Having another attempt to get this netbook working on wi-fi.
It connects to the web if connected to the ethernet cable. I have been putting in the various codes / passwords for the router but then get this message.....
"It is asking for a network password needs to be 40bits or 104bits depending on your network configuration. This can be entered as a 5 or
13 ascii characters or 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters".
The above does not relate to anything on the router label, I have tried all the numbers/passwords to no avail.
sounds like the router is configured to use the ancient (horribly broken) WEP encryption, can you reconfigure the router to use WPA or WPA2 encryption?
do you know the ip address of the router? when connected via wired ethernet, what is default gateway and//or dns server address, in a home that's 99% going to be the router ... point ypur web browser at that ip address e.g. http://192.168.1.254 does it ask you to login? do you know the admin username/password, not the wifi password?
worth mentioning that if your router is on WEP and you change it to WPA2 (a good thing) you'll have to re-enter the wifi password into all those other devices to get them to re-connect.
Maybe your netbook is configured to try and use WEP? And the router supports both. Maybe your netbook can ONLY supprt WEP, in which case you need to slap a wifi dongle in it
So that tells us it is able to handle TCPIP on the wired port. I can't remember if you set static entries for the Ethernet but if you didn't that would suggest DCHP was also working ok.
That worries me. There is (normally) only *one* right code and it shouldn't be a lottery. It is also case sensitive so you must follow that as well.
As others have said it suggests it thinks the router is using WEP and whilst that shouldn't be a problem re connection, it isn't an ideal solution in general.
See above.
What I would still like to hear is that you have booted that netbook from a Linux USB live image and that the wireless connects (or doesn't). [1]
A successful connection would prove two things. 1) You are using the right 'code' and 2) the hardware is compatible.
That's not to say that the Windows drivers were correct ... and I have had it where an automagically installed (WiFi in this case) driver doesn't work whereas the one from the WiFi card manufacturer does.
As an aside ... I have also replaced WiFi cards with devices that were 'Linux Compatible' (OOTB) as it was often easier than trying to get them working in Linux. ;-)
Cheers, T i m
p.s. How well did you get on connecting the Netbook to someone else's (friend / family / iNetCafe) router?
[1] It's only a few clicks to make a bootable Linux USB stick ...
1) Download this file:
formatting link
2) Download and install this USB imaging software (others are available):
formatting link
Open the link here and follow the steps:
formatting link
Just make sure you have selected the right USB device before hitting Go! ;-)
Reboot the netbook with the USB stick plugged in and see if you get the option to boot from it with the popup boot options (F10 etc)?
If it boots, use the 'Try' (not install) option and once at the desktop, see if the networking icon shows any WiFi networks and if it does and it shows yours, can you connect to it.
I also have a VM Hub and the first thing I did with it is put it into 'Modem Mode' and use my own router.
I think there are some things you can do re making it less fussy (as a WiFi router) but I can't remember what.
Cheers, T i m
p.s. If the netbook 'worked on that router before but doesn't now', it could be a firmware update to the router that has affected it:
formatting link
"To be fair, Virgin's been working on that issue. In March 2019, the company announced a major firmware update to the Hub 3, including three new measures aimed at improving performance. These are automatic channel-switching, which tries to minimise wireless interference by switching away from congested radio frequencies; band steering, which shunts devices from the 2.4GHz band onto the faster 5GHz band wherever possible; and a new "airtime fairness" feature that prevents any individual device from monopolising the airwaves and slowing everything else down."
What is clear is that te netbook is seeing the wifi and trying to connect using WEP which is insecure and not really recommended and may not in fact even work.
BT - I assume its a BT POS router - dont even put WEP network passwords on the router.
Only WPA2
Hmm. After googling some more it appears that POS is probebly right and BT routers seem to start to die and this is possibly a symptom
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