I.E.not working/wireless networking & general Vista help

[Guest]

Hello,

I recenty purchased a Dell E1705 which came preloaded with Windows Vista.
It's got the 802.11g wireless card. I attempted to get onto the internet
Saturday morning and was not able to. With the intention of securing our
wireless network (which is a Microsoft MN-700 connected to our DSL modem
provided by Verizon), I wanted to set it up so that it had at least a 64-bit
encryption level. Unfortunately, I couldn't locate any of the notes and
documentation that we had when we set the network up so I restored the
wireless and started from scratch. Now, I not only cannot get on the
internet with my Vista machine but also cannot get on with either my XP Home
desktop or laptop.

I can connect to the network fine. All computers see each other. But
whenever I try to open Internet Explorer (on any machine) I get the "page
cannot be displayed" message with the links for troubleshooting.

I spent probably 6 hours on the phone with Dell (probably 4 of them on hold)
only to have it determined by them to be a software problem for which they
transferred me to Dell On Call, which is not free. :shrug: The
first tech I spoke to on Saturday had me try to connect directly to the
wireless with an ethernet cable. I tried my old laptop and actually was able
to connect so he had me do the same onthe Vista laptop but no go. Later that
night (my phone actually died while I was waiting to be transferred to their
"Vista department") I hooked the ethernet cable back up to my laptop and got
onto Yahoo but when I tried to go to another web site, I got the same error
page.

One of the techs yesterday had me try ipconfig /all and all that did was
show a brief flash of a screen and then go away. I wish I could remember
everything they had me try this weekend, but I can't.

I have yet to be able to get back to the internet. I even tried
re-restoring the wireless router again, thinking maybe there was something in
the settings that I didn't replicate properly. I'm getting quite desperate
and am out of ideas. If anyone can provide some suggestions, I would greatly
appreciate it.

Other issues/concerns I have are:
1) Are my printer and scanner going to work with the Vista machine? They
are both USB.

2) I bought a wireless keyboard and mouse and when I tried to install the
software, Vista said the drivers weren't compatible. I tried just plugging
in the antenna into a USB port and the machine recognized and installed the
devices, but they don't work. Any suggestions there?

Thank You!
Jessica Kinsey

 

[Guest]

can you ping by IP, internally and externally? and can you ping by DNS
internally??

 

[Guest]

pinging from the command prompt is unsuccessful. Not sure if that is
internal or external. I don't know how to ping by DNS so I can't answer that
question.

 

[Guest]

Well, I hate to say it because no one wants to talk to a help desk. But it
sounds like you need to call your ISP that sold you the router, and have them
walk you through reenabling the settings, weather it be setting up PPPoE or
WEP or WPA. Also they should be able to walk you through obtaining the Keys
that you need to log on wirelessly from your laptops with WEP and WPA
enabled. Good luck, really they are the only ones who can help you.

 

[Guest]

Have you tried to reset the router to its default settings. This should get
you back to the point of being able to ping. Then you will need to configure
you network again on your operating systems.

 

[Guest]

Gene,

Yes I have. I've restored it twice, to no avail. My old laptop is now
telling me insert the CD to complete the installation (for Verizon e-mail).
I will take xtreme's advice and call Verizon again to see if they can/will
help me. I called them originally on Saturday and the tech I spoke with
couldn't help me and tried to transfer me to Microsoft who is, of course, not
open on the weekends. Any other ideas and/or tips would be appreciated.

I am also still having issues trying to get the wireless keyboard and mouse
to work as per the below. Any suggestions there?

Thanks!
Jess

 

[Guest]

Right, if Verizon owns the router, maybe a westel or netgear, they need to
support it. And if it is happening across the network and no computers can
connect it is obviously a network issue, and not a Windows issue. Also, if it
is a netgear you might want to do a chat or call tech support with them too
to assist you in getting your network back up. However if you use PPPoE you
will need your user name and password to authenticate with the DHCP Server

 

[Guest]

It's a Westel. So if I restored the wireless, thereby resetting all the
network settings, should I have to reinstall the in order to reaccess the
network? I will try Verizon first. That seems to make the most sense.

 

[Guest]

Have you been able to get your problem fixed? I am not computer literate at
all. And I recently purchased a Dell laptop E1505 and I have a Westell
Versalink through Verizon. And I was told after a few calls that they were
not able to configure the Westell to meet the demands of the VWindow Vista
program???? And it makes it worse when you home computer has Windows XP.

 

[Guest]

Brandy,

Yes, we were able to get our problem fixed. Apparently, the issue started
happening after I restored the wireless router. It scrambled the signal on
the Westel, thereby disabling it. My husband spent about a 1/2 hour on the
phone with Verizon. They had his reset the Westel. I don't know what else
they did, but shortly thereafter the DSL was back up.