Unable to get online with laptop

Hi Quickshot,

Thanks for the link: http://tinyurl.com/9pehb When you first mentioned SMTP servers (which I'd never heard of) I did a Google search and came up with that site and several others, including the freebies FreeSMTP Server and PostCast Server. Unfortunately, couldn't get either of them to work, though PostCast Server shows the most promise, as it's easier to configure.

Then, I discovered that I'm currently unable to get online with my laptop (unless connected to my LAN) even though everything indicates that I have a valid wireless connection. So, there's something going on that I have yet to figure out.

Thread split from: http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=61583

 

Hi Reggie,

Thanks for the explanation, but I'm not concerned about SMTP servers right now. My problem (as stated in my last post), is that "I'm currently unable to get online with my laptop (unless connected to my LAN) even though everything indicates that I have a valid wireless connection ".

By that I mean that my laptop's wireless radio is on, and it indicates that it's connected to a neighbor's unsecured network (I have his permission to connect so I can test settings). But, I can't get online ... Firefox is unable to connect to websites and Thunderbird is unable to connect to my email POP server. The only time I can get online is if I connect to my own LAN.

What has me baffled is that this never has been a problem in the past ... I haven't changed any settings and, until recently, I've always been able to connect to his network and get online. Aarrgghh!

 

Jim,
Did you get your connections figured out.

quickshot

 

Hi Quickshot,

I went to New York City for the weekend and, because of the number of hotspots available there, took my laptop with me. I never was able to connect to any of them.

I tried everything I could think of, including uninstalling the wireless adapter, clearing the Registry of all wireless references, and letting Windows reinstall the adapter on reboot. Nada.

Came home early this afternoon, and right now I'm at a friend's house. Her computer and LAN were powered down when I turned my computer on, but my laptop immediately accessed an unsecured network belonging to one of her neighbors. So, I powered up her LAN and am now using it for internet access.

In short, I haven't a clue as to what's going on.

 

Hi Jim,

I think you really should have started a new thread as your problem isn't related to SMTP. I can split the threads if you like.

XP isn't great at swapping between networks, and you can get odd problems. The best thing is to start with the basics. So:

• Use ipconfig to check that your system has been assigned an IP address. Not that the default gateway needs to be the internal IP address of the internet router on the network you are currently connected to. If you think your system hasn't picked up an address on the wireless network, usually the best thing to do is reboot, and see if it picks it up on the reboot.
• Check that TCP/IP is working by pinging the IP address of the default gateway.
• Then check your DNS is working (to make sure you can resolve names to IP addresses on the internet) by entering "nslookup www.windowsbbs.com" at the command prompt.
• Then ping the address of your DNS server, and then ping www.windowsbbs.com. If the pings fail try tracert to see how far you get.

 

Hi Reggie,

I'm sorry I didn't get back to you sooner and, no, I had no objection to your splitting my train of thought off onto another thread (which you've obviously done). I should have thought to start a new thread myself, so thanks.

I've never had the problem of my laptop's failure to connect to networks other than my LAN until recently, as Windows has always made the switch from network to network without difficulty ... and, letting Windows handle my wireless connections has been far more satisfactory than trying to use IBM's "Access Connections" software, which would not connect at all.

And, the problem with my laptop's connecting hasn't made any sense ... one day it does, the next day it doesn't, even with no changes to any settings.

 

Try disabling the lan port while using the wireless
it can sometimes make a difference.
check and recheck your wireless settings to make sure that they match those of the AP. check for encryption on the ap also.


check distance from ap also. signal strength might be to low to connect properly.

 

Prosnoglo ...

Thanks for the response.

"Try disabling the lan port while using the wireless
it can sometimes make a difference. "​

Tried it ... didn't matter.

"check and recheck your wireless settings to make sure that they match those of the AP. "​

Confirmed.

"check for encryption on the ap also. "​

Tried only with un-encrypted sites.

"check distance from ap also. signal strength might be to low to connect properly. "​

Strong, weak, didn't matter ... couldn't connect.

Then, all of a sudden it began to work and, so far (knock wood), I haven't had a recurrence.