my fault for not providing full information. the router is brand new. very good one. with CD install instructions. etc. D-Link is brand. friend bought it but it was not strong enough for his 2 story home.
the router was configured .....my wireless card in computer works as I can view my neighbor's wireless info etc.
trust me, I so appreciate my fellow DIS'rs!!!! I am so frustrated...and I love and so appreciate words of advice from you all...even when sometimes some may be way above me and beyond me in advice/instruction,.
ah, that makes sense
Well, here's a question -- you said it was "already configured". I assume you mean your friend bought it and it was working ifne at their house (just not strong enough.) Then you took it to your house and it doesn't seem to work.
When you/your friend first set it up at your house, did they reset it first? Usually it's a matter of pushing a recessed button on the back of it for a few seconds (check the instructions you got with it to figure out where/how long to push the button.) This may be a key step to get it to work -- you have to get it back to "factory default" settings.
Also, when your neighbor did the setup, I assume they had an ethernet cable (thick phone-line type thingy connected from router to your laptop) to set it up. If not, that's probably the issue. If the neigbor did use an ethernet cable, did he/she get a proper connection THROUGH the ethernet cable? When you do the setup for the first time using the ethernet cable and disk that came with the router, it will walk you through everything and then probably have you verify that you're connected to the internet with a WIRED connection. In other words, you should be loading web pages and all that with the ethernet cable stuck into the back of the computer. Then afterwords, you set up the wireless.
I'm curious as to whether your wired connection is working and you can access it thru the router. This is an important troubleshooting step because it can help you figure out if the router and your connection are actually working and the router/modem are connected to one another properly. If you have no idea what your neighbor did and whether he/she got a wired connection, but you see an ehternet cable lying around
give it a whirl by sticking it into your computer and the appropriate hole in the wireless router (if there are numbers for the different holes, pick the lowest #). Wait a bit and see if you can get a wired connection and surf the web. If so, then everything is good BUT the wireless itself. Which is probably just an issue of getting your wireless card to talk to the wireless router. If not, then you probably don't have the router and cable modem connected to one another properly and they're not talking.
In other words ... if you can get a wired connection from the wireless router, then the cable/internet from the wall is "talking" to the cable modem, which is "talking" to the wireless router. (and then you plug your computer in and you can "talk" to the wireless router!) If not, then the cable/internet from the wall is either not "talking to anyone" ... or the cable/internet from the wall is "talking" to the cable modem, but the cable modem is not "talking" to the router and hence you can't "hear" anything from your computer. If that makes any sense!
The goal is to get to the point where everything is connected and can talk to one another. Check all manuals you have for router and modem and cable company to double-check your connections.
If everything seems set up right, more thorough "resetting" process is a really, really good idea. Turn everything off (unplug router and modem from wall and disconnect ethernet cable from computer.) Wait three to five minutes (dumb, but some of these devices need time to clear out their memories or something). reset the cable modem (consult manuals). Reset the wireless router as well. (they BOTH need resetting). Resetting may involve something annoying like holding down the recess button with a paperclip for 60 seconds while it's ON, then turning it off while still pushing the button, then keeping the button pushed for another 60 seconds. Consult manuals and the internet to check how to do that!
Once everything is reset (hey, while you're at it, reboot your laptop, too... hey, why not?) plug the wireless router into the wall and let it boot up (it'll flash a bunch of lights -- takes a while). Then connect the cable modem to the wireless router and plug it in and let IT boot up (again, takes a while.) then when all lights are go, plug the ethernet cable into the lowest # hole on the back of the wireless router and into the back of your computer. Give it a good while. Make sure your WIRED connection (ehternet) is not disabled or something. It should detect that connection and you can surf the internet. Now ... disconnect from the ehternet cable, make sure the wireless connection is not disabled, give it a good good long while and see if it will connect. If not, open up the wireless connections menu dealie and see if it is listed there. It might be listed as "default" or "linksys" or something. If you have to, double click or select that default named connection and see if you can get online.
If all that works (whew!) you can then fully configure the (newly reset and wiped) modem and router. consult manuals to see how to do it (most likely have to type a special address into your browser). Make sure to password protect and rename it!
