Recently, a friend asked me to fix a laptop that refused to connect to any wireless networks. The Windows XP notebook featured wireless hardware by Intel, so naturally it shipped with Intel’s PROset/Wireless software. The software seemed to be the problem, so try disabling it if you are experiencing the same difficulties.
Fig. 1 - Intel PROset/Wireless tray icon
The Intel PROset/Wireless software does essentially the same thing as Windows XP’s built-in wireless networking software, so your probably might be solved by letting XP take over. Locate PROset/Wireless’ icon in your system tray (near the clock), right-click on it, and close/disable the program. A screenshot of what the icon looks like is shown in figure 1.
Once Intel’s wireless software is disabled, you need to get XP to take over by starting the Wireless Zero Configuration Wizard. Click Start, click Control Panel, double-click on Administrative Tools, and double-click Services. This will bring up the Services window.
Locate the Wireless Zero Configuration Wizard in the services window. It’s all the way at the bottom, so you’ll have to scroll down. Right-click on it, and select Start. Here’s what you should see:
Fig. 2 - Starting the wireless Zero Configuration Wizard
Once the Wizard starts up, you can close down the Services and Control Panel windows. You should see Windows’ wireless networking icon appear in your system tray — double-click on it, and connect to your wireless network.
