Need Help Setting Up USR Wireless Router & Acer Laptop

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cochisewingers

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Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Posts
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Location
Sierra Vista, Arizona
Howdy - Kathy and I have been full-timing it in our 2004 Prairie Schooner for a year now. I set-up my home PC in it and am currently on Cox Hi-Speed Cable modem via a LinkSys 4-Port Cabled router via ethernet RJ-45 cables.

I bought Kathy a new ACER 3003 Wi-Fi laptop for Christmas. It's running XP Home and I bumped the RAM from 256 to 768 Megs. I've been having a heck-of-a-time getting the new US Robotics MAXg Wireless 802.11g to recognize and transmit to this laptop.

From my home PC, I went into the USR site at http://192.168.2.1 and attempted to config this wireless router. All is fine until it asks me to enter in the "Network Key" string in the field. I don't know where to look to find and subsequently enter this 26 character string of alpha-numeric characters in the field.

In the meantime, I am cabled back-up to the DSL "Wired" router so we can at least RX & TX via internet and e-mail.

Please help.... ???

Thanks...

Kent Switzer
[email protected] (Home)

 
Kent,

The key they're looking for is the encryption key assigned which will allow access to the router. When you set up the router, you must have selected 128 bit (26 hex character) WEP encryption. The router gives you the option of having it generate encryption keys for you based on a pass phrase (some user-defined phrase - I use the name of my cat), and it will give me 4 individual keys to share with other users or devices. You need to go into your router setup and have it generate these keys for you or enter your own 26 hexadecimal keys; then plug one of them into your USR "network key" field. If you tell us which router/access point you're using, we can give specific steps for doing all of this. Not difficult.

OOPS! Sorry; you did specify which router you're using. Let me lookk it up and see what steps are necessary.
 
Kent,

Go to this USR page for detailed instructions. http://www.usr.com/support/5461/5461-ug/security.html#wepopen I'm guessing you have the 5461, but you should be able to access the user guide for whichever router you're using from their "products" page. As with Linksys routers, the 5461 will generate keys for you too. WPA encryption is much more secure than WEP, but not all devices/users will be able to access the router unless they also support WPA. You'll have to check whether the specific wireless card in your laptop will support it; if not, you must use WEP.
 
Karl said:
Kent,

The key they're looking for is the encryption key assigned which will allow access to the router. When you set up the router, you must have selected 128 bit (26 hex character) WEP encryption. The router gives you the option of having it generate encryption keys for you based on a pass phrase (some user-defined phrase - I use the name of my cat), and it will give me 4 individual keys to share with other users or devices. You need to go into your router setup and have it generate these keys for you or enter your own 26 hexadecimal keys; then plug one of them into your USR "network key" field. If you tell us which router/access point you're using, we can give specific steps for doing all of this. Not difficult.

OOPS! Sorry; you did specify which router you're using. Let me lookk it up and see what steps are necessary.
Click to expand...

Kent, Karl, and anyone else that might need an encryption key,

On Steve Gibson's web page ]https://www.grc.com/passwords he has a random key generator. Everytime you load the page you get a new set of keys. There are three keys generated.

64 random hexadecimal characters (0-9 and A-F)

63 random printable ASCII characters

63 random alpha-numeric characters (a-z, A-Z, 0-9)

Just pick the one you need. If you don't need 63 or 64 characters just copy and paste as many as you need.
 
Howdy Again,

Kathy's new Acer Wi-Fi 3003 laptop STILL will not wirelessly connect to the US Robotics 5461 Router here. I have gone to US Robotics website and printed off their config instructions. Seems simple enough...until I actually try to set the bloody thing up.

I reset everything back to factory default settings beginning with: my Cox Cable Modem (Unplugged power cord, the incoming coax and outgoing RJ-45 to USR 5461 Router several times), also recycled the the USR 5461 Wireless Router itself by pressing and holding in the recessed button in back between 5-10 seconds as stated in their config instructions, and then "attempting" to config the actual laptop to find and shake hands with and see the doggone router.

Nothing happens!!

But when I hard-cable a RJ-45 cable into one of the outgoing 4 RJ-45 ports in back of router and plug other end into the RJ-45 Ethernet plug on Kathy's laptop...the internet and e-mail works great!!

Anyone at QZ want to buy a never "wirelessly used" router from me?? LOL. I am at my wits end on this damn set-up.

Also...see memory stick for sale under that link here too.



 
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