WPA router, but no WPA compatability on laptop ... help !

[goblin]

Hi,

WinXP Home SP2 updated.

I'm hoping someone can assist me in finding the solution to this problem. I have a new (to me) laptop a Feujitsu-Siemens Amilo M704, it has wireless capability and has no problem detecting my Linksys WRT54G router.

Unfortunately, my laptop cannot communicate with my router. The router uses WPA\PKIP encryption. Whilst the laptop uses WEP.

Does anyone know how to get the laptop to use the same level of encryption that the router does? Specifically WPA.

Thank you.

[bmxbandit]

change the encryption on the router to WEP? i've got the same one - it supports both WEP and WPA.

[goblin]

Originally Posted by bmxbandit

change the encryption on the router to WEP? i've got the same one - it supports both WEP and WPA.

Yes, I thought of that. But ISTR when I sought advice here on which router to purchase. It was sugested that WPA was more secure than WEP and so that's what I chose to use. I haven't had any problems using this particular protocol with my Inspiron laptop, so I can only assume it's something I have to do with Windows, but I'm at a total loss as to which way to turn on this. I would rather not use WEP due to the security concerns.

So I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction on getting WPA working with this laptop.

Thanks for your input.

[bmxbandit]

WPA is much stronger, yes - WEP will probably only keep out a casual cracker...

i cant seem to find any mention of an amilo M704 on the web, can you check what model it is and see if there's any info as to whether the wireless adapter supports WPA? getting the latest drivers may help, i don't know.

failing all else, you could buy a usb wireless adapter.

[goblin]

Originally Posted by bmxbandit

WPA is much stronger, yes - WEP will probably only keep out a casual cracker...

That is similar to what I was told.

i cant seem to find any mention of an amilo M704 on the web, can you check what model it is and see if there's any info as to whether the wireless adapter supports WPA? getting the latest drivers may help, i don't know.

I had the same problem trying to find any information on this particular model. Reviews are somewhat elusive, the only thing I could find is this one http://www.whatlaptop.co.uk/cFEthwZo-WckGQ.html

I shall see if I can find the drivers.

failing all else, you could buy a usb wireless adapter.

I'm trying to avoid having anything stuck out the back of this thing, as such items have a habit of catching on things which result in accidents Which is the reason for trying my hardest to get WPA working So I don't have to go down this route.

Thanks again.

[Graham M]

What O/S is the laptop running?

[bmxbandit]

another possibility if you're worried about WEP, is to only allow the MAC addresses of your computers to connect to the network (but still use WEP). it's not perfect, but it'd be a lot harder to crack.

another thought: can you go into device manager (go to control panel/system/hardware) and see if it tells you the name of the wireless adapter? it *might* be 'Intel® PRO/Wireless 2200BG', or something similar...