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installing wireless-now lost my internet

mrs_baggins
Posts: 1,290 Forumite

in Techie Stuff
am not sure if anyone can help as I cant really explain the problem as I am not technically minded but i will try. have been up since 5 this morning trying to fix it.
I am on virgin broadband. all was ok. I bought a belkin N wireless router. Installed that (had slight prob as I was supposed to disconnect my cable from modem to pc and plug into router but the cable was a usb one so i substituted for an ethernet one) went through the set up wizard via belkin disc and it said all was ok.
I could connect to internet using main pc. left it for a day. Yesterday tried to set up a laptop I have been given. I got into problems as on my main pc when i clicked on 'all wireless networks within range' it said I needed a security key to connect. I thought this would be the one I had set up via belkin but it wasnt having it at all. an icon at bottom kept telling me wireless wasnt connected but set up wizrd said all was ok.
I switched off/on and now when i bring up my internet page I get a message saying something like 'not connected do you want to work offline' eventually i disconnected router altogether and put original cables back and switched off the router.
however i still cant connect to internet now and get a message up about bluetooth dun and i have no idea what its about. I went into my pc's support and tried to repair it but it says it cant find my ip address. I am totally stuck now but i think there are now 2 problems the first in that somehow setting shave been changed and second about the wireless part.
sorry its so long but thought i would write down whats happened in hope someone could help a non technical person
I am on virgin broadband. all was ok. I bought a belkin N wireless router. Installed that (had slight prob as I was supposed to disconnect my cable from modem to pc and plug into router but the cable was a usb one so i substituted for an ethernet one) went through the set up wizard via belkin disc and it said all was ok.
I could connect to internet using main pc. left it for a day. Yesterday tried to set up a laptop I have been given. I got into problems as on my main pc when i clicked on 'all wireless networks within range' it said I needed a security key to connect. I thought this would be the one I had set up via belkin but it wasnt having it at all. an icon at bottom kept telling me wireless wasnt connected but set up wizrd said all was ok.
I switched off/on and now when i bring up my internet page I get a message saying something like 'not connected do you want to work offline' eventually i disconnected router altogether and put original cables back and switched off the router.
however i still cant connect to internet now and get a message up about bluetooth dun and i have no idea what its about. I went into my pc's support and tried to repair it but it says it cant find my ip address. I am totally stuck now but i think there are now 2 problems the first in that somehow setting shave been changed and second about the wireless part.
sorry its so long but thought i would write down whats happened in hope someone could help a non technical person
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Comments
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Now that you have put things back as they were, can you connect to the internet with the desktop PC?
With the wireless, it is to do with the Belkin router, the security key is something that is set in the router config (different to the logon password), usually under something like 'wireless security' - there will also be an option for type, eg WEP, WPA, WPA2. You should be able to view the key from the router setup, otherwise, just change it to something new (about 10+ chars, incl numbers and a mix of case).0 -
I switched off/on and now when i bring up my internet page I get a message saying something like 'not connected do you want to work offline' eventually i disconnected router altogether and put original cables back and switched off the router.
Go into "Tools" on your internet bar and check that "work offline" is not ticked.
To check the security on your router (you might have mistaken what you put in for a password) you need a cable between your main pc and your router. You then put the web address of your router in the address bar of your browser and it should give info on your router, you should be able to see the password in something like the security section. The address of your router should be in the instructions.What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare0 -
Hi,
the security key should be on a little label on bottom of router.
Make sure you have the wireless switched on on the lappy, it might be one of the F keys, F9 on my lappy, looks like a wee triangle on a pole, a whirlygig.0 -
thanks all. I will have another go when I get home. I think I may be entering the wrong thing!
frugal- i love your explanations- sounds like something i would say! made me laugh0 -
Hi,
mrs b, I try not to be too technical.
Hope you get sorted.0 -
update
after fiddling about i now have internet back!! hurrah. sadly the blue wireless light on router refuses to light so I am not wireles yet but have sent an email to belkin to see if they can help on that one. I am mystified but there is so much i dont know about various settings I dont want to mess about too much0 -
Silly question time - are you expecting the blue wireless light to light up before you turn on any wireless units? It does not come on until something wireless tries to communicate with it. (Sorry if this is such a stupid question, but I have had people call me complaining about no dialling tone on phones before now, and the line cord has been unplugged!, so I tend to err toward the over-cautious!).What is this life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare0
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That's right it wasn't working because the MAC address of the network card in the PC needs to be cloned to the network card on the router. It is looked up by Virgin everytime a device tries to go online. This is why you should always follow the setup instruction and run the CD setup, it will usually do the cloning for you.0
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Jane_Blackford wrote: »Silly question time - are you expecting the blue wireless light to light up before you turn on any wireless units? It does not come on until something wireless tries to communicate with it. (Sorry if this is such a stupid question, but I have had people call me complaining about no dialling tone on phones before now, and the line cord has been unplugged!, so I tend to err toward the over-cautious!).
blush!!! well yes I was expecting it to light up. I have now realised that its not how it works, silly really. There was also a problem with laptop and I assumed this was because the error message kept saying the wireless network was not connected. Whatever I did I have now sorted both problems and can now get wireless on laptop!! yipee! thank you0
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