These directions will walk you through configuring the Windows XP
Service Pack 2 wireless configuration process for use on your home
network. While many wireless cards ship with a vendor supplied
configuration tool, these tools are too widely varied for us to easily
ascertain which ones properly support WPA, and if so, how to configure
them. Therefore, we are only able to provde information for the
Windows built in configuration process.
Requirements:
Windows XP Professional.
Service Pack 2.
WPA compliant wireless card (Wi/Fi Certified).
Allow Windows to manage your wireless card.
Your SSID, as configured on your wireless router. For the purposes of this document an SSID of Home-SSID will be used.
Your WPA Passphrase, as configured on your wireless router.
Note that when picking an SSID to you, you should pick a unique
one. If you attempt to reuse an already configured SSID, such as
WPI-Wireless, you will have connectivity problems.
Setup of Your Home Wireless Network
Open "Network Connections" via Start -> Control Panel -> Network Connections
Right click your Wireless Network Connection and select Properties
On the Wireless Networks tab, Use Windows to
configure my wireless network settings should be checked.
If it is not, your wireless setup may not work properly due to
third-party software.
Click the Add... button
On the Wireless Network Properties window, use the SSID you have configured on
your wireless router. Network authentication should be WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK, and Data Encryption
should be TKIP or AES. The Network Key value should be the passphrase you configured on
your wireless router.
If WPA does not appear as a valid option for Network Authentication, that indicates that
your network card drivers do not support WPA. If this is the case, you should check with
the manufacturer of your laptop or network card for updated drivers.
Click on the Connection tab
On the Connection tab, select Connect when this network is in range and click Ok
Returning to the Wireless Network Connection Properties
window, the Home-SSID (Automatic) entry should now be present.
Click the Advanced button
On the Advanced window, use the following information:
Access point (infrastructure) networks only should be selected
Automatically connect to non-preferred networks should be unchecked
Click close
Click Ok to close the Wireless Network Connection Properties window
Your computer should now automatically connect to the Home-SSID network
whenever it is in range.
