Solved Unidentified Network-Please HELP!!

[Lorien]

Hi Shrevmo,

Well done and congratulations. I'm happy to hear that your problems are now resolved. It was our pleasure to help in any way we could and did - that's why we're here.

I will request that the thread be marked solved.

Now that you have Windows 7, check out our sister forum www.sevenforums.com where they will assist you with any further questions or problems you have (as we focus only on Vista here).

Thanks for the feedback and letting us know how it turned out - it is appreciated.

Good luck and best wishes.

 

[chu16]

Im having a very similar problem on a used laptop i just bought. It connects to but then cannot identify the wireless network that i use with my other devises. I've looked through a plethora of possible fixes and haven't been able to find any solutions.

I dont know how to get a screenshot of my ipconfig/all cmd screen on the laptop, but it looks exactly like this...

 

[Lorien]

Hi chu16,

Every situation is slightly or even massively different - though they may appear the same on the surface.

First, reboot (turn off the power) to your router and your modem and leave them off for at least 60 seconds so they can reset. In the meantime, reboot your computer.

Please follow the instructions in Network Posting Tips (not just the IPCONFIG part but the other part as well as that may resolve the problem on its own). Then also please attach the screenshots from Network and Sharing Center that were posted above as well.

A few other questions:

Are there any other devices in the house that are successfully connected to the internet or are they all down? Are they connected the same way (wireless or cable) and, if not, how are they connected?

When did this occur? Did it occur suddenly and "bang" no connection or did it have problems before and finally just quit? If recent and sudden, try a System Restore. Do you know when this problem began? Try a System Restore to a point in time BEFORE the problem began. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/76905-system-restore-how.html. Be sure to check the box to show more than 5 days of restore points. If the first attempt fails, then try an earlier point or two. NOTE: You will have to re-install any software and updates you installed between now and the restore point, but you can use Windows Update for the updates.

Do you know how to access the router settings and have you checked them? If cabled, unplug and replug all the cables to make sure they are secure.

Please boot into Safe Mode with Networking and see if you can connect from there. If so, that will narrow down the problem considerably. If this works, please send an IPCONFIG of this while it is working and label it so I know which is which. If that doesn't work, disable your security software (temporarily) and try again. If it works, re-enable the software. If you lose connection again, we may need to consider alternative security products to resolve the problem.

If that doesn't work, try a clean boot http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135. If the problem goes away then it's just a matter of tracking down the culprit causing the problem. Follow the procedures in the article. Once found, delete, remove, deactivate, or uninstall it. Once done be sure to reset Vista back to normal status as explained in the procedures. If the problem occurs in clean mode then just restore the system to normal status and reboot - this solution is not going to work.

I hope this helps. If not, I hope it at least helps us identify the cause. Please be sure to answer ALL of my questions and try as many procedures as you can (and explain why you couldn't if you tried). I can't trace the cause and suggest solutions without this information.

Good luck!

 

[chu16]

I have narrowed the problem down considerably since my last post. I went to microsoft for solutions and after a few hours of troubleshooting, I was able to access the internet via LAN. Then, after giving over control of my laptop, the tech support dude accessed my router and disabled my network key. With this disabled i was able to access the internet via wireless (solved). Unfortunately, I cannot access the internet when i turn it back on. Im not the only user on this wireless network and both privacy and security require me to keep the network key enabled. I have an upgrade dvd for vista home premium, but I have to uninstall service packs to upgrade. Im not sure if this strategy is "safe". I can perform a "custom" installation, but im not sure how this may affect my system either. He (tech dude) suggested i talk to my service provider. What would u do?

 

[Lorien]

Hi Chu16,

Welcome to Vista Forums!

Normally, I would consider a re-installation a bit extreme to fix this problem, but since it is an upgrade, that changes things and I agree if you can upgrade, it's probably worth it even if it wasn't to potentially resolve a problem (which I'm not at all certain it will resolve without some additional effort).

I would use a combination of methods to reduce the number of service packs I needed to uninstall (to probably just SP2) and create a slipstream disk to cover SP1 if you have just a normal disk with none pre-installled. If the version on the system has SP1 or SP2 installed and the disk is an earlier version, then you can make a slipstream disk as follows: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/151606-vista-sp1-slipstream-installation-dvd.html. You can do this for only one upgrade (not both - and it works best upgrading a plain disk to SP1 - it sometimes has problems upgrading SP1 disks to SP2).

It is perfectly safe to uninstall SP2 to do this (try to avoid doing anything else or running anything else at the same time - it's going to be shut down anyway eventually to do the upgrade, so be on the safe side and close everything else down yourself first) - just be sure to re-install it (and pehaps other updates - you should check) when you are done. If you need to make a slipstream disk, do so before uninstalling SP2 (again to be on the safe side). That said, I would still backup my important data (yes, just to be on the safe side). Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/88236-repair-install-vista.html. In this case, a repair install is essentially the same as an upgrade install in terms of procedures - just choose upgrade and not custom (see below).

I'm not sure that upgrading will automatically provide a new network key (in fact, I doubt it), but you should be able to use the same process that uninstalled it in reverse (or the original process you used to add it or the method to add it to a new computer added to your network) to add it back.

If you do a custom installation as opposed to an upgrade, you will lose all your programs and settings. It should create a folder called Windows.old in C:\ which you can then access to get to your data How to restore your personal files after you perform a custom installation of Windows Vista or of Windows 7 (but I would do the backup first as it is safer) and then, when done, there's a procedure to remove Windows.old. http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/240390-windows-old-folder-delete.html. Then you still need to install ALL of the updates (all 160 or so plus others if you have other Microsoft products to install) including the Service Packs (as the new installation will only have what is on the disk).

Given your situation, I would definitely opt for using the upgrade rather than the custom install - there isn't the slightest doubt in my mind.

I hope this helps. Post back if you run into any troubles or have further questions and to tell us how it all worked out.

Good luck!