My sister got a new computer and i took her old wireless card out and installed it into her new computer. The hardware is in and the software is installed. It says the signal strength is very strong. When i try to go on internet explorer or AOL it says unable to make connection. Can someone help me out. Thanks ahead of time.

 

Is she using WEP on the access point? If so, you'll need to set the key in the client. What you described about having a strong signal but no connection is a symptom of having an incorrect or no WEP key.

 

I assume that you are connected to a wireless router, right? Is access to the network MAC address limited? Yeah, and what Dave said about the WEP key also.

Are you running a special router to connect to AOL? They are one of the rare ISPs that requires you to use their "proprietary" hardware for Internet access.

Make sure that IE is configured to automotically obtain proxy connection also.

 

Sounds like you are not connected to the Internet or do not have your network settings set to DHCP/automatically obtain an IP address. This doesn't necessarily sound like a WEP issue yet - it sounds like there is no Internet connection (he just said IE can't get on the 'net).

Try this - go to start, run... and type in "ipconfig /all". If you have an IP and see non 192.168.x.x IPs you are on the Internet in most cases.

Need more information. PM if you have questions.

 

2 things to make sure of:

1. are you getting an valid IP address from your DHCP server? (firewalls are typically 192.168.x.x)

2 if you are not getting a valid IP address (windows autoconfiguration range: 169.254.x.x) then you have WEP enabled and havent programmed the key into the new computer.