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Vista's Network and Sharing Center

Vista has a new interface for it's networking client. This is called the Network and Sharing Center. The Network and Sharing Center is the central location used by Vista to give information about your current network connections. To access the Network and Sharing Center you can either choose it from the classic view of Control Panel or you can start to type it into the StartSearch box at the bottom of the Start menu and it will be shown in the Programs column, as shown to the right.

As with Windows XP, Vista also gives you a system tray icon to indicate your current network status. Windows Visa though only gives one system tray icon which gives an overall status of your computers network connectivity, it does not distinguish the difference between a wireless connection and a wired connection as XP did. These system tray icons show when you are not connected to any network, when you are connected to a network which does not have an Internet connection and when you are connected to a network with an Internet connection. These icons are shown below.

The screen shot below shows the main screen of the Network and Sharing Center. As you can see I am currently connected to to my wireless network SharpNet. You can tell this from the center section and it is shown graphically at the top with my computer name connected to the house. This indicates I chose Home Network when setting up my connection and it is a graphical representation of my small network of computers.

You can see from the top that my network is not connected to the Internet, this is indicated by the greyed out world and the red cross through the line going from SharpNet to the World. For the purposes of wireless networking this is not important, you see it is important to make the distinction between a wireless networking problem and an Internet connection problem.

You can also see in the center section that my wireless signal strength is Excellent. If you want to see the status of the wireless connection click on the View status link. If you want to disconnect from the wireless network click on Disconnect.

Finding The Network Connections Window

One thing people who are used to XP find a little frustrating is finding the Network Connections window which they are so used to using. This can be found by clicking on the Manage network connections link on the very left hand side of the Network and Sharing Center.

From here you can right click on the individual network connections and get the same menus you are used to seeing in XP.

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Connecting To A Wireless Network

You can tell from the Network and Sharing Center if there are wireless networks available to connect to. In the shot below we can see that I am not currently connected to any network. It tells us we are not connected and also shows this with the red cross straight after my computer. We can also see under this that Wireless networks are available. To connect to one of these networks just click on the Connect to a network link.

When you click on the Connect to a network link a new window opens which asks you to select a network to connect to. If you hover your mouse pointer over the networks in the list you can see some of the settings of the wireless network.

To connect to one of these networks click on the network you want to connect to and the click on the Connect button at the bottom of the screen. Your computer will then try to contact the wireless network.

As the network I am trying to connect to has encryption I am asked to enter the encryption key or passphrase. If the network I was connecting to did not have encryption set up you would not see the next screen. If you want to see what you are typing as you enter the encryption key tick the box which says Display characters.

Once you have entered the key your computer will check if it is correct. If your key matches that of the network you are trying to connect to you will get a screen asking if you want to save the network.

If you are setting up your home network you would want to save the connection but if you were setting up a wireless link to a train station hot-spot you were passing through you would not need to save the connection for future use.

Once you click Close you will be shown a final confirmation screen.

If you chose to save the network you will be able to edit any of it's settings by selecting it from the Manage Wireless settings link in the Network and Sharing Center.

If you chose to Start the connection automatically the computer will try to connect to this wireless network whenever it is in range.

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Manually Setting Up A Connection

The other method of connecting to your wireless network is to manually set your connection up. You can do this by clicking on the Manage wireless networks link shown in the left side pane of the Network and Sharing Center. This will open the Manage wireless networks window, which is shown below.

To add a wireless network to your computer you need to click on the Add button. This will open a new window asking you how you want to set up the connection.

If you choose the first option to Add a network that is in range of this computer you start the process described above.

Because we want to manually set up a wireless connection we need to choose the second option to Manually create a network profile. This will open the following page in which we need to type the information of the wireless network we are trying to join.

On this screen you need to type in the Network name, or SSID, and you have to specify what type of security the network is using, if any. If you do have encryption on the network you have the space to put the encryption key, with the tick box to display what you are typing, and if you want the computer to try to connect to the network whenever it is in range you have the tick box option at the bottom.

No Authentication / Open Network

In the screen shot below you can see that the Security type is set to No authentication (Open) and this has greyed out the Encryption type and Security Key/Passphrase fields so you can not edit them. This is basically no encryption and it will only connect to the wireless network if the network itself is set up for no encryption. This is often the case if connecting to a public hotspot.

It is best not to use this on a home network as the data being transmitted can openly be read by anybody within range of the wireless network. Also if you are using the wireless network to share an Internet connection anybody in range will be able to use your network. If they were to be doing anything illegal this would be traced to YOU.

WEP Encryption

To set up your connection to use WEP encryption you would need to change the Security type field to WEP. You would then need to enter the correct WEP key into the Security Key/Passphrase field.

If you are joining an infrastructure network, for example setting up a connection from your computer to your Internet modem / router, the key must be the same as what is set at the access point to be able to connect.

WPA Encryption

To set up your connection to use WPA encryption you would need to change the Security type field to WPA-Personal and the Encryption type field to TKIP. You would then need to enter the correct WPA key into the Security Key/Passphrase field.

If you are joining an infrastructure network the key must be the same as what is set at the access point to be able to connect.

WPA2 Encryption

To set up your connection to use WPA 2 encryption you would need to change the Security type field to WPA2-Personal and the Encryption type field to AES. You would then need to enter the correct WPA 2 key into the Security Key/Passphrase field.

If you are joining an infrastructure network the key must be the same as what is set at the access point to be able to connect.

Once you have the required encryption and network settings entered click on the Next button at the bottom of the page and this will save the setting you have entered.

If you have chosen to Start this connection automatically the computer will try to connect, as long as the network is in range.

The next screen asks if you want to go to the connect to a network page so you can connect to the network you just added, which you will need to do if you chose not to start this connection automatically, or to change the settings of the connection. You may need to do this if you have made a mistake when entering the settings.

Configure An Ad-hoc Network

If you were setting up an ad-hoc connection, i.e. there is no wireless access point and you want to connect computers together wirelessly, after choosing Add in the Manage wireless networks page you would need to choose the third option, Create an ad hoc network, shown below.

In this situation all computers all computers would connect to this computer as, in essence it is the wireless access point. The SSID, encryption methods and keys of all the other computers connecting to this computer all need to be the same as those set on this computer.

When you choose the option to Create an ad hoc network a wizard opens which will run you through the process. The opening page is shown below, after reading through it just click on Next.

This will give you a screen which will allow you to enter the wireless network settings including the Network name, the security type and security key.

If you want to save this network so you can use it in the future tick the box at the bottom of the page.

Once you have entered your settings and clicked on Next you will be shown a windows advising that your wireless network is now set up and ready for use.

These are the basics behind the Vista wireless client. Pretty much all of the actual information used in the Vista client is exactly the same information needed by any other wireless client. The trick with wireless networking is finding out where to put the key pieces of information needed to connect to the network.

Although Vista is a little foreign at the moment this is only because the vast majority of people have grown used to computers with Windows XP and even Windows 2000 before this was not too drastically different to XP. Once the initial annoying bugs in Vista have been worked through and the system becomes a little more stable the tools offered by it offer a lot more information to the user in a way that the average home user can make it out.

Troubleshooting Vista Wireless Connection

Is There A Wireless Network?

First you need to ensure that there is a wireless network, just because you have a wireless router who's to say it is working? Before you even start thinking about the settings on your computer you need to make sure that the wireless network you are trying to connect to is transmitting.

To do this you can either use a different computer in the same location to try to connect to the wireless network or try your computer with a different wireless access point or try it at a known working wireless hotspot, for example in a train station, hotel or Internet cafe.

If other computers can connect to your wireless network then the problem will be with your machine. If you get to a public hotspot but can not connect to it, this would also suggest an issue with your machine.

Location

The location is about where the wireless access point is in relation to the computer. Depending on the wireless standard being used the wireless signal will only travel a certain distance. To find out more about the coverage each type of standard can manage see this page.

If your wireless router needs to be a long way from where your computer is located you should consider getting one of the newer types of wireless devices, for example 802.11n, which will give you a greater coverage of your wireless signal.

Wireless Network Card Drivers

The next thing to consider are the drivers for your wireless card. As time goes on with software getting updated and as bugs are found in drivers, newer drivers will be released for your wireless card. It is always best practice to download and install the latest drivers for all the hardware in your machine but this is especially true with regard to wireless LAN card drivers. To get the latest version of the drivers for your wireless LAN card you will need to go to the card manufacturers web site and download them.

To find out which driver version your wireless network card is using Open the Start Menu (The blue orb in the bottom left of the screen), Right click on Computer and choose manage from the menu. You are likely to get a warning message asking if you want to continue, just click on the continue button and this will open a computer management window. In the Left hand pane of Computer Management click on the Device Manager option, which will populate the Middle pane. In this pane you should see a section called Network Adapters, if you double click on this it will give a list of network adapters installed in your machine. Double click your wireless network card and select the drivers tab, this will show your driver version.

I Can Not See Any Wireless Networks

The main problem to look at is not seeing any wireless networks in your wireless network list. This basically means that your computer is not detecting any wireless networks. This will usually give you a Wireless network list shown below.

If this situation happens there are a couple of things to check. Firstly most laptops these days come with a button which allows you to turn off the wireless antenna. This is basically to save power as the wireless antenna can decrease the battery life of some machines by as much as 50%. If you do not see any wireless networks and are using a laptop the first thing to check is whether the machine has the wireless turned on. This is usually indicated by a light on the machine, if you are unsure check the manual or ask the manufacturer.

The next thing to check is whether your wireless network card is installed. To do this follow the procedure given above in the wireless network card driver section to open Device manager. Your wireless network card should be listed under Network adapters and if you double click this it should show as working properly on the General tab. If the card is listed under other devices in control panel or shows anything other than working properly then you have an issue with the driver for the network card. In this situation you need to re-install the wireless network card driver.

If the wireless card is not listed at all in Device manager then the most likely event is that the wireless card is either physically not installed in the machine or it is not working. However, before phoning the computer manufacturer and demanding a repair the first thing that needs to be done is to rule out any software issues that could cause this. The simple fact of the matter is that if a software issue is causing this problem then booking a repair and having a new wireless card installed will not fix the problem.

Even if the card is not listed at all in Device manager this does not necessarily mean that the wireless card has failed. I have seen, more and more lately and especially with Vista, that the only way to get a missing card back in to Device manager is to re-install the OS. I would say that there are registry cleaners out there and some troubleshooting advice about what can solve some of these problems but the simple fact of the matter is that sometimes you can spend days chasing a problem that can be fixed in a few hours by a backup and re-install.

Am I Connected Or Am I Associated?

What a lot of people do not understand is that they can seemingly be connected to their wireless access point without actually being connected to their wireless access point. This is because in actual fact they have associated with the access point but for some reason the access point is not allowing communication to it.

This situation usually occurs if you connect to the wireless network but the encryption type or key are not correct. In this situation you can be associated with the wireless access point but you are not actually connected to it.

There are some tell tale signs as to whether this is the case or not. The first place to look is in the system tray. If you are associated but not connected to the wireless network you will get a system tray icon. This is shown below.

The main problem with Vista is that if you hover your mouse over the system tray icon you will get a small window displayed which makes it look as though you are connected to the wireless network. This is shown below.

As you can see above it looks as though I am connected to SharpNet but the tell tale sign that I am not is the fact it is showing as an unidentified network. This can also be seen if you open the Network and Sharing Center, again shown below.

The next thing to check is whether you are receiving data packets. To check this Open Network and Sharing Center, click on Manage network connections on the left hand side of the page, right click on your wireless network connection and choose status. This will open your wireless LAN card status window, which is shown below.

As you can see the wireless connection status seems to suggest that we are connected to the wireless network. However, if you look at the packets being sent and received you can see that although we are sending packets, we are not receiving any.

The other thing that this problem will show is that the machine will not be receiving an IP address from the DHCP server. To see an example of this look at the following screen shot which shows the details of the connection. This can be shown by clicking the Details button on the Wireless network status window.

You can see from the above screen shot that the IP address is an APIPA address. This is basically because the machine will try to get an IP address from the DHCP server after it has connected to the wireless network. If the machine is not allowed to connect to the wireless network it can not get an IP address.

Anybody which knows about networking will recognize all of the above screen shots as this is also the problem you get if you can not contact a DHCP server to obtain an IP address or if the network card has an IP address set manually which is not in the same range of the wireless networks address. Essentially these two problems are the same. The tell tale sign is the fact you are not receiving any wireless packets.

To count out an encryption issue the easiest thing to do is disable encryption on the wireless access point. This will make the wireless network an open network which needs no encryption key. Obviously you do not want to leave your network open as this means that everybody in range can connect but this process is a good way to discount wireless encryption issues between your machine and the wireless access point.

My WPA Key Is Definitely Correct But I Still Can Not Connect

Certain wireless access points have shown a very particular problem with certain types of WLAN chips. The main symptom of the problem is that when you enter your WPA key the router will still not let you connect to the wireless access point. This only happens if you use WPA encryption.

This is not very common but it has been seen and Microsoft have released a patch to solve this issue. To download the patch for this issue you need to fill out an online form through the Microsoft web site. Microsoft then send details of how to download the patch to your e-mail address. To get to the on line form to receive this patch click here

Wireless connection keeps dropping

When XP was first released it had some wireless networking issues with disconnecting you from your wireless access point. Microsoft took stock of this and when they released Vista.... this also had issues with the wireless connection constantly being dropped.

Although these two problems seem the same they are caused by two separate problems. With XP it was an issue with the machine looking for a stronger wireless signal every so often, with Vista it is to do with the way the operating system handles DHCP. This is a common problem with Vista and affects many types of wireless cards and routers.

Microsoft has released a patch which resolves this issue. To download the patch directly from Microsoft click here.

Low signal strength

Having a low signal strength on your wireless connection is a common problem and can be caused by different factors.

The main factor to consider is the distance between your computer and the wireless router. Depending on the type of wireless standard you are using the distance that the wireless signal can travel varies. To find out the distances different standards of wireless will travel see here.

The obstacles between your computer and the router is another factor to consider. You see the wireless signal is being transmitted using radio waves and while there are certain things radio waves can travel through they usually find there way by bouncing off various surfaces. If there are a lot of obstacles between your computer and the wireless access point the distance the wireless signal can travel will fall, sometimes quite dramatically.

The next thing to consider is the building material used in the obstacles between your computer and the wireless access point. Certain types of material may let radio waves travel through them, others will bounce the signal back and some will dissipate the signal completely. In my house I have given up with wireless networking as I get an excellent signal in the room with the router but outside of that room I get no signal and can not connect.

As already stated above you must also consider checking for an updated driver for your wireless card. If the driver which came with your computer is an early release it may have a newer driver which has been rewritten to iron out any reported problems.

Changing the wireless channel is the next step. Basically a wireless network just transmits data using radio waves. Certain things can cause interference on these radio waves and certain cards prefer to work at certain frequencies. Wireless LAN is made of 13 bands of radio frequencies, however only a few combinations of three or four frequencies do not overlap, i.e. you can only have three or four channels in use if you do not want the channels to overlap.

If you think about the amount of your neighbors that might have wireless networks they are also going to be using one of these wireless channels. If you are all using the same channel or channels which are close together then there will be a lot of interference, so if you have a low signal strength try changing the wireless channel on the wireless access point.