HP Pavillion Connectivity?

[inkognito1115]

I realize I may have posted this in the wrong thread so I will try here.

First, I'm alittle unsure how access points work.
If my wireless router is on the first level of my home and my HP is on the second level, do I use this access point device to connect the HP to the internet or is the access point used to "extend" the wireless connection so other computers may connect to the wireless router.
If its the ladder, how do I connect my HP Pavilion, that is on the second floor, to the internet? I have another HP Pavilion Slimline on the first floor that connects to the wireless router with ease.

1st Floor Computer:
HP Pavilion Slimline s3300f PC
Windows XP (Used to be Vista)
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g (Connects wirelessly to my linksys with no issues)

2nd Floor Computer:
HP Pavilion Magnesium Gray Edition P6404y
Windows 7 Home 64bit
Wireless LAN 802.11 b/g/n
Came with this mini tower device that I was told is a access point used to connect to a wireless connection that is normally out of range?

 

[RealBeast]

It really depends if your wireless signal is reaching the second floor computer. You can run inSSIDer (a freeware program) to determine the signal strength at the second computer.

Now, what is the brand and model of the access point device that you have? There are a number of different types of devices and they have different setup possibilities.

 

[inkognito1115]

Will this program be able to determine the signal strength even if the computer nor any of its devices recognize any available connections?

I will check on the specs and details of the access point. All I know for now is it came with my second HP Unit (Magnesium Gray Edition)

 

[inkognito1115]

Thanks for your reply by the way.

I was told by the inSSider program that the WLAN autoconfig service was stopped and had to be started for the program to run.
So I go into services and try and start my WLAN autoconfig service and it gives me this message:

Error 1068:
The dependency service or group failed to start

Any insight?

 

[RealBeast]

Will this program be able to determine the signal strength even if the computer nor any of its devices recognize any available connections?

Yes, as long as the wireless card is working.

 

[RealBeast]

Thanks for your reply by the way.

I was told by the inSSider program that the WLAN autoconfig service was stopped and had to be started for the program to run.
So I go into services and try and start my WLAN autoconfig service and it gives me this message:

Error 1068:
The dependency service or group failed to start

Any insight?

Probably a registry error, here is a good thread on 1068 error: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-networking/windows-could-not-start-error-1068-the-dependency/7963d72a-5d73-44fe-8316-058c46235737

This could also be an issue with your not being able to connect wirelessly to your network.

 

[inkognito1115]

Probably a registry error, here is a good thread on 1068 error: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_vista-networking/windows-could-not-start-error-1068-the-dependency/7963d72a-5d73-44fe-8316-058c46235737

This could also be an issue with your not being able to connect wirelessly to your network.

The second poster in that link might have just described what exactly was the problem with my computer. I too used a registry cleaner and probably lost the WLAN service in the process. I'm going to go try this fixed as described in the link above.
Thanks! Wish me luck!

None of those solutions worked for me. My WLAN Autoconfig remains unstartable. I'm going to try and restore the computer to its factory settings before I had a registry cleaner mess with the registry. Hope that works.

 

[RealBeast]

You can always do a repair re-installation if necessary, although you will then have to reinstall all updates -- at least it leaves all your data and programs intact. It is always best though to backup all your data before doing anything.

It's good to learn things though, and now you know that registry cleaners are generally not a good idea. Your best bet is to use Ccleaner, which doesn't mess with the registry.