Thinkpads Forum

Does anyone have experience configuring Windows 98 for wireless internet access? XP has me spoiled, and it was the tech wizards at my old school, not me that configured my 600E. The trouble is, it is configured only for that network and I have no idea how to reconfigure it.

I only have limited experience with Windows 98. Most of it bad. However, my experience seems to indicate that you need software supplied by the wireless card manufacturer to get this to work. When you install or use this software, you will be given the options to set up TCP/IP and security. Check the manufacturer's website for Win 98 software for your device.

I agree, I use a Linksys WC-11 notebook adapter card to access the internet wirelessly and even though I use Windows XP, I choose to use the Linksys Utility for configuring and connecting to a network; it works much better. I just checked the Linksys website and they do have driver downloads for Windows 98. So whatever wireless card you own, check their website and download the matching driver/utility.

Thanks, guys. I'll give it a shot.

Well, I gave it a shot, but there didn't seem to be a configuration utility on the disk; at least not one that I could access.

I tweaked the network settings a little more and it seems that the wireless card is getting a signal, but my computer can't connect with the network.

edit

The problem is not the installation. The card is properly installed and has been since 2001. The problem is that it is set up to access my old school's network and I have no idea how to get it to access other wireless networks. I know it's possible because and acquaintance made it go on a friends network once, but he had to change some of the settings to do so. I have no idea what he did and the school's tech guys had to change the settings back so I could get on the school's network again.

I would guess that the TCP/IP settings have been set manually. You need to go in and set them back to Automatiic, or set them manually to the proper settings for your desired network. I am not really familiar with Win 98, but in XP you right-click on the Wireless Adapter, choose Propertiies, highlight TCP/IP and click on the Properties button to get to these settings.

You should have settings such as:
IP Address: i.e. 192.168.2.100
Subnet Mask: i.e. 255 255 255 255
Default Gateway: i.e. 192.168.2.1

On the DNS tab you need one or two IP Addresses such as:
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

The above settings are only examples. Your network most probably will require different settings if setting it up manually. Your best bet is to choose Automatic if you can.

There are also command line (i.e. command prompt) commands that can reset this stuff. I am only a little familiar with their use. There are commands such as IPCONFIG /release and IPCONFIG /renew. You can search in Windows Help or online for more help using these commands. HTH

May I ask which wireless card you use? Have you gone into Windows Programs to see if there is a utility already installed from when you first installed the card. All that I did was go to the Linksys website and download the newest driver for my card, which gives you the configuration utility. I now use that utility to get onto a network instead of my Windows utility.

There was also something on the Windows Wireless Network Adapter screen that I remember I had to leave unchecked to be able to get onto my network, it is something to do with "this computer uses IEE authentication" (or something similar) most commercial networks use that option, but not home networks.

It is a Cisco Systems 340 Series PCMCIA Wireless LAN Adapter.

I have looked for a utility, but did not find one. I tried to find a download on the Cisco site, but apparently they don't support that model at all.

I found these dirvers and utilities for the Cisco 340. Look near the bottom of the page under Windows Legacy Files.

http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/s ... ess2.shtml

Thanks...

It seems my google fu was defeated by their website style. Thanks for your assistance... I'll let you know if I have any success.

Well, it only took reinstalling win98 and starting on a blank slate, but I finally got my Cisco card to access the internet. Unfortunately,I have other problems now.