DWL-650+ Wireless connection refuses to work

[papa]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windows.networking.wireless (More info?)

I've run into a brick wall on this one. Here are the facts.

I have a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop running under Windows Xp Pro. I am
attempting to set up a D-Link DWL-650+ Wireless Cardbus Adapter. It should
communicate with a D-Link DI-714P+ router connected to my cable modem. I
also have 3 desktops connected to that router with CAT 5 (RJ45) cable. All
of the desktops are able to quickly and easily access the internet.

Using the CD disk that came with the DWL-650+ adapter, along with the D-Link
Quick Installation Guide, and with the Adapter not yet installed as per the
instructions, the driver was installed without any apparent errors.

Then I powered down the laptop, inserted the adapter, and powered up the
laptop. As expected, the "Found New Hardware Wizard" appeared and I selected
"Install the software automatically". Then after getting the message warning
about "Continuing your installation of this software may impair ...", I
clicked on "Continue anyway" as per the instructions. After that I clicked
on "Yes" to finalize the installation.

Now this is where the problems show up. No "Configuration Utility" program
showed up, even though the Quick Installation Guide said it should. The icon
at the lower right-hand corner of the screen that looks like 2 little
monitors sometimes has a red "X" on it, and when I move the mouse over that
icon, it says "Wireless network connection unavailable". At other times the
red "X" is not there and it will say "Wireless network connection (peer to
peer), Speed: 11.0 Mbps, Signal strength: no signal" - even though the
router is only 3 feet away.

Thinking that perhaps the DWL-650+ software on the CD disk was defective or
out of date, I downloaded the Windows XP version of the driver from the
D-Link website, but it didn't work either.

Then I updated the Bios to the latest version, but that help.

I also emailed D-link tech support. No response so far.

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[papa]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windows.networking.wireless (More info?)

Correction: Updating the BIOS to the latest version DID NOT help.

 

[papa]

Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windows.networking.wireless (More info?)

Well, I finally muddled my way through and got it solved. The problem was
that I wrongly assumed that my wireless router was set up correctly. When I
installed the router I had not yet connected anything to it except 3 wired
desktops. Since those 3 desktops were able to access the internet
successfully, I assumed that all installation steps for the router were
complete. Finally it dawned on me that maybe there was a router setting for
wireless devices, so I went back through the router installation steps, and
sure enough I had not entered anything regarding wireless devices. So I
entered the appropriate values and, lo and behold, the wireless card worked
immediately.

Then I carried the laptop all over the house to see if there were any dead
spots. There weren't. Now I need to think about security and encryption.

By the way, I looked at 2 different brands of wireless cards (D-Link and
Linksys). Neither one of them had a word in their documentation about the
importance of setting up the router for wireless BEFORE installing the
wireless card, and their website FAQs had nothing to say about it either.
One little hint would have been a BIG help. The documentation provided by
the wireless router manufacturers is lacking in this area as well.