Wirless problems with Laptop

Hi,
I have some general knowledge with Routers and Wireless setups as well as connection issues but this one has me seeking assistance...The laptop in question has Windows Vista and was working wireless until recently...I noticed the switch on the front of the laptop for wireless connections was shut off...After that was turned on,the laptop when connected hard-wired to the router (Linksys), it connects to the Internet...As soon as the hard-wire is removed, the laptop cannot connect to the Internet...

The two things I did not do was, shut the router off, then turn it back and / or reset the router because I was not sure at this time if either or was what I should do at this point and time...

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated...Thank you.

 

You haven’t said which wireless software you’re using to connect to the router, Windows or the adapter’s, so I'll assume the adapter's software. I suggest you remove the connection and then set it up again:

REMOVE A WIRELESS NETWORK
Go to Control Panel > Classic View > Network and Sharing Center > Manage Wireless Networks in the left pane and right-click the one you want to remove.

SET UP A NEW WIRELESS CONNECTION
Go to Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Set up a Connection or Network > Manually Connect to a Wireless Network > Next. Type in the Network Name (SSID), select Security Type and type in the WEP/WPA key. There is more chance of a reliable connection if the key is typed in hexadecimal rather than as ASCII characters. You may also want to tick "˜Start this connection automatically’ and "˜Connect even if the network……‘ > Next. Lastly click "˜Connect to‘ and you should connect to the network.

 

Hi,
No adapters used in this case...Just a Wi-Fi connection...What I also failed to mention in my previous post was, I ran a easylink fix for the router and it renables the connection and all looks good until the attempt to connect without the hard-wire,then that's where the connection is lost...The cables all appear fine as does the lights on the ISP modem and Linksys...With the hard-wire connection, I can click on "view wireless connections" and get what's always been listed there but when the hard-wire connection is removed, there are no listings to view ???

 

No adapter - No connection!

I expect you have an adapter - you just don't realise it. BurrWalnut's advice is still good!

If you don't manually attach an external adapter to the PC/laptop to get a wireless connection, then the adapter is built into the system motherboard. Windows doesn't care which it is (internal or external). As far as it is concerned there is an wireless adapter chipset attached to the computer, and it will use drivers and management software to enable it.

 

Hi,
Okay on that, I will attempt the instructions provided later on today...Thank you...And will post back the results.

 

Sorry for the delay in posting the results but our work schedules some times don't give us a chance to connect...Anyways, I don't know what exactly was the cause of the problem but what ever it was, cleared itself up...Thanks for your assistance...