> I have an old laptop that had wired and wireless connectivity both working.
> I had to reinstall XP after formatting my HD.
> Now have XP SP3 + latest security patches.
> I have wired network capability ruinning IE 8 Beta2.  Works fine.
>
> 1) I cannot find an icon for Wireless like on other PCs in the tray ... so,
> how do I get that going?  I searched Windows Help but could not find answers,
> probably because I just do not know the terms to search for.
>
> I have wifi available to try it out on.
>
> 2) I was in one wizard that did not seem to help me set wifi up say I could
> use WEP or WPA secirity.  Is that a software thing such that I could select
> either one?
> WPA is better but more difficult to set up I understand.
>
> 3) Or is this a hardware thing so I am limited to what my laptop can do. 
> Since it is an older laptop, how do I determine if it is WPA capable?
>
> Very old and stupid.
> Thanks in advance.
>

"Lem" wrote:

> Bee wrote:
> > I have an old laptop that had wired and wireless connectivity both working.
> > I had to reinstall XP after formatting my HD.
> > Now have XP SP3 + latest security patches.
> > I have wired network capability ruinning IE 8 Beta2.  Works fine.
> >
> > 1) I cannot find an icon for Wireless like on other PCs in the tray ... so,
> > how do I get that going?  I searched Windows Help but could not find answers,
> > probably because I just do not know the terms to search for.
> >
> > I have wifi available to try it out on.
> >
> > 2) I was in one wizard that did not seem to help me set wifi up say I could
> > use WEP or WPA secirity.  Is that a software thing such that I could select
> > either one?
> > WPA is better but more difficult to set up I understand.
> >
> > 3) Or is this a hardware thing so I am limited to what my laptop can do. 
> > Since it is an older laptop, how do I determine if it is WPA capable?
> >
> > Very old and stupid.
> > Thanks in advance.
> >
>
> 1. When you reinstalled Windows, you also had to reinstall drivers for
> various hardware functions of your laptop. It sounds as if you didn't
> reinstall the driver for the wifi adapter.  Take a look in Device
> Manager under Network adapters and see what's there. If there is a
> wireless adapter, check its properties and ensure that it's enabled. If
> you need to install the driver, be sure that you get the most recent
> driver for your wifi adapter from the website of your laptop's
> manufacturer -- not from Windows Update. Alternatively, most laptops
> have either a physical switch of a Fn+Fkey combination that turns the
> wifi radio on/off. See the user documentation for your laptop.
>
> 2. Do not use WEP. At this point, it's crackable in a few minutes with
> easily available tools. WPA is not "more difficult to setup." WPA2 is
> better than WPA.
>
> 3. The capability for wireless encryption depends on a combination of
> hardware and software. If you have service pack 3 and all updates, you
> should have all the s/w you need. Depending on how old your old laptop
> really is, it may not be WPA2 capable, but it should be able to handle
> WPA.  Be sure that you have the most recent driver for your wifi adapter
> (available from the website of your laptop's manufacturer -- not from
> Windows Update).
>
> --
> Lem -- MS-MVP
>
> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
>

> Thanks for the clues.
> I think I have it going now.
>
> "Lem" wrote:
>
>> Bee wrote:
>>> I have an old laptop that had wired and wireless connectivity both working.
>>> I had to reinstall XP after formatting my HD.
>>> Now have XP SP3 + latest security patches.
>>> I have wired network capability ruinning IE 8 Beta2.  Works fine.
>>>
>>> 1) I cannot find an icon for Wireless like on other PCs in the tray ... so,
>>> how do I get that going?  I searched Windows Help but could not find answers,
>>> probably because I just do not know the terms to search for.
>>>
>>> I have wifi available to try it out on.
>>>
>>> 2) I was in one wizard that did not seem to help me set wifi up say I could
>>> use WEP or WPA secirity.  Is that a software thing such that I could select
>>> either one?
>>> WPA is better but more difficult to set up I understand.
>>>
>>> 3) Or is this a hardware thing so I am limited to what my laptop can do. 
>>> Since it is an older laptop, how do I determine if it is WPA capable?
>>>
>>> Very old and stupid.
>>> Thanks in advance.
>>>
>> 1. When you reinstalled Windows, you also had to reinstall drivers for
>> various hardware functions of your laptop. It sounds as if you didn't
>> reinstall the driver for the wifi adapter.  Take a look in Device
>> Manager under Network adapters and see what's there. If there is a
>> wireless adapter, check its properties and ensure that it's enabled. If
>> you need to install the driver, be sure that you get the most recent
>> driver for your wifi adapter from the website of your laptop's
>> manufacturer -- not from Windows Update. Alternatively, most laptops
>> have either a physical switch of a Fn+Fkey combination that turns the
>> wifi radio on/off. See the user documentation for your laptop.
>>
>> 2. Do not use WEP. At this point, it's crackable in a few minutes with
>> easily available tools. WPA is not "more difficult to setup." WPA2 is
>> better than WPA.
>>
>> 3. The capability for wireless encryption depends on a combination of
>> hardware and software. If you have service pack 3 and all updates, you
>> should have all the s/w you need. Depending on how old your old laptop
>> really is, it may not be WPA2 capable, but it should be able to handle
>> WPA.  Be sure that you have the most recent driver for your wifi adapter
>> (available from the website of your laptop's manufacturer -- not from
>> Windows Update).
>>
>> --
>> Lem -- MS-MVP