Well, I am trying to do some work for a friend to help them get thier new Gateway Laptop they bought
(from the Shopping Channel) up and running.

There seems to be two problems, and I can't figure out if they are hardware or software problems.
Dial-up and Wireless Networking.

She is running Windows XP MCE 2005.
Plugging an ethernet coord into the computer runs internet fine, its just Dial-up and wireless.

First we tried putting in dial-up with her cape.com dial-up service, she got the software (im not sure
how, I was away at the time), and then tried connecting. According to the software, she is connected
but she can't access anything on the internet (Netscape and Internet Explorer). I have tried setting everything
to do with the internet default connection as the dial-up, but that wouldn't work either.

I dont know much about dial-up, so I was hoping somone might be able to help me.

The other problem is the Wireless.

One of her other friends has a wireless router (and the computer has a wireless card), but no matter
what Windows can not find the network. We have tried doing it all manually, and that doesn't work either.
(Plugging the router directly in with a ethernet coord worked though)(And the friend can access his
network on his own computer, and there is no block on the network either.

I figure this is a software problem most likely, does anyone know how to fix either of these?
Thank you much!

For the wireless first do basic checks like making sure the WLAN card is on. i had this problem and to my embarressment hadnt turned the card on haha! Also check the card and router are compatible and both use te same WLAN standard, most devices now are 802.11b/g compliant but depending on the age of the access point/computer they might only cover B. That should be easy to find out from the specs of the access poit and computer.

You said you tried the WLAN manually, does that mean you entered the network name encryption key etc manually? If not you should try this method. And also try making sure that the computer and access point are the only two wireless devices activated. Soturn off any other machines using the wireless becuase if all WLAN ports are taken i assume the WLAN card might not detect the network. Im not sure though

As for dial up im not sure to be honest, there will prob be a FAQ and troubleshooting guide on the products home page if you can get to it. (how silly, internet connection troubleshooting on the internet.. )

About the dial-up : do you mean dial-up by phone or by xdsl.

For xdsl you have 2 main types pppoA (point to point protocol over ATM)
and pppoE (point to point prot over Ethernet) the setting depends on your provider.
(not for pppoA you have to give up a VP and VC also).

For the wireless how much diistance is there between the accespoint and the receiver.
Not all recievers are working even good.
When a place a HP desktop in a range of about 8m (with 1 wall in between) I got a stronger signal then with a USB key. And the difference was big.

If your connection is low you can boost it a bit up with an extra antenna.
Placing the wireless card fixed to the B standar (11 Mbps) you may have a more reliable connection when your signal is low.

Try your own internet connection on her computer to make sure that her one can access the internet without using the ethernet.

If you have the money then I would suggest that you take it to professional to get it fixed, but that's just my opinion.

I have tried hooking up the computer to a ethernet card, and it worked.
The dial-up port and the ethernet port are in the same card, so that
almost makes it most definite that the hardware is not messed up for THAT
part...

But I havent tried activating the Wireless card, how do you do that? lol...
G00GL3 T1M3!

Thanks all