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Wireless Network:

                             A wireless network provides all the functions of a wired network with an advantage of roaming within your radio-signal network with still connected to your network. To know more on Wireless networks and prerequisites, read through our Wireless Network page for Windows XP here.

 

Prepare:

 

Once you have identified the hardware needed like Hi-Fi Wireless networking card, and Wireless Router/ Access Point (Detailed information available on Windows XP page referred above), you are almost ready to connect to the network. If you are using a laptop which comes with an in-built wireless card, it may have a special function key or a button mostly in the front of the laptop to turn it on and off (Check with your computer manufacturer for information).

 

A following similar picture should be available near to the Wireless On/off button:

 

Figure 1: Wireless Symbol

 

 

Wireless network configuration methods:

 

You can configure connections to wireless networks, known as wireless profiles, for a computer running Windows Vista with the following methods:

 

 

Connecting to Wireless network using Connect to a network dialog box:

1. Click Start and in the Search field type Network and Sharing, then select the Network and Sharing Center from the menu when the option appears.

Network and Sharing Center:

2. In the Network and Sharing Center, select Connect to a network in the left pane. You can access the Connect to a network dialog box from many locations in Windows Vista, including the following:
   
   

The new Connect to a network dialog box is a redesigned version of the Choose a wireless network dialog box in Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2). This new dialog also supports virtual private network (VPN) and dial-up connections (including Connection Manager and Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet [PPPoE]).
 

3. When the Connect to a network window appears, select Wireless from the drop-down menu to display all detected Wireless Networks.  A non-broadcast wireless network appears in the list with the name “Unnamed Network.” (The first time the user connects to a network that does not broadcast an SSID, the user must type the Network Name.) The list of available networks is subject to the allowed wireless networks configured through Group Policy or the command line and the types of wireless networks being detected, such as infrastructure mode or ad hoc mode networks.
   
   

The following figure shows the Connect to a network dialog box.

In Show, you can select the following:

By default, All is selected.

NOTE:

If any of the wireless connections in the list are marked as "network cable unplugged" or "disabled," then the wireless adapter is not connected or is not turned on. You will have to make sure that the WiFi router is set up properly and that your adapter is enabled to proceed with that wireless connection.

4. On the Connect to a network window, each wireless network available within range is listed. Right-click the network that you are connecting to and click Connect and proceed to Step 8. If the wireless network you want to connect to is not listed, then you may be out of range of the wireless router or access point. For help in troubleshooting your wireless router or access point, see related links below.
   
   
5. If Router / Access Point configuration is setup correctly, and still the wireless network is not listed, try a setting up the network manually. To setup a network connection manually, click Set up a connection or network option found on the bottom left corner of the windows.
   
   
6. In the following dialog box, select Manually connect to a wireless network:
   
   

7. The next step of the Manually connect to a wireless network wizard would prompt for settings such as Network Name (SSID) and wireless encryption (WEP) settings. Type each in the required fields and click the Next button to proceed to Step 9.
   
   For more information on Encryption and Security settings refer to Configuring Wireless Network connection section below.
   
   
   

8. The Connect to a network wizard will ask for the Network Name (SSID) and wireless encryption (WEP) settings. Type each in the required fields. Wireless networks have varying degrees of security. If your wireless network does not require encryption, the settings on this tab will be automatically setup for you. If the wireless network that you are connecting to uses standard encrypted communication, select WEP enabled from the Encryption type drop down menu. Complete the wireless encryption configuration by typing the Network key into Network security key: field. See your network administrator or your wireless router software for the required network key.
   
   

For more information on Encryption and Security settings refer to Configuring Wireless Network connection section below.

9. If your network is unsecured, you will be prompted to confirm the connection. Windows Vista will never automatically connect to an unprotected or ad hoc network, reducing the risk of automatically connecting to a malicious wireless access point.

10. Click OK to return to the Connect to a network window. If the settings you have configured are correct, the network name will be listed in the preferred networks list. Click OK and close your Control Panel. Your notebook should now be connected to the wireless network. You may have to restart your notebook for some changes to take effect.
    
    
    

Having problems connecting to your network?

Explore new Vista features and other troubleshooting articles here.

 

Configuring your Wireless Network Connection

1. Click Start, right-click Network, and then click Properties.
    
2. In the task list of the Network and Sharing Center dialog box, click Manage wireless networks in the left pane. From the Manage Wireless Networks dialog box, you can add a new wireless network, remove a selected wireless network, obtain the properties of the wireless network adapter, and choose the type of profile to assign to new wireless networks (applies to all users or the current user).

3. To view or modify the properties of an existing wireless network, in the Networks you can view and modify list, right-click the network name you are connecting to and select Properties.
   
   
4. To modify encryption and security settings, in the Wireless Network Properties window, select the Security tab.
   
   

5. On the Security tab, you can specify the following security types:
   
   

  -  Security type:

The choices listed depend on the capabilities of your wireless network adapter that are reported to Windows.

The shared key authentication method is not listed. Microsoft strongly discourages its use because it provides weak security for your wireless network. To configure shared key authentication, select No authentication (Open) here and then select Shared from the Security tab in the properties of the wireless network (described later in this article).

For information about wireless security methods, see IEEE 802.11 Wireless LAN Security with Microsoft Windows.

    -  Encryption type: Select the method used to encrypt data frames sent over the wireless network. The choices depend on the selected security type. The three encryption types are WEP (128-bit), Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) (128-bit), and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) (128-bit).

The choices listed depend on the capabilities of your wireless network adapter that are reported to Windows.

  - Security Key/Passphrase Type the WEP key (if you selected the WEP security type), the WPA preshared key (if you selected the WPA-Personal security type), or the WPA2 preshared key (if you selected the WPA2-Personal security type).

  - Show characters Specifies whether you want to view the value typed in Security Key/Passphrase.

6. Enter the values depending on your network configuration and click Ok. It may take Windows a few minutes to complete the connection.
   
   
7. Click OK or Close to exit any open windows or panels.

Other Resources

Microsoft - File and Printer Sharing

Microsoft's - Windows Vista Wireless Networking page

Whizblaze - More networking related articles

Windows Vista Performance Tune Up and Other articles.

 Join our technical forums here

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