Please help me connect a friend's laptop to the internet

[IrishAyes]

She recently renewed service after a long gap. I personally think she's missing one modem cable. She has a phone line plugged into the same jack as the one modem cable she does have. She's running Win7 which presently only has Internet Explorer for a browser. ASAP I'll switch her to Chrome.

The router turns on and the wireless light blinks. Since the hookup's in the bedroom where her old tabletop model was installed and she wants to use the new (to her) laptop in the living room, I spent a good while trying to set up a wireless connection for her. She has a signal booster that allows the living room laptop to hear the modem from the bedroom.

The wireless signal light on her laptop shows it's on and she also gets the same icon on the taskbar. But for some reason I can't seem to quite get her on the internet! From control panel I opened Network and Sharing Center, then Set Up a New Connection or Network, and on to Set Up A New Network.

When I get there, however, I can't choose the wireless router or access connection I want to configure because no matter how long we wait, no unconfigured devices on the network appear in the box.

Should I go back one arrow and choose the third option, Manually Connect to a Wireless Network/Connect to a Hidden Network or Create a New Wireless Profile? When I do that on her machine, I don't even get 'Choose A Wireless Adapter'. Nothing. How can that be made to happen? I know how to enter all the info if I can get to the screen Enter Information for the Wireless Adapter You Want to Add.

Of course the ISP tech help is next to impossible to get on the phone, so I'm really hoping someone here can help us out. Her used computer was a gift from her daughter. I've already set up my friend as administrator.

If it turns out she needs to unplug that bedroom phone from her modem wall box, and she does need a second modem cable, would it be something that fits into the ASL opening on her modem? I might have an extra one to loan her if that's our problem. Currently, of course, there's nothing at all that I CAN plug into the ASL slot on the modem.

[brett_jv]

1. Need more details ...

1) Is this DSL or Cable service?
2) You mention router and modem ... is it actually just one box that functions as a modem (thing that actually talks to the internet) and router (thing that supports the networking in your home, either wired, wireless, or both)? Or does she have two separate boxes, modem and router?
3) Do you have any network cables laying around ... might've been one included with your router (typically yellow or grey colored, round cord, and what looks like a modular phone plug on each end, only the jack is about 2.5x the size) by chance? Reason I ask is that most modem/router combo also have 2-4 'hard wired' ports on the back, so you might try connecting the laptop to the router directly via a network cable, which will normally just configure itself to 'work' after a minute or two, at most requiring a restart to get internet working (assuming all the connections to support internet are made correctly to the router/modem). This would at least prove 'the internet' is working. Then you know for sure your only problem is the wireless connection to the router.

You really shouldn't need to 'set up a network' if you have a typical router/modem combo. You normally can just connect to the router, either via a network cable, or via wireless. There's nothing to 'set up'. If wireless is 'on' in the router, and your wireless adapter is 'on' on the computer you should just be able to 'find and connect' to the router. All you need is the routers password, which the ISP should've told you the default, or it may be on a sticker on the bottom of the box.

In the task bar at the lower right, do ANY of the icons (perhaps one that looks like 5 'steps') when you hover over them, say anything like 'wireless networks found (or available or some such)'? You should 'see' your router in a list there if you click on that icon. The router may have some obscure name, again, which the ISP should've told you, or it may be on a sitcker on the router bottom. Look for the one with the most bars, that's probably your router.

If the laptop can't even 'see' the wireless router, then your problems (probably) are not 'cables', because you're not even connecting to the router in the first place. If you have a DSL modem, the only cable you need is the telephone cable from the wall, for a Cable modem, it's just the coax cable from the wall. Are those 'there'? And is the light on on the router the indicates 'yes I have an internet signal'? If so, then you know the issue is just the wireless. Try connecting directly with a network cable if you have one, and let us know what happened then.

Also, do you know if the person who owned the lappie before ever 'used' the internet via wireless adapter? Is it built into the laptop (any from the past 6 or so years would have one), or are you using an external wireless adapter (i.e. usb)?

I also would do your testing sitting right next to the router, and disconnect the 'booster' you're talking about. Just to eliminate possible 'variables' here.

[IrishAyes]

2. Thanks, I'll answer all I can tonight, more tomorrow or the next day.

Since it really is for a friend, not me. Tonight I'll have to work from a very unreliable memory.

1) It is DSL, high speed.

2) It is just one box combined. I don't always use the right terminology since I don't always know what to call something except a 'thingamajig'.

3) Can't say for sure this moment, but I do believe I have the cord to which you refer somewhere in my own collection. I had to discontinue DSL service over a year ago and took to piggybacking the nearby church's open wifi signal. I use a VPN for extra security.

When I go to network & Sharing center, I do have an option on the left to 'manage wireless networks'. I saw no indication on the taskbar that the router was found, but I might just have missed it. My friend's 103 yr-old mother lives with her and turns the radio on real loud when she feels ignored, so it can be hard to concentrate! But I will check when I go back in a few days, and I'll definitely get the router's # off the bottom.

Thanks for everything. Let me know if you think of anything else. Meanwhile I'll absolutely return and let you know the outcome before the week's over.

[brett_jv]

3. If you don't even have the 'wireless networks' icon in teh taskbar ...

Then what's likely going on is that the laptop was wiped/windows re-installed when the computer changed hands, and the person who did the wiping failed to re-install all the drivers.

An easy way to tell if this is the case is to go to: Control Panel\System and Security\System>Device Manager.

When you open that up, are there 'things' with a yellow exclamation mark (in particular, under 'Network Adapters', something is there an entry that implies 'Wireless', that has a yellow exclamation mark?)

If this is the case what you should do is go to the website of the laptop manufacturer and look up the model number and find the page that allows driver downloads. In all likelihood, you'll want to find and install drivers for each of the following:

1) Wireless Network Adapter (broadcom and intel are common brands)
2) Video Graphics Adapter (or VGA for short ... typically video chip will be either Intel, AMD/ATI or nVidia)
3) Sound Chip (likely Intel branded if the CPU is Intel, or AMD if it's an AMD CPU)
4) Motherboard/Chipset (Intel or AMD)

The lack of the first one is what's causing the PC to fail to have the icon/indicator in the task bar. Your wireless receiver can be 'on' in terms of having power (hence the light) but your PC be rendered unable to 'talk to it' ... if the proper drivers are not installed. And it's common for them NOT to be if it's a fresh Windows install.

I def. recommend, if it's available (or you have the skills to make it happen regardless of whether it's explicitly available), the option of installing ONLY the wireless adapter's drivers, NOT the entire software suite for the wireless chip. If you DO install the suite, it will override the built-in windows wireless network manager and you have to run that extra software to connect unless you can find the option to 'let windows manage wireless networks', which I don't recall where it is offhand.

It's not the end of the world using the Suite of course but the Windows manager is likely to be more familiar to you (and easier for her). Sometimes also if you install the Suite you can uninstall it but leave the driver as an option in the un-install process ... if you choose that you should find Windows will manage wi-fi instead automatically (restart may be needed tho).