I'm hoping that I might gain some assistance in reconnecting my laptop to our home network. I originally had the Wireless G network adapter set up so that it would automatically connect to my home network. I began bringing my laptop to a friend's house. He had a wireless network, so I began using a CAT-5 to hook into his network.

My laptop repeatedly made attempts to connect with the weak wireless connection from the neighbor's house, so I disabled the network adapter. Since then, even after attempting to make the connection from scratch, I have been unsuccessful in my attempts to reconnect to my home wireless connection.

When I attempt to reconnect, I receive an error message indicating that a network cable is disconnected. The rest of the network, including other computers on it, is fully functioning.

Is there anything that I can try? Could someone point me in the direction of a start-from-scratch guide for connecting to an existing network? Any suggestions or recommendations would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for your time!

Go to control panel then network connections.right click on your wireless connection click - View available wireless networks.click on yours then and click connect.if you are not gonna be using the the wired connection right click and disable it.

I apologize for being a bit slow at this, but I think I'm still somewhat lost. When I bring up my Network Connections, I have two options available:

1394 Connection
Connected, Firewalled
1394 Net Adapter

-OR-

Local Area Connection
Network cable unplugged, Fire...
Marvell Yukon 88E8036 PCI-E ...

The first sounds like it refers to my wireless network adapter. It claims to be connected, but I can't find any evidence that it is connecting to anything. The second seems like it works with a direct CAT-5 wired connection.

I hope I'm not completely losing it here... I'm still lost! Thanks again for your help!

EDIT: Adding to the post in hopes that it might help clarify relevant info.

I went on my instinct that the 1394 connection was the correct one. I right-clicked on it, and attempted to Repair the connection. I immediately received this error message:

Repair 1394 Connection

Windows could not finish repairing the problem because the following action cannot be completed:
TCP/IP is not enabled for this connection. Cannot proceed.

For assistance, contact the person who manages your network.

--So, is there a simple fix to that?

1394 is a firewire connection like a USB but faster.

all you really need to do is create a new network connection.go back into network connections and set up a home or small office network.also make sure your wireless is enabled.also rune these.

http://burnupload.com/?d=307A3E6A1

I couldn't seem to find an option for this, initially. I became slightly irritated, because originally there was a seperate connection for the wireless.

With that in mind, I dug out my set of electronic screwdrivers, opened up my laptop, removed the wireless card, cleaned off the contacts, and put it back in. Not surprising to me, when I booted it back up, the wireless connection was exactly where it was supposed to be. My assumption is that it was never fully installed.

On a side note, whereas I used to get a great connection, I now vary from 'low' to 'very low'. More computers have been added to the same network since I last worked on it... is it possible that this has lessened my signal since it is being divided between multiple computers?

If not, are cards like the one I have in my computer something that you can upgrade? What are my options?

Thanks for all of your continued help!

Get a Belkin or linksys PCMCIA card.mine connects at 54mbps everytime.

but also distance and what's between you and the router can also lower the signal.

more computers will lower the bandwidth.

When I'm close to the router, I get 54 mbps, but as you said, when I'm farther away, I lose it. Thanks again for your help!

You rock, Titans!

Thanks I just try and help.these things can definetely drive you nutty sometimes can't they.I run a repair shop out of my house i walk around here with a glazed and confused look on my face sometimes.LOL

Sometimes i wonder if knowing is a curse or a blessing.LOL