Wireless Router Problem

[Katie_D]

After buying a new laptop the other day and owning two, I decided to sort myself out with wireless internet and networking. I bought myself a Belkin ADSL router with a built-in modem and set it up.

Now, I've gone through all the necessary steps. I plugged the router in, connected it through the ethernet cable in order to access the internet and set up all the details. The router appears to be working fine (I'm connected to the internet through it now, only with the ethernet cable).

The problem comes when I remove the ethernet cable. My laptop can see the router and it shows up as being a connection (KatieDee's t'internet), but whenever I try to connect it just says either the device may be out of range, or it asks me for a network key; something I haven't even set up yet, to my knowledge.

So what could the problem be? The router isn't faulty, but it just doesn't seem to let my laptops connect to it. I can't think of any other options, or something I may have forgotten.

It's an ADSL connection, and both of my laptops are wireless enabled. As I said earlier, it has a built in modem so I shouldn't need to use my old modem. One of my laptops is Windows XP, the other Vista, but that isn't a problem because both laptops are reacting the same.

[dinnerbone]

You have protected your router with a wireless security key (ie a WAP/WEP key). The only way your laptops will be able to connect via wireless is if they have entered the wireless key.
Check your settings on the router, look for anything WEP/WAP/etc related, write down the code for key1/key2/whatever key you chose, and enter it in on the laptops. Or, if you feel nobody will steal your internets, disable wireless security.

[Katie_D]

I've tried that.

Whenever I try to connect and it asks me for the key, it already gives me one, almost like it has been saved to the computer already. When I try to connect, it doesn't. It has been trying to connect to the network for about three minutes now.

[dinnerbone]

The key it's showing is the one last entered. It must be wrong.
Try typing out the key manually, and make sure what your typing is not a passcode (Like "Password") but instead a key that makes no sense and looks like a load of random letters and numbers. If it is a passcode, check the routers settings and find out the key.

[Katie_D]

When I type the password I use for everything, it tells me that it is a collection of something that obviously isn't just letters. When I put in the numerical code that I would use, it says the same.

[doctor_fruitbat]

Check the router's wireless security settings, and set it to WPA-PSK (or TKIP possibly) if you can. Then you should be able to set it to any old password you want. If it doesn't let you then I have no idea.

[Katie_D]

I did that, and now it's connecting but it's coming up with "windows cannot find the certificate to log you onto the network".

[Hitpoint]

I'd ring up your ISP and ask them what your WPA/WEP key is just incase you can't remember it.