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If Something Goes Wrong
Resolving a hardware conflict
❖ Use the PING command to verify a connection to the gateway
at 192.168.1.1 (a default gateway for most wireless routers).
1 Click Start to open the Start menu.
2 Type
Cmd in the search field.
3 At the top-left of the Start menu, click
cmd.exe.
4 Enter
PING 192.168.1.1 at the command prompt, and press
Enter.
5 If “Request Timed Out” or another error message appears
in response, then the problem is probably Wi-Fi
®
-related.
❖ If you have enabled any security provisions (closed system,
MAC address filtering, Wired Equivalent Privacy [WEP], etc.),
check the access point vendor's Web site for recent firmware
upgrades. Problems with WEP keys, in particular, are
frequently addressed in new firmware releases.
Special considerations for the Windows
®
operating system
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption is not enabled
on the wireless access point.
When you install a wireless access point device, the Windows
®
operating system checks whether WEP encryption is enabled on the
device. If it is not enabled, the Windows
®
operating system adds the
device to its list of available wireless networks, but does not create a
wireless connection using the device, since the connection would
not be secure. You can still, however, use the access point. To use an
access point without WEP encryption, follow these steps:
1 Double-click the Wireless Network icon in the Notification
Area (far-right portion of the Windows
®
Taskbar).
2 Click Connect to a network.
3 Select the desired network from the list and click Connect.
A message informs you that the selected network is not secure.
4 Click Connect Anyway.
5 The Windows
®
operating system will now try to establish a
wireless connection.