New Wireless Network, No Internet Connection!

[livnginabluewrld]

I just had a network installed in my house by a professional network installer. We have a cable modem hooked to a wireless router (Linksys 2.4Ghz) at one end of the house, and my computer with a wireless card is on the other side of the house. At this point my computer won't connect to the internet, even though the status window says the signal is "fair". The installer said that the problem was that the router and card are too far apart to have a stable signal, but that really doesn't seem to be the problem. They appear to be "talking" to each other, but it still doesn't connect to the internet. What do I need to do to fix this? Thanks for any help.

[Mardi_Gras]

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, livnginabluewrld :)

A few questions - What OS are you running? Do you have SSID broadcast enabled? IS WEP on or off? Are you running Zone Alarm or any other software that could limit network activity? What kind of wireless card are you running in the computer? How far apart are the two components?

And finally - have you tried moving the computer and AP closer together to see if you can connect that way?

[livnginabluewrld]

Thanks!

I am running Windows 98 Plus on my computer. I'm not sure if I've seen the SSID broadcast setting anywhere... where would I enable that, and what would that do? I know that WEP is off, and I am not running any other software that has to do with the network or internet. I have a linksys card, but I'm not sure about the specs. I could tell you that when I go back to my house in a couple hours (I'm on someone else's comp). And the two computers are around 30 feet apart (though there are walls and stuff between them). We moved the AP (router) closer to my computer (before that they were about 40 feet apart) but the signal stayed at 3-4 bars out of 10, which is "fair". I think that I should be able to connect with that much signal, so I'm thinking its something on my end, on my computer. My computer can see the router, but just can't connect to the internet. The past couple years I was connected through my school's network, and I still have my ethernet card. Could settings from that be messing things up?

As an extra bit of info, the computer that is near the modem is wired into the router, and the internet works just fine on that comp.

Hope that helps. Thank you so much for your response!

[Mardi_Gras]

My computer can see the router, but just can't connect to the internet.

so when you type in the router address in your browser (on the remote computer) you are able to see the set-up page? Can you see the other computer? Can the hardwired computer see the remote PC?

[choster]

Be sure you have the card configured for continuous access instead of power-saving. Otherwise, it takes time to reestablish the link every time you try to access the network.

You might be able to hear people whispering across the room (signal strength), but you may not be able to understand what they are saying to each other (signal quality). When my WiFi card shows a low quality connection, it takes longer to connect (especially dns) and downloads get interrupted frequently. And although I can often start a download when quality is "good" and continue with few problems if it degrades to "fair," I find it very difficult to connect starting out as "fair." And unfortunately, it seems to be affected not only by someone using a cordless telephone, but things like metal shelves or even the relative humidity.