My laptop is a Sony Vaio CR320-E running Windows Vista Home Premium. My wireless card is an Intel WiFi Link 4965AGN. My router is a Netgear Wireless G router (don't know the model).
Every time I take my laptop out of range of the router ( to school, Starbucks, a friends house, wherever) when I bring my laptop back home and try to connect to my home network, it won't identify the network. The network appears on the list of available networks, and I click connect, but then down on the taskbar, where the little symbol for the wirless network is (you know, the 2 computer screens) a little yellow triangle with an exclimation point comes up over the wireless symbol and when I hover the pointer over it it says ';Unidentified Network (The name of my network)';, I try doing diagnose and repair, uninstalling and re-installing the wireless card, restarting my computer, but none of that works The only thing that fixes it is if I reset the router. This does not happen (or RARELY happens) when I'm trying to connect to other networks, only my home network.
How can I fix this? Please, PLEASE use laymens terms. I know how to use a computer, but when it comes to the technical stuff, I'm pretty lost :/ So if I need to change a setting or reset something, tell me like step by step what to click on, what to type in, etc.Laptop wireless internet-unidentified network?
Control Panel%26gt; Network and sharing Center%26gt; Manage wireless networks%26gt; right click your network, then ';move up'; to the top of the list; also, right click 'Properties'%26gt; in 'Connections' tab, check ';Connect automatic...in range';%26gt; OK.
A couple of other things you should do:
Go to your router mfgr's website %26amp; get the user manual for the unit.
You'll need to use this for navigating around the 'Administrative interface';.
Wireless Router settings:
With a CAT5 cable, tether the router to computer; open a browser; in the address bar type 192.168.X.X (see user manual for exact address for administration interface address) %26amp; find the Settings for Security (or similar):
Default entrance info page: http://www.routerpasswords.com/
Set for WPA (or WPA2 if your computers support this level) %26amp; AES.
(Use WEP only as a last resort: it's apprentice work to crack).
Also;
Turn off 'SSID' broadcast (be sure to give your router a new name (nothing obvious!) %26amp; write it down; it will be needed to 'Add' your wifi network later in your computer settings;
Disable: UPnP; QoS (unless using VoIP or gaming); and WAN access to Administrative interface.
Enable: Router management username %26amp; bulletproof passphrase (not the same as Internet access password, which would be the PSK (pre-shared key)).
PSK's should be over 7 characters; letters %26amp; numbers (mixed), not words.
Put this # on tape %26amp; put on the top of the router for easy access.
Note: Mac address filtering will prevent freeloaders, but will not deter committed hackers. Mac addresses are on the front end of packets, therefore un-encrypted %26amp; easily copied and used to 'spoof' packets; enabling a 'man in the middle' attacks.
You might want to also set (in 'Connections') as 'always connected' to prevent disconnects when there is no activity to or from the Internet.
Computer settings:
To access these settings go to Control Panel (All control panel items)%26gt; Network and Sharing Center%26gt; Change advanced sharing settings.
7 RC (maybe Vista?) has slightly different configurations required for wifi.
There are 2 basic modes: A) Home %26amp; Office; or B) Public. Each of which can be tailored to suite your particular situation.
For A)
You may want configurations that allow maximum interaction with minimum connection issues to other devices in your known network.
These may include ';turning on'; Network discovery; File %26amp; Printer sharing; Public folder sharing (read description first); File sharing (read description); Media streaming; and so on. These config's allow particular functions, so read carefully what they do, and decide if it's what you want.
For B)
The Public mode would be the opposite: you want minimum interaction from outside sources, and maximum connection security barriers.
Turn off network discovery (stealth your system)
Turn off file %26amp; printer sharing (shields your files from prowlers)
Turn off Public folder sharing (hides your otherwise 'shared' folders)
Turn off Media streaming
Use ';128 bit...'; (reduces external machine access probability)
Turn on Password protected sharing (adds another layer of security)
After re-configuring any of the above, make sure to ';Save changes';.
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