Need help Wireless Limmited/No connectivity

Sorry bout the abbreviations, but had to put something up there. Here's the situation.

How computers are connected to net:
-Cable connection from wall to cable modem. 
-Cable modem to Linksys Wireless Router
-USB cord from wireless router to Personal Desktop computer (works fine)
-Dad's laptop via wireless network card to router (works fine)
-My laptop to wireless router via wireless network card (not working)

Weird details bout my laptop (it is a hnd-me-down from computer illiterate dad):
-Says there are 2 wireless connections
  -Wireless connection (1) IEEE 802.11b Wireless MiniPCI Card 7007 (must be a bult in wireless card)
  -Wireless connection (2) My Essentials G Notebook Card
- Both wireless cards (1) and (2) say that they have a strong signal, but limmited or no connectivity.
-In
the "support " tab of Wireless (1), it says this: "the problem has
occurred because the network did not assign a network address to the
computer."
-when click  details in that support tab, I get this:
  -Physical Address:  blah  (has one)
  -IP Address: blah (has one)
  -Subnet Mask: blah (has one)
  -Default Gateware: nothing there
  -DNS Server: Nothing There
  -WINS Server: Nothing there
-In
the "support " tab of Wireless (1), it says this: the problem has
occurred because the network did not assign a network address to the
computer.

Steps I have already tried: 
-Made sure that it is set on "obtain IP address and DNS server automatically"
-Click
on "repair" in the wireless connection (1) properties->support tab
where it says "To restart the connection and try to establish full
connectivity, click repair.
-when I click repair, clears everything until I restart the computer and won't connect to the network at all.
-ran winsockxpfix...same thing happened
-disabled connection (1) tried everything; disabled connection (2), tried everything
-tried using both the wndows wireless software and the software provided by the wirelss card

So basically I feel like I am banging my head against the wall here.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.

How do I find what type of security is on the router? And how do I find
out if there s a password on the network? My mom cannot remember. 

Also,
since my mom's networking is run through USB cord, in her networks, it
says LAN line connection and nothing else. Does this mean that the
wireless network is set up through my Dad's Laptop? If not, where do I
find it on my mom's computer?

I would only use one wifi card to prevent interference etc.
If your router is a 11g, I would disable the build in (11b) card on your laptop and use the My Essentials G Notebook Card.

If you scan for available networks there should be an indication in the list wether the network is secured or not. You can also use netstumbler to findout if your network is secured. If it is secured you will need to find the password/key. Even if the network seems unsecured, the router could still be filtering on MAC adresses.

If you cannot find the key and cannot access the router's config page to change it I would hard reset the router(see manual) so it has a default password again and no wireless security. Then go to the configuration page of the router and enable the wifi/router security again.

Then you will need to go to each computer that is wireless connected and change the password so they can also connect to the router.



What type of router do you have? I've never seen a router that allows clients to connect trough usb.

If your router is 802.11g wireless router, then disable the 802.11b wireless adapter and only use that 802.11g adapter.

From the network output you gave, your adapter didn't receive the correct IP, netmask, gateway and DNS form router. You need to confirm there is proper DHCP configuration with enough IP to assign on the router.  Use http web access to access your router's management page to confirm it. Read your router manual to help you. If you don't remember the router admin username and passwd, you can press the reset button to reset it (don't do this unless you need it, you need to reconfigure the router after resetting it). After that you can try again.

The other way to solve your problem is manually assign the IP, netmask and other network info on this problem notebook. Can give this a try. Just type the following command in command prompt (start -> run -> type cmd.exe)  on the other 2 working  computers.

ipconfig /all

Take down the IP, netmask, gateway and DNS info. Let say those 2 computers use 192.168.1.100 and 192.168.1.101 IP addresses, then you assign the 192.168.1.102 to your computer wireless's adapter. The netmask, gateway and DNS are the same as other computers. After that type ipconfig /all in command prompt to make sure those network info are assigned correctly, then try to ping the gateway IP and other computers.

Additional info to help you in case you need it:

Wireless Router Configuration

Wireles Adapter Configuration in XP

Wireless Adapter Configuration in Vista

Hope helps..


picoHat