802.11b/g technology enables computers equipped with Wireless LAN cards to join a wireless network. The following information is intended to help configure your Windows XP SP2 computer to use COCC's Campus Wireless network.
Open the "Computer Management" administrative tool. It can be found by pressing the "Start" button, selecting "Settings" and clicking on "Control Panel". Double-click on "Administrative Tools", and then on "Computer Management". At left, click once on "Device Manager". At right, click the "+" next to "My Computer" to expand a list of device categories. Click the "+" next to the "Network Adapters" category. Your adapter should be listed, and there should not be a yellow exclamation point or a red "x" next to it. Absence of these marks indicates that the adapter is properly installed with the correct drivers and that there are no conflicts. If there is a yellow or red problem indicator on the adapter's icon, you may have to look at your device guide to troubleshoot the problems.
The TCP/IP protocol is used to connect your computer to the Internet. Make sure you set your wireless network adapter up to use DHCP. This is the default setting in Windows XP, but if you have modified your Wireless TCP/IP settings for any reason you will need to change them back to DHCP as shown below.
Windows XP SP2 changed much of how a connection is made. When a wireless network is detected Windows XP SP2 will display a notification popup at the right side of your Windows taskbar.
If you are in range of a Campus Wireless connection and you are not already connected to the wireless network, a popup similar to the following should be displayed.
NOTES: If you have already connected to the Campus Wireless network and did not manually disconnect the last time you used the network Windows XP SP2 will automatically reconnect. However, you will still need to login using your browser everytime you start your computer.
To connect to the detected wireless network you may:
- Click on the above pop-up when displayed.
- Double-click on the Wireless network icon displayed in your task bar. (
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- View the available Wireless Network connections using your Network Connections menu item as shown here.
The above actions will display a dialog similar to the following.
In this dialog select the Campus_Wireless network and then click the Connect button which is displayed in the lower right hand corner of the dialog. If this button says Disconnect then you are already connected.
While the connection is being established a dialog like the following will be displayed. If everything works correctly once complete you will be connected and you can close the Wireless Network Connection (Choose a wireless network) dialog.
In the lower right hand corner of your desktop should eventually appear a pop-up similar to the following which indicates that you are connected to the wireless network.
You are now ready to authenticate to the Campus wireless system using your Internet Browser.
To test the TCP/IP protocol, open your web browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Mozilla, etc). You should see the wireless authentication page come up. If not, verify that your wireless card is working properly. (See the first step in this document).
NOTE: Even if you are planning on using another internet resource such as SSH or other service, you will still need to launch a web browser first and authenticate. After authentication, you will be able to access those other internet programs as you would normally.
When opening your browser a web based login web page will appear containing instructions regarding how to log in in the right portion of the page. (click here for an example of this login web page) If this login web page does not appear please review the notes in the Troubleshooting section.
Troubleshooting
For up-to-date troubleshooting tips for common problems see the Troubleshooting section on the following web page: http://its.cocc.edu/Services/Wireless/default.aspx
You can type "ipconfig /Release" and "ipconfig /Renew" at a command window on Windows XP machines. This will attempt to communicate to the DHCP server. If an IP address is available, you will be assigned one quickly. If not, then the AP may be having problems, and you should try another location. If it works at another location, please contact the Computer Lab Coordinator at (541) 383-7719 to report the problem.
Click here to send COCC feedback about these wireless configuration instructions.
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