No wireless network.....

[Jamisjockey]

I've got my pc configured to network with my laptop, but my laptop isn't picking up any networks......my old pos laptop is picking up the network with full bars but only gets limited or no connectivitiy.....ideas?

[K Frame]

New problem that just cropped up on an existing system, or are you just setting up a home system?

[Jamisjockey]

New problem that just cropped up on an existing system, or are you just setting up a home system?

New problem on an established system.   
Laptop is a fairly new sony Vaio....old one has shitloads of problems and is basically a paperweight.....

[K Frame]

What happens when you plug the laptop into the network with a cable?

Since it's affecting both laptops in a similar manner, it sounds to me like your PC is the source of the issue.

Have you tried powering it down, leaving it off for awhile to cool down, and then powering back up?

[Jamisjockey]

What happens when you plug the laptop into the network with a cable?

Since it's affecting both laptops in a similar manner, it sounds to me like your PC is the source of the issue.

Have you tried powering it down, leaving it off for awhile to cool down, and then powering back up?

Sorry I wasn't completely clear.....
The older laptop has always been a POS.  Right now it has a great 4 bar connection.  The newer laptop has no connection and won't even display the network as available.

[K Frame]

I caught that, but I was focusing on the fact that the old laptop is also having connectivity problems. If that condition existed before the new laptop started having no signal, then that points to a problem with the network card in your laptop.

Is the card in the old laptop compatible with the new laptop?

Try a swap and see what happens. 

[mtnbkr]

Unless he's trying to connect the two laptops directly without the benefit of a wireless access point, what happens on one won't necessarily affect the other.  Most new laptops have built in wireless, no cards needed and no way to swap them.

JJ,  Make sure you have the correct preshared key and SSID configured on the new laptop (assuming plain vanilla wep).  My new laptop couldn't see my home network until I configured those two parameters.

Chris

[lee n. field]

Sorry to sound like an Indian tech support guy reading off a script, but is the laptop's radio turned on? 

Sometimes there is an external switch to turn on the radio.  Toshiba I know does this, probably others.

[Jamisjockey]

Sorry to sound like an Indian tech support guy reading off a script, but is the laptop's radio turned on? 

Sometimes there is an external switch to turn on the radio.  Toshiba I know does this, probably others.

Coincidentally, I took it to circuit city this morning.  It's a VAIO, and the WLAN switch is on the front, blends with the trim, and isn't obvious.  Of course, the simplest answer was the correct one.  I'd somehow tripped the switch off....tech guy saw it in about 10 seconds.
 

[mtnbkr]

1min to fix for an hour's worth of jokes at your expense.

Chris

[Jamisjockey]

1min to fix for an hour's worth of jokes at your expense.

Chris

And to think....if'n I'd just been a star-trek loving, no girlfriend having, computer geek as a teen.....I'd have known how to fix it.....
 

[mtnbkr]

Or if you just read your owners manual...

Chris

[K Frame]

Owner's manuals are for sissies...

[RocketMan]

1min to fix for an hour's worth of jokes at your expense.

Chris

And to think....if'n I'd just been a star-trek loving, no girlfriend having, computer geek as a teen.....I'd have known how to fix it.....
 

So, your laptop has "da' switch".  

Mike is correct.  Real men know owner's manuals are for sissies.  Especially for a true geek.

Hey, I was a Star Trek-loving geek as a teen, but I had some pretty hot girlfriends.  Not all of us geeks back then were sans life.
Either that, or the passage of 35 years has embellished my memory.