cannot connect to another router

P

pcman63

New Member
I bought a new laptop to compliment my desk top. I set up a wireless connection with a Linksys E1000 router which works fine. My problem is that when I go by my friends house and want to logon to the internet with her router, (which is also a Linksys), I cannot get a connection even when I type the security key. Is there something that I need to do with her router to get a connection? My laptop is an HP G17, 64 bit. I would appreciate any help.
:confused:
 
you'll have to excuse my lack of knowledge, I'm just a novice. What does DHCP mean? We both have RoadRunner from Time Warner Cable so I would imagine that the IP address would be the same.
 
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i apologize, dhcp is a service that automatically configures your IP settings for you.

IE. Ip address, subnet mask, gateway, dns servers.

If you go to start run type CMD press ok

then in the black command line box type

ipconfig /all

this will tell what is going on...

here is mine

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-E0-B8-6F-4A-E8
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.43
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.206
192.168.2.202

as you can see my DHCP is not on so my IP was manually set by me.

if your is on and you have an address like 169.254.x.x then that means you couldnt find a dhcp server and it gave you an address... this will not work for you.

let me know what you find.
 
Quiltface, I clicked on start and there is no "run" box to enter in. Windows 7 sure is crazy. Do you have any other advice or can you tell me how else I can get to RUN?
 
Okay, the windows and R button got me into the run area. The black area had the following info: Microsoft Windows version, the copyright notice and drive location which is: C:/Users/gordy> (gordy is my name) After the > I keyed in IPCONFIG/ALL and several items came up. #1 is "Windows IP Configuration" which listed 5 items one of which is IP Routing Enabled----No
The next group of items is "Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:" which has 6 items: one of which is Media State---Media disconnected; and another is Physical Address----1E-F4-6A-A1-84-98; and another is DHCP Enabled-----Yes and finally, Autoconfiguration Enable---Yes
There are more groups: Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection; Wireless LAN adapddter Wireless Network Connection: (these all show DHCP enabled--Yes) and finally there are 3 groups that are Tunnel Adapter. These groups show the DHCP--No
So now I'm really confused....
 
did you do this while you were connected or trying to connect to your friends router?

And what is your ip address?
 
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I was doing this while trying to connect to her router.
I ran the CMD again and here is what was there under "Wireless LAN adaper Wireless Network Connection"
Link-local IPv6 Address-----fe80::58d2:c14b:4bae:a42f%11(preferred)
then on another line is IPv4 Address-----192.168.1.108(preferred)
 
looks like it got a valid ip... what is the gateway? and if you run that ipconfig /all on your friends computer you should get similar numbers. infact everything should be the same except for the IP address ..and well mac address.
 
Pcman63, can you usually connect to other people's networks? If so, that implies that your TCP/IP is set to obtain IP and DNS addresses automatically (good) as well as DHCP and Autoconfiguration enabled (good).

Assuming the above is true, shouldn't the next step be to look at the friend's router? The router has to have DHCP Server enabled and if the Restrict Client Access/MAC address list is used, new devices connecting have to be given "Permit" status.

Edit: Just missed Quiltface post as I was composing!
Edit2: Silly question, are you sure you are trying to connect to your friend's network, not one of her neighbours?
 
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quiltface and nanobyte: the gateway and DHCP server are 192.168.1.1 on both computers. The Subnet Mask is also the same on both computers: 255.255.255.0
Both my friends computer and mine show DHCP enabled--Yes and Autoconfiguration enabled--Yes

Yes, I'm trying to connect to my friends network. I'm at her computer now and using it now.
 
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You did not say if you can connect to other people's networks.

Your laptop does not care what your friend's router address is. The whole point of DHCP and the rest is that it automatically configures connections. Your laptop should detect any network in range. When you login to the selected network with the password, the DHCP server in the router gives your laptop an address on the network and off you go. You are then connecting to the Internet via the IP address and DNS servers that the router got from the ISP.

Let's say the router is 192.168.1.1. The default range for the DHCP Server may be say 192.168.1.100 to 192.168.1.253. Your friend's PC may be given 192.168.1.100 and the server may give your laptop the next address 192.168.1.101 or something different depending what else is connected.

If your friend's PC happened to be switched off when you connected, you may be given 192.168.1.100 instead. The point is, you don't need to worry about addresses.

Have you logged into the router to check settings? To do that you start a browser (on your friend's laptop), enter the router address 192.168.1.1 in the address bar and it will bring up the router setting page. You have to login to change or browse settings. Given the fact that neither of you seem up to speed it is likely the password is the default for the router. It's most likely admin or nothing at all (hit Enter or login, whatever). Here's a complete list of passwords by make. The password should be changed but more of that later.

Have a quick look and browse the various pages without changing anything. Post the router make and model so I or someone else can grab the manual.
 
First of all, I just got my laptop less than a week ago, so my friends router is the first one that I'm trying to connect with.
Secondly the router make and model: Mine is a Linksys model E1000 and my friends is a Linksys WRT1320N. And unfortunately when I enter192.168.1.1 in the address bar, a window comes up asking for the user id and password which neither of us knows.
And yes, neither of us is up to speed!
 
If this is the first connection outside your home network that does introduce more uncertainty.

In case you are trying to connect to your network at your friend's place in error here is MS' procedure:
1. Right-click the network connection icon in the notification area, and then click View Available Wireless Networks.
2. In Connect to Wireless Network, under Available Networks, click the wireless network that you want to connect to.
3. If a network key is required for Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), do one of the following:
• If the network key is automatically provided for you (for example, the key is stored on the wireless network adapter given to you by your administrator), leave Network Key blank.
• If the network key is not automatically provided for you, in Network key, type the key.
4. Click Connect.
5. To configure additional wireless network connection settings, or if you are having difficulty making a connection to the wireless network that you selected, click Advanced, and then configure the settings in the Wireless Networks tab.


When you look at the list of available networks on your laptop, is there just the one network shown, which is hers? What method of security is shown, WPA or WEM? Are you positive her password/key is being typed in exactly as it should be?

When you got to the username and password you should have looked at the list of passwords that I gave you the link for. It's probably admin and admin or, nothing at all and nothing at all (blank and blank).

I can't find a WRT1320N manual at Linksys so this is based on others and I can't read the images properly on those so best guess:

If you get in, go to Advanced Configuration? Network Setup > Network Address Server Settings (DHCP)
DHCP should be enabled and probably start at address 100

Wireless > Security Mode
Make a note of which security method is used (WPA or WEM) - is it the same as when you tried to connect?

Wireless > MAC Filter
Is this disabled?
If enabled, is it Permit Only?
If enabled press the button to get the list and check there is at least one number in the list (your friend's PC)

Post back what you find
 
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My apologies for jumping in on Quiltface's work. I thought that someone needed to ask if you could easily connect to other friends' network, which could have saved time.

How do you know you are not connected when you try to connect with your laptop? "Not connected" dialog? Browser won't work "Cannot find...."?

A couple of things you could try from your laptop after trying to login to her network
Run (win+r), cmd,
ping 192.168.1.1 (wait until it finishes all pings)
If you get good returns you are connected to her router
ping 209.85.225.104 (which is Google)
If you get good returns you are connected to the internet
Open your browser and enter 209.85.225.104 in the address bar
If you get Google, but cannot connect normally with your browser, you have an issue with the DNS server.
 
First of all I'd like to thank both Quiltface and Nanobyte for the time and help you are giving me.

Okay let's start from scratch: when I click on the connection icon in the lower right corner I get a window that lists the available connections. They are: DD83BBAC12;
GoBrewersGo; 2WIRE056; linksys_WPS_FIFE; 2WIRE347; linksys7; unit3; 2WIRE067;
mt432; 2WIRE742; 2WIRE546. The first five show the strongest connection. My friends router uses linksys_WPS_FIFE. So that is what I clicked on. Then I get a window that asks for the security key, which I know. When I key it in a window shows "searching for
linksys_WPS_FIFE. Then I get a window that says "unable to connect to linksys_WPS_FIFE. When I troubleshoot the problem, I get a window that says "investigate router or access point issues". It gives instructions to: 1) unplug or turn off the device, 2) After all lights on the device are off, wait at least 10 seconds. 3)Turn device back on or plug into the power outlet. AND "To restart a router or access point that has a built in battery, press and quickly release the Reset button.
So this is where I am at. I assume the "device" is the router. And I did not try the instructions. I hope this will help you help me solve my problem. Again thank you for your help.
 
Thanks for clearing up the connection message. Try accessing the router with her PC per my longer post to see what protections are in place in the router.

If neither of you have played around with her network I would have thought the standard "cable guy" installation would make it easy to connect. They don't tend to install the highest level of protection.

You could run the first ping test (my last post) to 192.168.1.1 on her PC just to see what that looks like. It won't directly help you.
 
Nanobyte, as I said before I am a novice with laptops, actually a very bare bones novice. So with that in mind I have 3 questions: 1) I assume when you say standard "cable guy" installation, do you mean following the instructions that come with the router? 2) How do you run a "ping" test? and 3) can use my friends router installation disk to set up my laptop on her router? Would that cause problems with my router setup?
 
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