I have an older Toshiba Satellite series laptop, running XP Home, which I like to "play around with". For some reason I can't get the Wi-Fi to work. When I check the status of the connection it shows "connected" and "signal strength excellent", but I still can't access the Internet. I had previously re-installed the operating system to see if that would solve the problem. I have use of a new laptop, but would still like to repair my older machine, if possible. Thanks in advance for your advice and assistance.

Same thing happened to a friend of mine and he had to update the driver for the wifi, network card. After he had done that it worked like a charm.

are you doing this at home ?what is the encryption status of the router?can the old Xp machine do the same encryptioncan you access anything else that is on the home network, like a printer

Big Bruce wrote:Same thing happened to a friend of mine and he had to update the driver for the wifi, network card. After he had done that it worked like a charm.OP is dealing with "XP" ON A OLD LAPTOP, NO "support" = NO DRIVER UPDATES..Not to mention drivers do not just suddenly quit or "go out of date" as many people seem to think around here..I suspect that the OP has a INTERNAL radio card failure or incorrect/incompatible security settings on the laptop and/or the access point.XP may not fully "support" all the newest latest security settings which are available on newer access points/routers.. Most newer encryptions will need a min of Win7..To test the security settings OP can access their router/access point and TURN OFF all security settings for the AP (IE "OPEN SYSTEM")..Doing so for WILL NOT ALLOW HACKERS TO HARM YOUR PCS SO DON'T BE SCARED DOING SO FOR TESTING PURPOSES..Once the AP is open then try accessing the Internet.. Good chance it will work..If still no joy then the problem is the INTERNAL WiFI RADIO CARD IS SHOT. THEY CAN AND DO GO BAD.You can get around that by buying a plug in USB WiFi dongle (just have to make sure it supports XP)..Something like this..For $12 at HERE would be a good choice.

Let me clarify. First of all friend was using Vista. Second he went to major geeks site and got a free program. He could then updatde his drivers using that program. I do remember the numbers of the driver going from 7xxx.xxx.xx to 9.xxxx.xxx.xx. As we all know there is no support for Vista either, he could get on the net being hardwired but no wifi. I don't know exactly all the particulars but I do know after he did that he was able to connect to wifi. He did have a problem by trying to use the update driver selection on his laptop because it kept saying that it had the updated driver. Here is what he used... http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/iobit_driver_booster.html I just know it worked for him because I saw him do it because he was connected to my router.

Big Bruce wrote:Let me clarify. First of all friend was using Vista. Second he went to major geeks site and got a free program. He could then updatde his drivers using that program. I do remember the numbers of the driver going from 7xxx.xxx.xx to 9.xxxx.xxx.xx. As we all know there is no support for Vista either, he could get on the net being hardwired but no wifi. I don't know exactly all the particulars but I do know after he did that he was able to connect to wifi. He did have a problem by trying to use the update driver selection on his laptop because it kept saying that it had the updated driver. Here is what he used... http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/iobit_driver_booster.html I just know it worked for him because I saw him do it because he was connected to my router.It might have "worked" for your friend BUT..Randomly installing any unknown source of drivers is really a terrible idea.ALWAYS, REPEAT ALWAYS go directly to your manufacturer for driver support or updates..NEVER, EVER use third party "fixer" search programs.. Your friend was lucky, could have easily ended up with a bad virus.What you don't understand is XP is older than Vista, Vista has a bit more robust encryption settings for WiFi.. Not to mention a good chance your friends PC has a WiFi card which has a newer firmware built in to support some of the newer encryptions.OP is dealing with older laptop which most likely does not have a WiFi card which has a new enough firmware to support the newer encryptions.OP does need to eliminate the encryption thing as being the problem by either disabling the router AP encryption, lowering the encryption level or taking laptop to a place that has free open WiFi access (IE no encryption or password).I would do that FIRST before declaring the drivers to be the problem..Do the easy thing first.IF, it turns out that the WiFi card is not compatible with newer encryption I would highly recommend buying an external USB WiFi card like the one I linked to.. It will have newer firmware and SOFTWARE that SHOULD get around XPs own encryption limitations.

Wifi Stopped Working on older PC Running XP | Good Sam Community

mr__ed
Explorer
Dec 14, 2015
Got it fixed! I purchased an adapter for a few dollars through Walmart. After installing the proper driver, the WiFi is working again.
mr__ed
Explorer
Dec 01, 2015
OP here. Here is a better description of what's happening: The Wi-Fi will work for a minute or so and then stop working, although signal strength still shows excellent. My other computers work fine at this location (one uses Win 10, the other is an iPad).
I ordered an adapter, as suggested. When it arrives I'll see if it works. Thanks to all who responded. :)
1492
Moderator
Nov 27, 2015
It that's the case, it may be a hardware issue due to the notebook's age itself.
mr__ed
Explorer
Nov 27, 2015
1492 wrote:
The big question is was WiFi ever working on your Toshiba using your current router? If you are just finding out now its not working, does your Toshiba have WiFi-G built-in, trying to connect to WiFi-N router/access point?

As mentioned, some older WiFi-G adapters do not support WiFi-N routers, without updated drivers. And they may not be available at all now?

Also mentioned, an easy workaround may be to buy an updated USB WiFi adapter that supports WIN XP drivers. If you don't need long range, than you can buy a mini USB WiFi adapter inexpensively. I just picked up a Belkin WiFi-N 300M adapter for my desktop for $8. at MicroCenter.

For a notebook, you can keep in plugged in a USB port, and not have to store it each time.

Thanks. I'll check into that. Funny thing is the PC worked fine until recently on the same network.
mr__ed
Explorer
Nov 27, 2015
strollin wrote:
When you reinstalled the OS, did you install SP3 as well? XP computers running less than SP3 have trouble connecting to routers with newer security protocols.

I couldn't download SP3 because I can't access the Internet. Right now, the PC has only SP2 installed. Funny thing is the PC operated normally until recently. I think something happened when I re-installed the OS. If all else fails, I'll just re-install it again.
1492
Moderator
Nov 27, 2015
The big question is was WiFi ever working on your Toshiba using your current router? If you are just finding out now its not working, does your Toshiba have WiFi-G built-in, trying to connect to WiFi-N router/access point?

As mentioned, some older WiFi-G adapters do not support WiFi-N routers, without updated drivers. And they may not be available at all now?

Also mentioned, an easy workaround may be to buy an updated USB WiFi adapter that supports WIN XP drivers. If you don't need long range, than you can buy a mini USB WiFi adapter inexpensively. I just picked up a Belkin WiFi-N 300M adapter for my desktop for $8. at MicroCenter.

For a notebook, you can keep in plugged in a USB port, and not have to store it each time.
Gdetrailer
Explorer III
Nov 26, 2015
ReadyToGo wrote:
The advice about drivers is very acurate. But i will add one more thought. It is possible that the driver is corrupt. There are tools from MS to chect it out in Win 7. Dont know about XP.

If a Driver is corrupt the device simply will not work at all, Windows device manager will show a big yellow ! for that device.

Now it is possible that the SOFTWARE INTERFACE (which is separate from the drivers) could have been corrupted but in the OP's case I doubt that since they are able to run the Software interface and see signal strength..
mileshuff
Explorer
Nov 26, 2015
Just a side note. MS is supporting XP with security and some other updates thru 2019. Just have to make a quick registry change to enable updates to come thru again. However, this would most likely have nothing to do with the OP's issues unless perhaps he needs SP3 support for his drivers.
ReadyToGo
Explorer
Nov 26, 2015
The advice about drivers is very acurate. But i will add one more thought. It is possible that the driver is corrupt. There are tools from MS to chect it out in Win 7. Dont know about XP.
strollin
Explorer
Nov 26, 2015
When you reinstalled the OS, did you install SP3 as well? XP computers running less than SP3 have trouble connecting to routers with newer security protocols.