I am running a Linksys wireless-b broadband router for my wireless network, and I recently moved to a new apartment, switching from DSL to Cable. After reconfiguring my router for the change, and about two weeks of good performance, suddenly only one of my laptops can connect to the network. My Toshiba Satellite (Windows XP) suddenly can no longer connect, I get the message "Unable to connect to preferred wireless network", however it can still lists my SSID, and my laptop can connect to other wireless networks. I have tried power cycling my router and laptop, modifying the router's settings and my laptop's wireless network properties, but nothing has worked. Any fresh ideas would be great, thank you very much.

try reseting the router to defaults. then try to log on to the internet. if you are able then it is a router setting that was keeping you off line. Most routers have a small hole next to the power line that is used to reset it. Check with the manufacturer as the router may need to be unplugged when resetting it. On the laptop. clear all the SSID listings and then search for new networks and see if it finds the router. Make sure that the router and NIC card or set for the correct matching channels for transmit and receive. If everything checks out but you still cannot connect to your network but you can connect to another network then there is a security setting within your computer that is blocking the connection... This could be caused by a malware/virus or a firewall setting from Norton or zonealarm or some other security suite that you have installed. Keep us posted! It is the disadvantaged who habitually elect Democrats on the belief of personal change--- yet they remain disadvantaged.

So I reset my router's settings to factory default and, voila, I get a working connection again right away. Right after I was reconnected, I turned my WPA security back on (I'm in a very busy wireless network area), and now my connection is back where it was 20 minutes ago. I may have misunderstood you but does this mean malware or a fireware on my computer wont let me connect to a WPA wireless network? Thanks for your invaluable help.

it means that the WPA security isn't matching between the router and the networking card. Authorization codes are bungled is what i would guess. Why they are bungled could be a firewall disallowing the signals from communicating or the port has been blocked. It is the disadvantaged who habitually elect Democrats on the belief of personal change--- yet they remain disadvantaged.

You say other Networks in the area. Maybe best to set your Router to a Channel setting that is not the same Channel as other Networks. I have seen a Tech person using Software on his laptop that detects all other Networks, and their Channel number.

Hi, Please make sure your router wireless feature clients are not limited to 1.(specific feature on certain routers) Also, you can try reset the router factory default. Also, I wonder if your ISP have the privilege of limiting the type of the access from your account, this sounds weird, but may wroth a try!

Once this is all fixed and your WPA seems to be holding, go to Linksys website and see if there is an option to save your settings to a file. This can be a boon to future recovery because you just call up this saved file via the website and you are all setup again. some other bloke...