Wifi connection issues with Windows XP

[powwow]

I have a gateway mx6426 laptop that's been having issues with wifi for quite a while now. I originally thought there was something wrong with the wifi card, so I bought a wireless usb adapter, which works sometimes, but not always. The issue is that the laptop cannot connect to the router - when I try and connect, it can see the router, but it just says "waiting for network" and never connects, this happens with both the usb and the built in wifi. Other devices can connect with no problem. For some reason, the problem does not happen when I removed the security, but when I use wep, wpa or wpa2 it cannot connect.

I had some other unrelated issues with the laptop, so I decided to reformat and reinstall windows. The disk the computer came with had XP SP2 on it. After installing the networking drivers, the computer was able to connect to the router without any problems. I thought my problem had been solved. Then I updated to SP3. After installing SP3, the problem returned and the computer cannot connect at all. Obviously there is some issue with sp3, does anyone have any idea what might be going on/possible solutions? Thanks in advance.

 

[Guest]

Usually any problem with a wireless router is the ****** wireless.

Poor reception can cause problems with encryption (perhaps) because things time out while resending.

You should try to optimise your reception and avoid interference.

1) raise the router above furniture level
2) Experiment with channels (some will work better or worse depending on your environment)
3) If you can detect strong neighbouring wifi, use a channel 5 stops away from strongest.
4) Relocate cordless phone base or video sender etc.
5) Be prepared to move the computer (or at least turn it so your body is not between the router signal and the wireless adapter's antenna.