Laptop suddenly can't establish wireless connection
 

I use Xubuntu on an IBM ThinkPad t43. Last night I turned on the machine and tried to connect to the internet. After inserting my authentication password, the two arrows signifying wireless connection just continued to spin continuously. The password authentication box kept coming up ever few minutes, but it didn't help to establish a connection. What could be wrong here? When I right click on the wireless connection logo, the computer clearly recognizes my router but it fails to make a connection. Does anyone have any ideas what's wrong here or how to fix the problem? Many thanks in advance.

If you execute the command does it pick up your wifi essid?
jdk

I shall give this a shot. What is "wifi essid"?

Hmmm...interesting. I ran the "iwlist scan" as suggested and the wifi essid is that of one of my neighbor's, not mine. I ran the command three times and I got one neighbor, once, and another neighbor's twice. But not the id of my router. What caused this and what can I do to get the computer to recognize my own ip address? Thanks again.

run iwlist as root. the limited user can only see what was run the last time. only root can update the essid list.

So is the command "sudo iwlist scan"?

All right...I ran a scan "sudo iwlist scan"...and it showed all the local router addresses as "Cell 1, 2, 3, and 4. Mine was included there but so were others in the immediate area. Does this indicate anything?

it means your wifi adapter can pick up nearby wifi access spots; use iwconfig to connect. we would need more info from you because each laptop has different hardware:

take a look at these commands:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...2/#post4263821

The situation you referred me to is different because they person had just installed Ubuntu and had problems immediately. I have been running Ubuntu (and now Xubuntu) for three years on this computer and have had no problems connecting at all. In fact, the same day I ran into this problem I was on the internet. The only thing I can figure--and I'm not a Linux aficionado--is that I may have installed a system upgrade that did something to corrupt or interfere with the password authentication process. I'm going to take my laptop out with me a bit later and try using it at a public wifi hotspot. If it works there (which I suspect that it will) I'll know there something going on between the computer and my home router. If there's anything else you can recommend by way of troubleshooting, I will definitely try it. Thanks!

Okay, as I suspected, when I took my laptop to a wifi hotspot it worked just fine. The problem lies clearly with my home router. What could have happened that now disallows me from connecting with wireless internet? I'm willing to provide any information needed about my computer, router, etc. Thank you.

try, rebooting the router.

else, try disabling security for a while to see if the laptop can connect.

Tried rebooting the router--that did nothing. How do you disable the security? Where is the setting for that on the computer? I've been unable to find it. My problem is simply that I can't get past the authentication page--this shouldn't be that impossible to correct. Particularly since, as I said, I've had no problem with this in the past. The fact that my wireless connection recognizes my router means that it is configured properly, right? So what can I try to get this up and running properly?

Here is a thought...How about if I delete the connection and reestablish it. Can someone explain how I would do that? I set the connection so long ago I really don't remember what I did! How do you set up the wireless connection in Xubuntu? (It must be the same--or near the same--for most Linux distros.)

i've had routers flake out on me. they would usually lose the connection every 5 minutes. each router manufacturer is different but usually you can log into the routers webpage and set/remove the wep or wpa security. are you able to connect to that router with any other device ?

Yes, I can connect with my desktop computer (and my wife and daughter are able to connect with their laptops)! It's just my Xubuntu laptop that can't get through. But what do I do when I go to that page? The settings are all right, as far as I can tell. I called my ISP and they walked me through it. It's like my laptop and router are angry at each other!