Connection To Secure WiFi For WinMe?

Hi,

I set up our WiFi (Linksys WRT160N) to be "secure." We have an
old laptop running Windows ME that has no built-in means of
connecting to a secure network. Is there some way of way to
connect ME to a secure network?

Thanks,
Gary

Add a WiFi card in the external expansion card slot. The WiFi card will come with encryption software. All will support WEP encryption; many do not support WPA encryption.

Gary Brown wrote:

Hi,

I set up our WiFi (Linksys WRT160N) to be "secure." We have an
old laptop running Windows ME that has no built-in means of
connecting to a secure network. Is there some way of way to
connect ME to a secure network?

Thanks,
Gary

--
Mike Walsh

I set up our WiFi (Linksys WRT160N) to be "secure." We have
an old laptop running Windows ME that has no built-in means of
connecting to a secure network. Is there some way of way to
connect ME to a secure network?

I forgot to mention the adapter is a Linksys WPC11.

I spent some time with Linksys support. The WPC11 does not
support the newer encryption protocols that the WRT160N does. I
just need to figure out how to change or remove encryption. It
doesn't help that the documentation I have doesn't match the
WRT160N configuration screens. Any help?

Gary

Both the adapter and the router support WEP encryption. Look in the user guide at http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/WRT160N

Gary Brown wrote:

I set up our WiFi (Linksys WRT160N) to be "secure." We have
an old laptop running Windows ME that has no built-in means of
connecting to a secure network. Is there some way of way to
connect ME to a secure network?

I forgot to mention the adapter is a Linksys WPC11.

I spent some time with Linksys support. The WPC11 does not
support the newer encryption protocols that the WRT160N does. I
just need to figure out how to change or remove encryption. It
doesn't help that the documentation I have doesn't match the
WRT160N configuration screens. Any help?

Gary

--
Mike Walsh

Gary Brown wrote:
Hi,

I set up our WiFi (Linksys WRT160N) to be "secure." We have an
old laptop running Windows ME that has no built-in means of
connecting to a secure network. Is there some way of way to
connect ME to a secure network?

Thanks,
Gary


If I recall correctly, in the Win98/ME days, this was a function of the
driver for your wireless network card. It varies, but most wireless
card drivers offer a tray icon that you can right click to access these
functions.

If you set the router to broadcast the SSID, then you just select the ID
from the list of detected access points. Then, following the
instructions for the wireless network card, you would choose the
encryption method you set at the router (WEP, WPA, or WPA2). Finally,
you'd enter the slot # and password for the router connection, in the
appropriate places in the dialog.

If you set the router to NOT broadcast the SSID, then you'd have to type
in the SSID info yourself, rather than scanning and selecting from a
list. There should be an option open the dialog without scanning. The
rest of the information would have to be entered as well, just as in the
previous paragraph.

Not owning that particular model of router, I don't know which of those
encryption methods "secure" refers to. Likely WPA or WPA2, as WEP is
considered "light" or "basic" wifi encryption these days.

All of this is usually covered in your wifi card's manual or in the
laptop manual (if it's built-in). The more well known brands like
linksys or DLink include very detailed instructions and sometimes
pictures. The lesser known brands from China like TPLink tend to be a
bit terse though, but it's there, more or less.