wireless laptop

[Baz]

My daughter is home for a while and she has brought her laptop but it wont connect to the internet as I changed the security on the router to wpa2 earlier this year and all the others in the house work with this. I am guessing this is the problem as if I knock it back down to wpa the laptop works.....but all the others dont or they keep asking for permission or something. I was wondering is it possible to upgrade whatever part looks after that bit in the laptop to be be able to use wpa2 if so what do I look for. driver/firmware/update 

[Sebby]

Is it an old laptop, Baz? The likelihood is that the adapter doesn't support WPA2. If you have a look in Device Manager and see what wireless adapter you have, you can probably find an updated driver which may do the trick...

[Baz]

its a sony vaio vgn fs515h

[Sebby]

That's the model of the laptop, Baz. Is it XP?

[Baz]

yeah sorry Sebby   XP it is

[Sebby]

Right-click on My Computer, select Properties, click the Hardware tab, then press the Device Manager button. Find Network Adapters and expand it. You'll probably have more than 1 item in there, but one will be the wireless adapter. What is it?

[Baz]

LAN-Express AS IEEE 802.11g miniPCI Adapter

driver version 4.1.2.111


and theres an intel one and a 1394 Net Adapter with a red X in it

[Sebby]

Try this, Baz.

[Baz]

thanks Sebby will take a look

[Gary]

My daughter is home for a while and she has brought her laptop but it wont connect to the internet as I changed the security on the router to wpa2 earlier this year and all the others in the house work with this. I am guessing this is the problem as if I knock it back down to wpa the laptop works.....but all the others dont or they keep asking for permission or something. I was wondering is it possible to upgrade whatever part looks after that bit in the laptop to be be able to use wpa2 if so what do I look for. driver/firmware/update 

As Sebby has suggested look for an updated driver for your card, but if XP is using standard wireless zero configuration there is an update for XP SP2 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=662bb74d-e7c1-48d6-95ee-1459234f4483&displaylang=en

that adds WPA2 to the configuration process, try that. If the connection software on her laptop does not support WPA2 the windows one will.

[Baz]

Thanks Gary, how do I tell if the laptop is using the standard config you mention

[Rik]

Look at the connection icon in the systray, Baz. When you right click on it, is it from the card manufacturer, or a standard Windows item?

[Baz]

theres two icons Rik...Local Area Connection and Wireless Network Connection

[Rik]

You want the wireless one...

[Baz]

ok I guess its a standard windows one  just says  change Windows firewall settings, Open Network Connections, Repair and View available wireless networks

[Rik]

Use Gary's link then, Baz.

[Baz]

ok  next question then. to save me changing my router settings to enable the laptop to connect, is it possible to download this onto a USB stick then install it on the lappy

[Ted]

Just connect the laptop with a cable directly.

[Baz]

Just connect the laptop with a cable directly.

  of course  thanks Ted

not thinking right today

[Ted]

 

[Baz]

didnt work....getting some error message saying a package is not vaild

SP3-UBER

[Rik]

 

Sounds like you've got a German version there, Baz.

[Steve]

If the laptops been updated to XP SP3 it will have WPA2 support,Some routers allow a wireless setting of WPA and WPA2 on the same passcode just a matter of selecting a different button on the menu I believe

[Baz]

you beat me to it Steve.was just going to post this.

In the router security settings are these options

Disable
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
WPA-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access Pre-Shared Key)
WPA2-PSK (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 with Pre-Shared Key)
WPA-PSK + WPA2-PSK
WPA-802.1x
WPA2-802.1x

5th item down...........   sorry all.that'll teach me to read things properly.thanks for all the help though 

[Rik]

We've all been there, Baz.

[Sebby]

If the laptops been updated to XP SP3 it will have WPA2 support,Some routers allow a wireless setting of WPA and WPA2 on the same passcode just a matter of selecting a different button on the menu I believe

That's true, but the wireless adapter has to support it.

[Gary]

That's true, but the wireless adapter has to support it.

Most have been updated hopefully, I never bother with what's on the Acer site, having checked in the Acer forums I just download the latest for my Intel 5100 from Intels site, may be worth seeing if there is a newer one for that card with the card manufacturer compared with Sony's offering, manufacturers are slow or do not really bother updating some drivers at all, hopefully it will all work though 

[Sebby]

I know people that are using old D-Link adapters, for example, that, even with the latest driver, doesn't support WPA, let alone WPA2!