Problems connecting to wireless network after change in security type

Deleth1

New Member
Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me sort out this problem.

Laptop: Toshiba Tecra M9 with Belkin N1 Client adapter installed.
ADSL modem/Router Belkin N1
Security type: wpa/aes
SSID: hidden.

In my house we have 3 laptops that connect to the Belkin N1 router. All laptops have a Belkin N1 wireless client adapter installed. 2 laptops are Tecra S1s that are around 5 years old and Run XP-pro 32-bit. The problem is specifically with the Tecra M9 which is around a year old and runs Vista Business 32-bit.

I recently decided to change the security type on the router from wep to wpa/aes and decided to make the SSID hidden for extra security (the SSID was kept the same). In the 2 older S1 laptops I used the Belkin wireless networking utility installed to manually delete the old network with WEP encryption and then in the same utility manually added the new WPA settings and set it to automatically connect to the network even when the SSID is not broadcast. I saved the settings, restarted the routers and have found no problems with these 2 laptops finding and connecting to the network.

On the other hand the M9 Vista laptop cannot seem to keep the connection. When I tried to change the settings for the new network on this laptop I could not use the Belkin wireless networking utility because even though it appeared to be installed when you try to run the programme nothing happens, it doesn't respond. Because of this I entered the WPA settings using Vista's own interface on the laptop. I saved the settings and the laptop conencted just fine. Now the next time the laptop was booted-up it would not connect to the network automatically and it was not showing on the list of available networks. The Belkin client adapter appeared to be in a sleep state i.e the power and connection lights were dim instead of bright and flashing. What it did seem to be able to find was the old WEP network though. The network was coming up as unnamed with excellent signal and wep encrypted. My old network is the only one I know around me with wep encryption so I am convinced it is retaining the old settings for the network however I cannot see on vista's interface how to delete this network. When I right-click it gives you the option to connect which obvs fails because it is no longer there and nothing else.

What I have had to do is re-enter the details again for the new wpa network and then connect but I cannot get it to stop losing this connection when the laptop is re-booted. I thought perhaps if i uninstalled and reinstalled the belkin wireless networking utility and got this working then I would be able to delete the old network settings and manually add the new one as I had done on the other 2 laptops however I cannot get the utility to work. I have checked the client adapter in device manager and it is saying it is working properly. I have downloaded and run the Vista drivers but this has made no difference.

I am now completely flummoxed as to what the problem is. This laptop has been connecting to the old wep network with the n1 client adapter with no problems for a year and now all of a sudden I am having these problems. I know I've included a lot of information here but any advice on what the problem is and how to fix it would be greatly, greatly appreciated.
 

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