wep encyrption won't let me boot up

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Guest

I am having a hard time with wpa encryption. I almost had the network set
up. I am trying to get it to be WPA encrypted but it keeps on saying it is
unsecured.(I followed the instructions in the manual for the setup) I
changed a couple of settings on the linked computer --the "SSid" to the name
on the host computer and changed the "open" source to "wep" (that was all
that was showing up for encry.). The computer wouldn't connect to the
internet at all after that, so I thought I would reboot the computer.
NOW I CAN"T BOOT IT UP AT ALL--you can hear the hard drive spinning but it
won't log into windows. I wrecked another computer the same way I
believe--we thougt it was a hard drive problem so we bought another hard
drive and now I have done the same thing to this one believe (the first
router was a linksys 802.1 b. We bought a trendnet g router this time to
try to get the better encryption but I must not be doing something right as
it's not working ) MY main concern is how do I get my computer to boot so I
can fix my errors. Please help my husband is going to be extremely upset
with me!!!

Thanks
Diane
 
My guess would be that the wireless-card driver is not the right one for the
card, or else is buggy.

Try restarting in Safe Mode, (Tap the F8 key repeatedly during startup to
get the menu) then go to Control Panel>Ssytem>Hardware>Device Manager. Under
Network Adapters, disable the wireless card (right-click its icon) Once
you've done this, restart normally and hopefully the computer wiull boot OK.

(Note I say disable not remove. If you remove the hardware-item it will
self-reinstall at next reboot, and you will be no further forward. Disabling
will stop the driver from loading.)

If that doesn't work, again in Safe Mode go into Control Panel>Adminstrative
Tools>Services, and disable the "wirelss zero config" service - and any
others that look like they might be OEM wireless utilities.) Now try again in
normal mode. -You can easily reinstate these once the problem's cured.

Once it's running again, you need to figure-out what the problem is. My
guess would be either a faulty wireless card, or a driver problem. If you
visit the manufacturer's site you may find there's a driver update available,
this may fix the problem.
 
Diane, first I agree with Ian's troubleshooting tips. They should get you to
the point you can recover.

But do not confuse WPA with WEP. These are two very different technologies.
One will not work with the other (mixed environment). And although WPA is
stronger than WEP, it can still VERY EASILY be cracked. In fact, you can
crack WPA by capturing just 4 packets of data. So, be very careful about
using wireles.....

FE
 
Thanks for the quick response Ian. I have tried to boot up about fifteen
times already with and without hitting the F8 key. Windows will not load.

When I installed the unit I had gone to the website earlier and there was
no updated driver.

As I wrote in my message the same exact thing also happened to me when I
used the LINKSYSIS router. It happens as soon as I go into the advanced
button and change the open to "WEP" (which is not what I wanted but that was
the only choice other than "shared". I thought that the hard drive had
failed.

My other computer never did go into boot mode either so now I have two
zombies sitting in my room unable to boot. Why should this configuration
change prevent it from booting?

I need to get this one to boot up as my husband has his business accounting
on it
 
So, lets review:

When you press F8 (keep tapping from the start of the POST, as the system
boots), what happens? Do you get the Advanced Startup Menu with the Safe
Mode option?

I would pull the WiFi NIC out of the computer and try booting without the
device installed. Is this a USB WiFi NIC? Then certainly pull it out of the
USB port and boot it up. In fact, pull out all USB devices from their ports,
and try to boot. If you can boot without the USB devices, then try plugging
them in one by one until you discover the one that is giving you a problem.

FE
Wm P
MCP | MVP | CCNA | A+
 
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