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January 25th, 2007

XP wireless will not allow WPA

Customer calls and tells me he can no longer access the internet.

Now this is about 1 or 2 weeks after I removed a spyware infection.

All I did was remove antivir, and install avg free and avg anti-spyware (and remove the infection of course).

When I get there, the wireless icon shows the no wireless network within range message.

Looking at the config more closely, I see that under encryption, I can only select none, or WEP encryption. Where did the WPA encryption go?

I had setup the netgear WG111v2 adapter, a few months ago, so that it uses windows XP and WPA-PSK TKIP encryption… so whats going on?

After a few reboots, and looking at the device manager (without any progress), I try using the netgear utility… and it works… it allows me to connect to the wireless network…

Given that I don’t want to waste any more time, I tell the customer what has happened, and I cannot explain why the windows wireless doesn’t work properly, but to keep an eye on how the PC performs.

He says the PC has caused him lots of problems, and if it breaks down again, he will just toss it, and get a laptop instead.

With the cost of hardware nowadays, I’m afraid I’ll be seeing this happening a lot more often.

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Posted by Computer Help in Technical

2 Comments »

2 Responses to “XP wireless will not allow WPA”

  1. David says:

    Interesting times. I think this the first
    time that laptops have been really
    cheap compared to desktops and
    become a viable alternative for the same
    or similar price..

    It’s probably the first time too
    that most machines still on the
    shelf are woefully undergunned
    to use the latest OS (As of Tuesday)
    if indeed they can run it at all.

    Especially the “Ultimate” version.

    I have a hard time with
    the approach of buying laptops
    as a main machine.Especially
    for business use.

    It can be a nightmare if anything
    fails. Sure it may be free,but how
    long will it take to repair/replace
    under warranty.

    Nothing like a big desktop
    for power.storage capacity
    and quick repairs when
    disaster strikes.

    Use a laptop for mobile,but
    keep a desktop as base HQ.

    By this I mean proper desktops
    not junk from H Norman, DSE
    etc.

  2. Computer Help says:

    I agree, David.

    Generally speaking, a desktop is a better long-term solution than a laptop. Even if you compare the junk Hardley Normal and Dicky Smithy desktops, with the junk $799 laptops from the same place.

    As I say to most of my customers: get a laptop only if you have a valid reason (it needs to move around, you live in a shoebox, and you DON’T have small kids with sticky fingers!).

    Otherwise, be prepared for large maintenance costs once the warranty expires.

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