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Hellbent

Can't get on my internets

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I got a new internet account in my apartment. Comcast Highspeed (I guess it's cable). My roommate hooked the shit up to his MAC. But I can't log onto the network. When I double click on my network name in the list of available networks a window pops up labeled "Wi-Fi Protected Setup Wizard (I'm using WinXP). "One or more wireless networks are detected within range of your computer blah blah blah.." There is a drop down menu in the window. I select my network and click Next. It asks for a password. "The Password is either displayed or printed on the device." It's a number it wants. I know this because letters don't work at all. I thought I was smart and found the number on the network thingmabob. I type it in and takes me to window "Retrieving wireless settings from the access point in progress..." Then it says "Choose a unique network name and select the security settings for your network. Security type says WPA2 - Personal (AES-CCMP) The Password key has a bunch of lower and upper case letters that go on nearly interminably. I don't touch nothing there--I just click Next. It returns the following message: "Failed to get the wireless settings. Configuration failed" At which point I repeat the process, replacing the string of characters it lists in the PW field with my given password. It gives the same failure error message, at which point I verbally abuse the computer for about 5 minutes straight.

Thanks for any help ye wise network admin people!

EDIT: The network name on the last window says my network name. When it's trying to connect it says "configuration in progress, starting the registration process" and a blue progress meter fills up the gray bar 1 and a half times and then it says the "Configuration failed" error message.

EDIT: If I enter the number password in the beginning of the process incorrectly I get a "checksum" error--so I'm pretty sure I'm putting in that number correctly (cause when you get it right it doesn't do the checksum)

I'm thinking maybe the security setting is too high and my wifi isn't high tech enough to handle it. Should I try a lower security setting? WPA instead of WPA2 maybe? I tried WPA and it still failed.

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The wireless access point will be set to a certain security type. You then have to match your PCs wireless with that. The wireless key is also set on the access point - Windows shouldn't be generating one for you...

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Doubt this'll help, but one time I couldn't get to my internets either :(
So I googled and found some stupid solution about changing the router from channel whatever to channel 11 instead.

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Hellbent said:

"The Password is either displayed or printed on the device." It's a number it wants. I know this because letters don't work at all. I thought I was smart and found the number on the network thingmabob.

If your roommate's half smart he's already changed the password (default network/encryption key) printed on the router so any tech-savvy neighbours you have can't leech your bandwidth. Use an ethernet lead to connect to the router, login to it's control panel (assuming your roomie hasn't changed that password as well) and - once you've found it - write down the network key. Hopefully that's all you'll need. Getting wifi hardware from different manufacturers to co-operate can be a nightmare and encryption appears to one of the main stumbling blocks, I hope that's not your problem.

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Or just ask him what settings he used. It's the same for him as it is for you.

The other thing is it sounds like you probably have some wi-fi utility that came with your card. If that's the case it will most likely have an icon in the system tray you can use to get options. The option I recommend is whatever disables that utility. The one that comes with Windows XP (Wireless Zero Configuration) is usually ten times as reliable, easier to use, and as a bonus, everybody knows it. If Windows is up to date it should be able to figure out the security type by itself and you should just have to put in the correct password. There should be only one password.

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Are you certain the password set by the router is the same you are attempting to connect to? They have to match so you can connect..say if it's WPA2-PSK, you have to have yours set to that and the same password to connect.

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Aliotroph? said:

Or just ask him what settings he used. It's the same for him as it is for you.

That's too easy and nowhere near as much fun as trying to fry the router. ;-)

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Just ask him for the passwords to the router and such, and if he refuses to give them, have him pay full price for cable.

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my roommate gave me the settings he uses to connect. There are 4 different security settings. I think I've tried all 4 security settings. there is an option to connect without any security. Even that returns the same failed result. I'm totally baffled.

Oh, and when I select no security, the password field disappears. But it still doesn't connect or "register the configuration settings".

/me contemplates getting a Mac. My roommate rubs it in my face how he has to do nothing to get his computer connected to the internet. Apparently the Mac knows what to do.

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Four different security settings? If they're 10 character alphanumeric strings - that's a set of 64-bit WEP encryption keys, which is very weak security.

BTW - there aren't many Doom ports you can run on a Mac, you'd probably do better with a genuine Linux box. ;)

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What kind of wireless adapter are you using? Some of them only work consistently with their own management software -e.g. I had little luck getting Intel and Gigabyte wireless adapters to work with the Windows XP wizard, but they worked like a charm with their own wireless suites, which also had much more options and allowed finer control of encryption types (e.g. WinXP's wizard doesn't even explicitly distinguish between WPA and WPA2).

Try using those instead, and disable Zero Configuration entirely.

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Yes it does. You have to go digging, but XP definitely distinguishes the different types of encryption.

When I was at Dell we had an unofficial policy of stripping out the third-party wi-fi utils. They broke all the time. We even killed the Dell one. If the Intel one has started doing its job well there must have been a change.

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Aliotroph? said:

Yes it does. You have to go digging, but XP definitely distinguishes the different types of encryption.


Yeah, it can tell the difference between unencrypted, WEP and WAP, broadly and generically. Don't try finding any fine lines between WEP-64, WEP-128, WAP, WAP2 and AES/TKIP, these are just for the anal type of people. It's either encrypted or it's not, right?

It might also be a matter of service pack, as SP2 definitively can't tell between WPA and WPA2 without the aid of third-party wireless managers.

Aliotroph? said:

When I was at Dell we had an unofficial policy of stripping out the third-party wi-fi utils. They broke all the time. We even killed the Dell one. If the Intel one has started doing its job well there must have been a change.


Well, Intel for one works much better with its own utiities, especially under XP. Without them, they can't hold a link. Under Vista, this poses a major problem since they don't make a Vista version of their suite, as I wrote time and again, and so the only option is to go unencrypted or use WEP, both of which are unacceptable.

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Hellbent said:

/me contemplates getting a Mac. My roommate rubs it in my face how he has to do nothing to get his computer connected to the internet. Apparently the Mac knows what to do.


Or maybe he's trying to get you to switch to Mac by clouding your mind. People do it to people all the time.

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I like it how such threads soon result into the simultaneous opening of multiple cans of worms and quickly degenerate into Holy War flaming shitfests, while the OPs stand quietly to the side not giving any feedback.

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Hellbent said:

/me contemplates getting a Mac. My roommate rubs it in my face how he has to do nothing to get his computer connected to the internet. Apparently the Mac knows what to do.

Because Macs aren't computers, they don't have any of those silly computer issues, ever.

Rrright.

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If you're so bent on using a non Wintel-platform, at least go Linux: it's free, you keep your current hardware, and you don't get to suck Steve Jobs's dick.

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Maes said:

and you don't get to suck Steve Jobs's dick.

Well, if sucking is involved, I guess I'd rather take Jobs than RMS. :(((

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Jodwin said:

Well, if sucking is involved, I guess I'd rather take Jobs than RMS. :(((


There must be some Unix variant somewhere that isn't run by the GNUtards.

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GreyGhost said:

Wonder how Hellbent's getting on? He's been unusually quiet.


Maybe because he can't get on his internets?

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You're probably better off writing your own UNIX clone under a do whatever the fuck you want license. The GNU talks about freedom but it really isn't free.

Anyway, any update on your internet perils? Did you try the correct settings, did you try looking in Windows Help on how to setup a connection to a router, etc.?

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GreyGhost said:

Or hunt around for one of these.


But is there LSB-compliant software for them? How about repositories? ;-)

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