PLEASE HELP! T61 suddenly won't connect to the internet

[CallyCat]

My three yr old T61 was connecting just fine to the internet via a linksys wrt54g.  Now it won't.  (I don't use it very often.)   It recognizes my linksys network name as well as some of my neighbors networks.  I disconnected the router, rebooted it & rebooted the laptop, but still can't connect. 

I also have a Lenovo desktop & a mini cell tower which are wired into the router.

TheT61's  radio button on the front edge is on.

XP OS on both computers

Verified that linksys network name matches the one on the T61.

My browser of choice is Firefox.

Linksys router is out of warranty. It costs almost as much to call them as it would to buy a new one.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!!!

[CallyCat]

My three yr old T61 was connecting just fine to the internet via a linksys wrt54g.  Now it won't.  (I don't use it very often.)   It recognizes my linksys network name as well as some of my neighbors networks.  I disconnected the router, rebooted it & rebooted the laptop, but still can't connect. 

I also have a Lenovo desktop & a mini cell tower which are wired into the router.

TheT61's  radio button on the front edge is on.

XP OS on both computers

Verified that linksys network name matches the one on the T61.

My browser of choice is Firefox.

Linksys router is out of warranty. It costs almost as much to call them as it would to buy a new one.

Any help will be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you!!!

[CallyCat]

I just remembered that Lenovo updated some stuff on my desktop the other day and it's been since then that my laptop can't conncect to the internet.  Is it possible that something was changed in the new configuration that would cause that?

[goretsky Community Moderator]

Hello,

It is hard to say if the problem is with the T61 or the WRT54G at this point.  A few things to check to help narrow down the problem:

Is the ThinkPad T61 able to connect to the Linksys WRT54G via a wired Ethernet connection?

Is the ThinkPad T61 able to connect to other wireless networks?

Can other devices connect to the Linksys WRT54G wirelessly?

Knowing the answer to those will help pinpoint where the problem may be.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

[CallyCat]

Thank you for your response.

Yes the think pad connected thru the wired router and it connected to free wifi at Barnes & Noble.

I took it with me out of town and tried to connect to a friend's wifi and it wouldn't.  Friend looked at it and checked all the set up steps I had.  We both found that all appeared to be set up properly.  So he disabled  "use this device  and thenre-enabled it. 

It started working immediately and has been ever since. Go figure.

I guess this is what is called a glitch? 

Again, that you for your response & sorry for the delay getting back to you.

[CallyCat]

The problem is back!

I have done ALL of the lenovo updates & even updated the linksys wrt54g router firmware.  I have a motorola SB6120 modem.  I'm wondering about compatibility since the linksys router is several years old.  No help from linksys unless I pay a fee that almost equals the cost of a new router.

I recently had the hard drive, motherboard & 2 usb ports replaced on my lenovo desktop, so I used the linksys setup disk & started from scratch.  That didn't help either.

Does anyone have any ideas? 

[goretsky Community Moderator]

Hello,

I just posted some steps to troubleshoot a wireless network connection between a ThinkPad T61 and a Linksys router in the second message in this message thread.  You can skip the step regarding updating your router's firmware since you mentioned you just did so, but try the other steps and see if that lets you establish a wireless network connection.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

[CallyCat]

Thank you for responding.  The thinkpad is the only wireless I have.  I reinstalled the router using the disk linksys provided.  I also went to linksys & updated all the firmware.  Unfortunately the latest update available is 2009. 

I had already updated the T61 using Lenovo's updater program.  I rechecked it to be sure I hadn't missed any updates & as of Saturday, there were no new updates.

Even after reinstalling & creating a different wireless network, it still won't connect.  It does however, list my network & a couplf of other local user networks (my neighbors) on occasion (altho not consistently) so it's not like it can't find anything.  Prior to reinstalling the disk & creating the new network, I was also able to connect to the open linksys network. 

I set up my network security the way it had been previously, as WPA2.  I'm sorry I don't know how to do a wep encription, so I didn't do that, but I did test it after I disabled the security.  It connected.  I tried WPA & then WPA2 & it won't connect. 

Did I miss doing anything?

Is there a possible incompatibility between my docsis3 modem (motorola surfboard SB6120) & the older linksys router?

Thanks again for your help!

[CallyCat]

Update:

I found out what a WEP key 1 encription is.   I didn't bother trying it because I took a chance & called Linksys corp.  they me that based on everthing I tried, it appears that the part of the router that detects encripted wireless has died & gone to router heaven.

Aryeh, thank you very much for all of your help with this! 

[CallyCat]

Well, I'm back to not being able to connect to wireless anywhere.  

When I'm plugged into the router, I get the notice that it recognizes wireless networks in my area! 

When I'm not plugged in, it's very slow at recognizing the same networks, if it does at all. 

I'm out of warranty, so would appreciate suggestions as to any needed further troubleshooting and also what I need to fix it.

Thanks!!!

[pkincy]

I think at this point looking for router sales on the net is the next step.

Sometimes making old hardware work is more trouble than buying new.

If you can connect wired but cannot connect wireless it is either the router or the wireless card in the T61.

You said you could connect to Barnes and Noble.  Do other free wifi checks and make sure that your T61 has a good wireless card with consistent connections outside your home.  If the connections are not trouble free it may the the wireless card in your T61.  That can be replaced easily if need by.