[nfbcs] Wireless connection unavailable after power outage

[Steve Jacobson]

Tracy,

Do you know if your wireless router was set up for a secure connection?  Somewhere there is usually a combo box that lets you choose between types of security 
like WEP, WPA, etc.  If no security is specified, there probably is no place for a key to be displayed.  Also, your netbook will tell you if there is a secure connection, 
and if you pick that connection and specify "Properties," it will say in there whether the connection is secure.  The type of security is determined by the router, 
though, but your Netbook has to match it.  If you are making a connection, it is probably not a big deal to check this out unless it happens that you have no security.  
You don't want someone nearby freeloading on your connection or using your connection to do mischief.  

Best regards,

Steve Jacobson

On Fri, 19 Mar 2010 11:55:18 -0400, Tracy Carcione wrote:

>Thanks Steve.  I called my brother and he told me to unplug the wireless
>router for 10 seconds, then plug it back in and restart the PC.  He also
>told me the IP I need to see my router.  I did what he said, and the
>connection seems to be OK now, though the signal strength is lower than I
>would expect.  I'll check the cordless phone.
>I looked all over the webpage for the router, but I couldn't see where the
>WEP key is.  Although I guess if the connection works now, maybe I don't
>need to see it.
>Tracy

>> Tracy,
>>
>> You should be getting some kind of error message if the connection fails.
>> It seems most likely that perhaps the wireless settings on the router went
>> back to their
>> default settings or something.  I would check the settings on the wireless
>> router that have to do with security.  If you used WEP, you had to enter a
>> security code on
>> the router as well as your netbook.  Re-enter the code on the router, and
>> if it still doesn't work, re-enter it on the netbook.  You usually access
>> your router's settings
>> as a web page.
>>
>> With a power outage, there could be other factors as well.  Some other
>> device such as a cordless phone may have been reset and might be using the
>> same
>> channel.  You can also change the channel on your wireless router.
>> Changing it might allow you to escape interference.  From my experience,
>> though, this would
>> result in a poor connection and not one that fails.
>>
>> I'm a little confused, though, because if you are not making a connection,
>> I would not think that you would get the "network cable unplugged" message
>> when you
>> turn off the router.  The error message would be helpful.
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>> Steve Jacobson
>>
>> 		On Thu, 18 Mar 2010 14:22:52 -0400, Tracy Carcione wrote:
>>
>>>I need some advice, please.  We had an extended power outage in our area
>>>due to a big storm.  The power was out about 3 days, and now I'm having
>>>some trouble with my wireless router, maybe.  My PC is hooked by ethernet
>>>cable to the wireless router, which also has ethernet jacks.  That is
>>>working fine, but my netbook and my husband's computer connect to the
>>>router wirelessly, and that's not connecting.  My netbook sees the
>>>wireless connection, but when I try to connect it fails.
>>>I'm not sure what to do.  I suspect maybe I need to look at my wireless
>>>settings, but I'm not sure how to get there.  Or is it something else?
>>>I've turned the router off and on a couple times.
>>>When I turn it off, the netbook says "A network cable is unplugged" so
>>>it's seeing something, it's just not connecting.
>>>Thanks for any advice.
>>>Tracy
>>
>>
>>
>>>_______________________________________________
>>>nfbcs mailing list
>>>nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
>>>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>>> nfbcs:
>>>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40visi.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> nfbcs mailing list
>> nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
>> nfbcs:
>> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/carcione%40access.net
>>



>_______________________________________________
>nfbcs mailing list
>nfbcs at nfbnet.org
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for nfbcs:
>http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40visi.com