I use a public Wi-Fi and have two lap tops, one Windows 7 and the other Windows Vista. When I try to connect with Windows 7 I get an error "Windows cannot connect to the Wi-Fi." I do the trouble shooting and it says there is a problem with the router and to reset it. Of course I don't have access to it. However, I can connect with Windows Vista....no problem.

So, what is going on ???

Chances are it was configured with Vista.... the problem child.

Also, how and why do you have a 'public' WiFi?

What are you on about configured with Vista ? Windows7 is Vista with all the annoying parts taken away.
Vista is only a problem if you dont know how to use it.
It is probably a security issue, depends how old the router is, could be pre Vista or setup on XP, if its setup on XP, Windows 7 wont connect.

I might be wrong, or just haven't kept up, but aren't most consumer wireless routers running their own local OS and set up via http?

Apparently a common problem with 7 and public hotspots.

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&gs_nf=1&gs ... 66&bih=627


Maybe something here to help. I scanned through them, and there are a few things to check. I haven't tried my 7 in a public spot, and have had no problem with private wifi access in several places.

Thanks GrayLox, there is a lot of information I can pursue. However, it appears to be a problem with the Wi-Fi (based on what I have read so far) and I'll toss the problem to the router people. At least I now have some references to show them. I didn't want to contact them without some knowledge because they would probably blame my computer

This is the only Wi-Fi I have had a problem with and I have used half a dozen since I got this new computer.

Check for driver updates for your WiFi adapter.

I have automatic Windows 7 updates, but of course I can't do that without getting online. However I have been reading the link GrayLox posted and it appears there is a generic problem with windows 7 compatibility with the routers. I don't want to mess around with the computer until I am sure what the problem is....and it looks like the router

I guess I can see if it will connect to another network, like the library but that won't solve the problem.

I think it's unlikely that it's the hotspot. The hotspot doesn't know or care what your OS is -- it wants a DHCP request from you, and then it sends back the appropriate address information (ip adddress, default gateway, dns info, etc). There are a lot of reasons why this can fail, and the majority of them are on your end.

- Make sure you have dhcp enabled.

- Make sure you don't have a firewall enabled that's blocking dhcp, dns, etc. In fact, turn the firewall off and see if it works. I've also seen anti-virus programs do some blocking.

- Open a command prompt and type "ipconfig /all". Compare the results on this between the two machines. You'll find a section of information for the wireless adapter. You're interested in IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, dhcp server, dns servers. There's a section for lease obtained date/time. Is it within the last few minutes? If not (and if the others above are blank), you're not getting an address.

It is possible the network is ignoring your requests for some reason -- for example if you had to register your machine, or something else. But that's very unlikely on a public network.

Peter

One other thing. Usually Windows caches ip address information. It does this so your machine can get on a network faster. There's an expiration date set when you obtain ip address information. I've seen home networks set the expiration to weeks or months in the future. Your machine may believe it has a valid address, when it fact the existing address needs to be released, then renewed. You can do this via the network utility which usually says "fix" or something similar, or by opening the comand prompt and typing:

ipconfig /release

ipconfig /renew

Peter

There is a space between the ipconfig and the / ?? If so, that didn't work.

When I do the "fix" or "troubleshoot" I wind up with the (paraphrasing) unplug the router or contact network admin.

When I do that, the screen momentarily flashes what looks like a DOS window. Doesn't stay around long enough to read. So, what am I doing wrong ?

Yes, you want the DOS window. I'm not sitting in front of a Windows 7 machine, but it should be something like start --> programs --> accessories --> command prompt.

If the window is flashing open and then closing, you're probably typing the command from the run dialog (start --> run), not by opening it as I mention above.

Peter

Click on "Start" then "run". Then type "CMD". You should then get a black window to type "ipconfig/all".

The reason I suggested driver update was that my grandson had problems connecting to my WiFi and a driver update fixed it. My laptop worked perfectly. The problem started after I moved the router and the signal dropped slightly. Apparently there was some sort of recovery/retry problem (just guessing).

OK, I got it to go now. My error with the command prompt

If not too inconvenient, can you get the two computers side-by-side? Connect the one that will and do the ipconfig /all and look for the "default gateway" IP address. Now, open a command window on the 7 machine and at the prompt, type "ping XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX" using the gateway IP address given on the working machine. This will tell you if the router is even seeing the machine. You should see in the window where it sends "pings" to the gateway and whether or not it responds. If it doesn't, and you see the last line (after a minute or so it will stop trying to ping) showing a 100% packet loss, then there is no question that the router is ignoring the 7 machine.

If the router does respond to the pings, you likely have a problem with the connection configuration. You could try to run the Network Connection Wizard and let it decide the proper protocol based on whatever network it "discovers", which should be the LAN you want to connect to.

The first screen grab is of Windows 7, which does not work. The second is Windows Vista which works. Can't tell where the data is pointing to a problem ?

I deleted the image files because I think GrayLox has solved the problem. No need to hog bandwidth

Thanks GrayLox. Got " transmit failed, general failure. Packets sent =4 received 0. Lost=4 <100 % loss>

Guess that is pretty conclusive

Thanks to everyone for the help and ideas !!!