Will my W2000 Pro IBM laptop work with my WAP wireless network?

[cadenton]

I was told that my 11 year-old IBM A22m W2000 Pro ThinkPad laptop will not work on my home wireless network. I was told that W2000 can't deal with WAP or WAP2 encription.

Is this true?

I use an old Linksys wireless card w/the the laptop -- that works fine at Starbucks Wifi's, etc.

I have WAP2 encription on the wireless Netgear system at home -- and currenly have two other Dell/Vista laptops on the wireless network (that work fine).

Please advise.

Thanks.

 

[cmeagan656]

Why not just turn on the laptop when at home and try connecting to the wireless network? Since it connects to Starbucks' Wifi, etc. then if it doesn't connect at home you can assume that it doesn't work on your WAP wireless network.

Hope this helps.

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[cadenton]

Yes. I thought of that as well.

However, I'm not very good with wireless networks. I usually have trouble hooking anything up to my wireless system -- for all sorts of different reasons. It's time consuming and frustrating.

I just thought if I could get a definitive answer first, I would know if I'm not connecting because of W2000's limitations, or my own screw-up(s)...and I might save myself some aggravation.

Thanks.

 

[flyboytim]

Is that WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) encryption or WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption or is it WAP (Wireless Application Protocol), the technology that enables internet phones?

It is amazingly incoherent on a google search, as WAP and WPA seem to be used interchangeably. I hope that the encryption keys are not so error tolerant, or else that Anagrams rule KO!

WPA on Windows 2000 is hit and miss - it depends if the wireless device vendor wrote Win2k device driver upgrades that supported the WPA standard, or that the XP WPA drivers work with Windows 2000.

 

[cadenton]

It's WPA. I'm sorry. My error.

That makes sense -- about the wireless devise drivers, etc. When you say "wireless device," do you mean the wireless router -- or the wireless laptop?

 

[flyboytim]

I meant the wireless card/device on the laptop - the router will have a different operating system, and obviously supports WPA.

Does the old Linksys card support WPA? Is the PCMCIA card slot where it sits capable of holding a more modern card that is both Win2000 and WPA compatible?

Can you pick up an old wireless access point that supports WEP, and hook it up to your modem etc?

Could you downgrade the security on your whole system to WEP?

Almost unthinkable, but could you use an unencrypted system but hide the SSID, so that all but the most dedicated Wardrivers would not even know you have Wi-Fi?