1352LC) with a PCMI wireless connector (D-link Air DWL-610). OS is Windows XP.
Very occasionally it will connect wirelessly to the Thomson TG585v8 router, but mainly won't, and sometimes youcan detect that it is lacking an IP address.
If I make encryption disabled, the laptop will connect.  I don't want to leave the router unprotected, however!  Also, ethernet cable works perfectly, if you don't trip over the cable!
I am not very familiar with finding my way round the more advanced internet connection settings, and I would greatly appreciate any advice anybody can give me.
Thanks in advance Wink

Hi Albert,
I would try altering the wireless interface type to an older standard (one that was standard when the PCMCIA card would have been manufactured). To try this log into the router via http://192.168.1.254 and...
Click 'Home Network' on the left
Click on your wireless network name in the page that loads
Click 'Configure' in the top right
Change the interface type to 802.11b/g and click apply
If that doesn't help then try changing the interface type to 802.11b
I'm hopeful that this will solve your problems.
alberthall2
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎22-06-2011

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Quote
Change the interface type to 802.11b/g and click apply
If that doesn't help then try changing the interface type to 802.11b

Regrettably, wireless connection  with either of the two recommended  settings when encryption was in force did not work.  When encryption was disabled, connection was possible as before.
So, I tried a USB wireless connection stick that I bought fairly recently.  Unexpectedly, this did not work either.
So, does that mean that the problem arises from a setting on the laptop (or the laptop itself)?
To assist diagnosis, I attach 3 files, 2 screen dumps from the pc card, one with the USB stick.
Any further suggestions would be welcomed!
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

In all seriousness, without wishing to appear impolite, it would appear that you don't know enough to get anywhere near solving this conundrum.
I would ask someone more "au fait" with the technology to assist you in person, doing it remotely through here is likely to be a long slow & frustrating process.  Lips_are_sealed
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

The situtation shown by screen dump 3 arises when a wireless adaptor is supplied with its own control software but you try to connect using the Windows built-in wireless adaptor control software (which in the case of XP was called "Wireless Zero").  Either follow the instuctions in the error message or locate the control software supplied and use that.
spraxyt
Resting Legend
Posts: 10,063
Thanks: 674
Fixes: 75
Registered: ‎06-04-2007

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

With the PC card you could try WEP security to check if the problem is that WPA/WPA2 isn't supported. If that works best not to use it as a permanent solution though.
David
alberthall2
Dabbler
Posts: 14
Registered: ‎22-06-2011

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Reed, followed your advice (up to a point).  With the USB stick inserted,, went into change advanced settings, wireless settings, and found the "use windows to configure my wireless settings" was unticked, so I ticked it. The laptop then connected wirelessly using the USB stick.  However, the box unticked itself upon restarting.  This was not what you intended, anyway.
I subsequently found the USB driver configuration settings area, and fiddled around with that, and now wireless is working with the USB stick.  GOOD! :).  many thanks.
Still one residual problem:  If I leave the USB stick in the laptop, it won’t boot up.  If, while it is refusing to boot, you remove the stick, then it will boot properly.  You can reinsert the stick when it has booted up, and it will soon find the wireless network and receive it.  Any suggestions?

This does leave the issue of the PC card or PCMCIA card.  It would be nice to get that operational, although the pressure is definitely off, now that the USB stick is working.  It is interesting that this device did work with an earlier Thomson router.
Any further suggestions would be welcome.  Shocked
Thanks again.
ReedRichards
Seasoned Pro
Posts: 4,927
Thanks: 145
Fixes: 25
Registered: ‎14-07-2009

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Quote from: alberthall2
Reed, followed your advice (up to a point).  With the USB stick inserted,, went into change advanced settings, wireless settings, and found the "use windows to configure my wireless settings" was unticked, so I ticked it.

That's what I would have done.
Quote from: alberthall2
The laptop then connected wirelessly using the USB stick.

Excellent
Quote from: alberthall2
However, the box unticked itself upon restarting.

That would be because the control software that came with the wireless adaptor launched automatically and wrested back control of the adaptor.  I'm glad you managed to fight it down.
Quote from: alberthall2
Still one residual problem:  If I leave the USB stick in the laptop, it won’t boot up.  Any suggestions?

Have a look at the boot order settings in your BIOS.  Try setting the hard drive or hard drive group first in the boot order.
HPsauce
Pro
Posts: 6,998
Thanks: 146
Fixes: 2
Registered: ‎02-02-2008

Re: Laptop with PCMI card won't connect to router wirelessly

Quote from: alberthall2
Still one residual problem:  If I leave the USB stick in the laptop, it won’t boot up.  If, while it is refusing to boot, you remove the stick, then it will boot properly.  You can reinsert the stick when it has booted up, and it will soon find the wireless network and receive it.  Any suggestions?

I've seen many systems with weird behaviour due to USB devices being connected at power-on.
Sometimes the only solution is to do exactly what you are, i.e. connect once the OS is running.  Lips_are_sealed