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From: Ryanne&Chase on 2 Jan 2006 17:09
I recently aquired my first lap-top, and with it a wireless card. I'll be
using this computer primarily for school, and my campus has a wireless
server. The sales rep thru Dell told me that my wireless card would
recognize whenever it was near a server, and be able to jump online when it
was accessable. I went to campus today, took my computer, and had no luck
getting online. I looked to see if I had any available networks, and did
not. Can anyone help me with finding wireless networks when I'm near a
server? Thanks so much in advance, Ryanne


From: Duane Arnold on 2 Jan 2006 17:16

"Ryanne&Chase" <private(a)myhouse.com> wrote in message
news:ywhuf.46607$ih5.28391(a)dukeread11...
>I recently aquired my first lap-top, and with it a wireless card. I'll be
>using this computer primarily for school, and my campus has a wireless
>server. The sales rep thru Dell told me that my wireless card would
>recognize whenever it was near a server, and be able to jump online when it
>was accessable. I went to campus today, took my computer, and had no luck
>getting online. I looked to see if I had any available networks, and did
>not. Can anyone help me with finding wireless networks when I'm near a
>server? Thanks so much in advance, Ryanne

If you're using the Windows XP O/S, then it has Wireless Zero Configuration
that allows the O/S to roam with the card and make a connection to an open
wireless network. If the network is using WEP or WPA, you're not going to
able to connect to a wireless network while roaming as it's not open.

Duane :)



From: Jonathan L. Parker on 2 Jan 2006 17:46
Ryanne&Chase wrote:
> I recently aquired my first laptop, and with it a wireless card. I'll be
> using this computer primarily for school, and my campus has a wireless
> server. The sales rep thru Dell told me that my wireless card would
> recognize whenever it was near a server, and be able to jump online when it
> was accessible. I went to campus today, took my computer, and had no luck
> getting online. I looked to see if I had any available networks, and did
> not. Can anyone help me with finding wireless networks when I'm near a
> server?

SInce you're admittedly a newbie, it wouldn't hurt to ask if you're sure
your wireless adapter was turned on. Check your documentation for the
procedure. Usually there's a key sequence, generally involving the
"function" key and one of the numbered F-keys along the top row of the
keyboard, that you have to throw to toggle the card on and off. Also,
some computers have an actual physical switch somewhere for the wireless
card. Again, your owner's manual will tell you for sure. By the way,
I'm assuming here that your machine has a built-in wireless card; if it
doesn't you simply need to insert the external card into your PC Card slot.

Now that we're sure we have the adapter up and running, let's check to
see if we're within range of an open access point. Were you in an area
where you *know* there should have been a signal? If you're not
familiar with your school's network, check with their IT department or
try looking on their website for infomation on the wireless network
there. Pay particular attention to where the signal is supposed to be
available, as well as any authentication or registration requirements
they may have, and the network name or SSID (service set identifier)
that you should look for when trying to connect. Sometimes it's more
than a matter of being able to simply "jump online"-especially if we're
talking about an educational institution. Access to their networks is
almost always restricted to students, staff and faculty members, and
they take various measures to enforce this.

Also, today's a holiday. Maybe they had the access points turned off
for the weekend.
From: Mike Schumann on 2 Jan 2006 19:32
Go somewhere where you know their is a public hotspot (Starbucks), and make
it work there. (Starbucks hot spots are not free, but the WI-FI is wide
open until you get to their logon screen; At that point you know that the
WI-FI is working). After that works, you should be able to go to your
campus and "View Available Networks". If no networks are visible, there
aren't any or they have the SSID broadcast turned off. If you don't get a
signal on campus try someplace else. In most residential neighborhoods
you'll see quite a few WI-FI connections, of which usually 1/4 are open,
either intentionally or because the owner didn't bother to read the manual.

Mike Schumann

"Jonathan L. Parker" <jlparker001(a)sbcglobal.net> wrote in message
news:l3iuf.44470$7h7.2642(a)newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
> Ryanne&Chase wrote:
>> I recently aquired my first laptop, and with it a wireless card. I'll be
>> using this computer primarily for school, and my campus has a wireless
>> server. The sales rep thru Dell told me that my wireless card would
>> recognize whenever it was near a server, and be able to jump online when
>> it was accessible. I went to campus today, took my computer, and had no
>> luck getting online. I looked to see if I had any available networks,
>> and did not. Can anyone help me with finding wireless networks when I'm
>> near a server?
>
> SInce you're admittedly a newbie, it wouldn't hurt to ask if you're sure
> your wireless adapter was turned on. Check your documentation for the
> procedure. Usually there's a key sequence, generally involving the
> "function" key and one of the numbered F-keys along the top row of the
> keyboard, that you have to throw to toggle the card on and off. Also,
> some computers have an actual physical switch somewhere for the wireless
> card. Again, your owner's manual will tell you for sure. By the way, I'm
> assuming here that your machine has a built-in wireless card; if it
> doesn't you simply need to insert the external card into your PC Card
> slot.
>
> Now that we're sure we have the adapter up and running, let's check to see
> if we're within range of an open access point. Were you in an area where
> you *know* there should have been a signal? If you're not familiar with
> your school's network, check with their IT department or try looking on
> their website for infomation on the wireless network there. Pay
> particular attention to where the signal is supposed to be available, as
> well as any authentication or registration requirements they may have, and
> the network name or SSID (service set identifier) that you should look for
> when trying to connect. Sometimes it's more than a matter of being able
> to simply "jump online"-especially if we're talking about an educational
> institution. Access to their networks is almost always restricted to
> students, staff and faculty members, and they take various measures to
> enforce this.
>
> Also, today's a holiday. Maybe they had the access points turned off for
> the weekend.


From: Tammy Fontenot on 2 Jan 2006 20:08
I received a new laptop for Christmas/birthday, a Toshiba m45-s169. It has
wireless installed on it, also has a switch to turn off or on. The other day
I tried to "see" if their were any "hotspots" in my neighborhood, nothing,
but today (earlier) when I was upstairs I had unplugged the Ethernet cord on
the cable modem.....a window came up & found 2 "hotspots" one secure, one
not. I was able to pull up Yahoo's home page, but when I went downstairs to
show my hubby ( I was so happy) it showed no "hotspots". I know nothing
about Wi Fi, but now am very interested now that I have a laptop that is Wi
Fi capable.

"Ryanne&Chase" <private(a)myhouse.com> wrote in message
news:ywhuf.46607$ih5.28391(a)dukeread11...
>I recently aquired my first lap-top, and with it a wireless card. I'll be
>using this computer primarily for school, and my campus has a wireless
>server. The sales rep thru Dell told me that my wireless card would
>recognize whenever it was near a server, and be able to jump online when it
>was accessable. I went to campus today, took my computer, and had no luck
>getting online. I looked to see if I had any available networks, and did
>not. Can anyone help me with finding wireless networks when I'm near a
>server? Thanks so much in advance, Ryanne
>


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