Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

Router: Linksys Wireless-G Broadband Router (with 4-port switch) Model: WRT54G it is passworded and wireless light IS lit up.
Laptop: Dell Inspiron 9300

I live in an apartment in college and the laptop has been connecting just fine to my router for the past 6 months. Then about a week ago it starts acting funny. In the bottom right hand corner the icon with a computer with waves has a big red X over it, obviously saying I am not connected to the wireless router, that is just down the hall.

I try to connect by clicking on it and finding my network which is the very first on the list and it takes a very long time trying to connect and can't. Then I right click the shortcut on the desktop labeled "wireless network connection" and disable it.

1. I then Re-enable the wireless and the "wifi" symbol on my laptop lights up like always and then try to connect to my network again, but same results as before, can't connect after trying for about a full minute.
2. Then I restart both modem and router, still no luck.

I try the internet and the web page loads yet the network list says "not connected" on my router/network. I try it out for a bit to find when the connection is like this it is VERY unreliable, it will suddenly stop just when surfing the web and say "unable to

3. So I then I right click the bottom right icon and click repair. It Does the steps then at renewing IP address it tries for a very long time and can't do it.

Another very strange thing is that when I am looking at the networks in range it says by mine "not connected" yet in the paragraph says "You are currently connected to this network. To disconnect from this network, click disconnect below."

This just doesn't make any sense, it always says I don't have internet on the bottom right, yet some parts say I am connected. Also this just randomly started not working, and just this weekend my friend brought his PC with a wireless adapter and easily connected to my network while i could not.

I am on my desktop at the moment that is plugged into router which is plugged into my modem and everything is fine. This problem seems to have occured when I just started playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl on my wii with WiFi and it connects almost insantly, think this could have messed things up? Please, I am baffled at what the deal is with my laptop and/or router any advice is MUCH appreciated.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

ugh, idk. I am starting to think the icons are just bugged or something... If anyone else has experienced this please let me know.

the very second after i posted this I load a youtube vid and it says "server not found" instantly. What is going on..

after talking to a friend and telling him that i connected to wii wifi he says the problem may be occuring because the network sees the wii and laptop as one IP in the same. I told him how I Disconnected from Wii and tried my laptop the icon said that I had internet and was working and he said that it is because the laptop instantly renewed the IP.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

Disconnect you Wii and connect your laptop. Open a command prompt and type ipconfig /all. Post your results. Also do you have and encryption on your WIFI?

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

have you added a new wireless device (cordless phone) or microwave recently. when you do ipconfig are you getting an IP address starting with 169.xxx.xx. what type of encryption are you using on the router.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

Window IP config
Host name........................: jim-1ecf43a2386
Primary Dns Suffix................:
Node Type........................: Unknown
IP Routing Enabled............: No
WINS proxy Enabled..........: No
DNS Suffix Search List.......: woh.rr.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
Connection-specific DNS suffix...: woh.rr.com
Description...............................: Marvel Yukon 88E8001/8003/8010 PCI Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Physical Address.......................: 00-11-D8-D3-24-22
Dhcp Enabled...........................: Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled.........: Yes
IP Address...............................: 192.168.1.108
Subnet Mask............................: 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway.......................: 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server............................: 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers.............................: 65.24.7.10
65.24.7.11
Lease Obtained...........................: Wed Mar 19 2008 10:08 pm
Lease Expires,............................: Thur Mar 20 2008 10:08 pm

I am really not sure what encryption on my WIFI means or if I have one.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

Ive only been using my Wii most recently on line, no other new wireless devices.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

Your wireless device is not showing up here? Is it hooked up?

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

the wireless is not going to show if it's disabled. even in a disconnected state you would see media disconnected. And encryption is when you use a passphrase to protect your wireless. You would have to enter a series of codes to to be able to connet to the network.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

You wouldn't have to enter the codes if you have already done this once because the system would cache it.

Re: Can't get my laptop to "connect" to my wireless router.
 

I did the ipconfig on my pc. Would u like me to do it on my Laptop, sorry for the misunderstanding. Can't exactly get on the site with my laptop.