Start control panel wifi network connections. How to fix the missing Wireless Network Connection icon in Windows. Setting up a wireless WI FI network for windowsvideo

16.03.2021

Windows 7 has many ways to create and configure a connection to wireless network, which are called wireless network profiles:

The network connections icon in the notification area -########## is the primary way for users to connect to available wireless networks.
The Set up a connection or network dialog box is a way for users to manually create wireless network profiles.
The Manage Wireless Networks dialog box is another way manual settings wireless networks and specifying their exact parameters.
Group policies - network administrators can use parameters group policy in an Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) environment for centralized configuration and automatic deployment of wireless network settings on computers that are members of the domain. (See Wireless Group Policy Settings in Windows Vista, in the April 2007 Cable Guy section.)
Command line- network administrators can use the netsh wlan context of the Netsh.exe utility to manually configure wireless networks and their parameters. There are Netsh commands to export existing wireless network profiles to an XML file and then import the wireless network profile from that file to another computer.

The following sections detail how to connect to a wireless network using the network connections icon in the notification area and the Set up a connection or network dialog box in Windows 7, how to manage wireless networks, and how to connect to non-broadcast wireless networks.

Using the network connections icon in the notification area

To connect to an available wireless network, click the network connections icon in the desktop notification area. The panel that opens will display a list of detected wireless networks, and on computers that are members of the domain, the names of wireless networks configured using Group Policy (Fig. 1)

Rice. 1 List of available networks

From this panel you can connect to a wireless network from the list double click mouse, or by selecting the network and then clicking the Connect icon, or by clicking right click network name and selecting context menu"Connect"

To view information about wireless networks in the list, hover your mouse over the network name. You will see the wireless network name, signal strength, security type, connection type (802.11b/g/n) and network ID (SSID). The status of the connected network and its properties or the network configured using Group Policy can be seen by selecting the display wireless network properties command in the context menu (Fig. 2).

To refresh the list of wireless networks, click the up or down arrow in the upper right corner of the panel. To disconnect from a wireless network, right-click the network icon and select Disconnect.

Rice. 2 Wireless network connection status dialog box.

You can open this dialog box in Windows 7 (Fig. 3) by selecting the “Set Up a New Connection or Network” link in the “Network and Sharing Center” window. shared access» (Network and Sharing Center).

Rice. 3 Dialog box for setting up a connection or network.

To manually create a wireless network profile, select Manually connect to a wireless network, and then click Next. You should see what is shown in Figure 4.

Rice. 4 Page for entering information about the wireless network to be added.

Enter information about the wireless network you are adding:

Network name – enter the name of the wireless network;

Security type—Select the method used to authenticate your wireless network connection from the following options:

No authentication (Open) – open system authentication without encryption;
WEP – open authentication system using the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) protocol;
WPA2 – Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) private access with a shared key (also known as key phrase);
WPA – personal access via Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) with a shared key;
WPA2 – enterprise access via WPA2 protocol with authentication according to the IEEE 802.1X standard;
WPA – enterprise access via WPA protocol with authentication according to the IEEE 802.1X standard;
802.1x – IEEE 802.1X authentication with WEP (also known as dynamic WEP).

The choice depends on the capabilities of the wireless adapter known to Windows. If an authentication type does not appear in the list, you need to check whether the adapter supports wireless communication this type and is it installed compatible with Windows 7 latest version drivers.

Shared key authentication is not listed. Microsoft strongly discourages its use as it provides a low level of wireless network security. To set up shared key authentication, select "No Authentication" in this panel (Open), and then select "Shared" from the "Security" tab of the wireless network properties (as described later in this article).

Encryption type - Select the method used to encrypt data when transmitted over the wireless network. The choice depends on the selected security type.

If you select the security type "No Authentication" (Open), nothing will be selected;
when choosing a type WEP security WEP encryption type will be selected;
when selecting 802.1x security type, WEP encryption type will be selected;
When you select the security type "WPA2-Personal", "WPA2-Enterprise", "WPA-Personal" or "WPA-Enterprise", you can select the encryption type - AES or TKIP.

As before, the list of encryption options depends on the capabilities of the wireless device you are using. network adapter, registered in Windows.

Security Key - Enter the WEP key (if the security type is WEP), the WPA shared key (if the security type is WPA-Personal), or the WPA2 shared key (if the security type is WPA2-Personal). For WPA2-Enterprise, WPA-Enterprise, and 802.1x security types, Windows 7 automatically detects the security key when performing 802.1X authentication.
Hide characters - Select whether you want to view the entered security key values.
Start this connection automatically - Specify whether Windows 7 will automatically connect to this wireless network. If you clear this check box, you must manually connect to a wireless network from the list of available networks displayed when you click the network notification area icon.
Connect even if the network is not broadcasting - Determine whether Windows should try to connect even if the wireless network does not announce its name. This will force Windows to send a probe frame to discover the wireless network. These probe requests can be used by attackers to determine the name of the non-broadcast network.

Rice. 5 Successfully added page.

You can select Change connection settings to access the wireless network properties page, as described later in this article, or click the Close button.

It is more convenient to use the Internet on a laptop through wireless point access. Before connecting, you need to learn how to set up a Wi-Fi adapter on your laptop. We will talk about methods for turning on and configuring the device in the most popular versions of Windows. Methods for updating drivers will be discussed.

How to find out if a Wi-Fi module is installed on a laptop

Almost every mobile gadget is equipped with a Wi-Fi module, but you should definitely check its availability. Be sure to check your laptop's technical manual first. In the specifications opposite the “Wireless Communications” column there should be Wi-Fi or IEEE 802.11 lines. Their presence indicates that necessary component installed in the laptop.

An alternative option is to look for the presence of the component in the list of devices. To do this, go to computer properties and click the “Task Manager” link. In the window that opens, among all the hardware, open the “Network Adapters” tab, and then find the line with the previously described words or the words Wireless (Wi-Fi).

If it's not there

The best option is to upgrade your laptop. Most likely, you have a very “old” model with low performance and a missing wireless module. When funds do not allow you to buy new equipment, order a USB module. It looks like a flash drive and serves as an external Wi-Fi module. There are hundreds of models on the market with different characteristics. Driver installation is required for operation.

How to turn on the Wi-Fi adapter

To use wireless Internet on laptops and individual computers , You should activate the Wi-Fi module and then connect to the required network. There are several hardware and software methods turn on Wi-Fi, which will be discussed in detail below.

Switch on the body

For the convenience of users, many manufacturers have made the switch a separate button on the body of the gadget. It can be located on the front panel (on the Esc side or near the Num keys).

We also recommend checking out side panels on both sides for the presence of a switch. It has an antenna icon with diverging waves. Often there are light indicators on the case that inform you about the performance of specific components.

If there is such a switch and the component itself is working correctly, of course, all activation comes down to one simple action.

Keyboard shortcuts

Another way is to activate the module with a keyboard shortcut. On laptops additional settings placed on the function buttons F1-F12. Also on the keyboard you can find a key with the letters Fn. With its help, additional functions are enabled (including Wi-Fi). You need to hold Fn and click the button with the image of the company icon (on different models they will be F2, F3 or F12). The action will activate the indicator (if any) and the connection icon will appear in the Start panel on the right side.

Alternative options

If the previous manipulations do not produce results, the problem is in the drivers or settings operating system. A rare exception is marriage. As a last resort, after all resuscitation attempts, contact service center, especially if the laptop is under warranty. Also make sure that with a dot Wi-Fi access Everything is fine. The problem may lie in the incorrect operation of the Wi-Fi router (re-configuration or firmware update is required). Try connecting to it mobile phone or a tablet for testing.

Installing or updating drivers

WiFi inoperability is often related to the driver. The latter is specialized software that ensures correct operation physical device in the operating system shell. There are three main ways to install a new driver:

independently through the downloaded installer;
through standard Windows functions;
through specialized software.

The first method is the most reliable option, as it eliminates outside interference. The laptop owner should go to the manufacturer’s website, and then find the software downloads category. Next, in the search, write the full name of your model and OS version. Be sure to find out the bit size (32 or 64 bits). A list of all drivers will be published based on your request. Download the file for the Wireless network adapter.

The second method involves downloading the required driver through Microsoft databases. In Device Manager, right-click on the Wi-Fi adapter and select “Update drivers.” Please note that the updater may not always find the latest version.

The latter method is extremely convenient, since the program takes care of all the “dirty work” of searching and installing. An effective tool is Driver Genius. To update the driver, follow these steps:

“Driver Jenius” has a huge database, and regularly updates it, so the software can be used to update the software of any laptop hardware.

Necessary actions and settings in the operating system

Activation wireless adapter can be carried out using OS tools. The user should network settings enable it separately. Next, we will tell you how to set up Wi-Fi on a laptop for the most common Windows systems.

Windows XP

Complete setup on Windows XP consists of the following steps:

Setting up Wi-Fi within Windows XP will be completed after completing the described steps.

Windows 7

The user should make similar settings in the “seven”. The difference from the previously given instructions is minimal:

Often the provider issues a static IP. In such situations, you need to set the parameters according to the service provider's requirements. In other cases, automatic receipt of parameters allows you to use Wi-Fi without problems.

Windows 8/10

These OS versions have similar interfaces, so the procedure for them will be almost identical. You need to follow steps similar to those given earlier for other Windows systems:

Additionally, if you have problems with access, run the diagnostic center. The system may identify errors due to which you cannot connect to a Wi-Fi point.

Connecting to a wireless network is the most convenient way to access the Internet at good speed without unnecessary wires. However, to enjoy all the benefits of a wireless connection, you must first understand how to set up Wi-Fi on a laptop.

Enabling the adapter

Before you start creating a new connection, you need to check if the Wi-FI adapter is turned on.

Each laptop model has its own function key for turning the adapter on/off. For example, on ASUS laptops the combination Fn+F2 is used, and on Acer - Fn+F3. On some Lenovo models, adapter status is controlled using a hardware switch located on the front panel.

To determine which key you have installed, look at the F1-F12 row. One of the buttons should have an icon - an antenna that distributes a signal. Press this button in combination with the Fn key and check that the Wi-Fi adapter indicator light changes from red to blue or green.

What to do if the Wi-Fi adapter does not turn on?

There are situations when, after pressing a function key, the adapter does not turn on. Typically this problem occurs due to one of the following reasons:

Incorrectly installed drivers.
Incorrect operation of the system.
Virus infection of laptop.

Until you eliminate the cause, the question of how to set up Wi-Fi in a laptop will not receive a positive resolution. Most often the problem is incorrect installed drivers, but it would also be useful to check the system for viruses. If malicious applications not detected, reinstall the Wi-Fi module drivers and try turning it on again.

How to set up Wi-Fi on a laptop

Setting up on Windows XP

To configure, you just need to correctly specify some parameters of the wireless connection:

If on wireless connection password is set, you will be required to specify the security key, after which the connection will be established.

Setting up on Windows 7

We've sorted out XP, now let's see how to set up a wireless network on a laptop with installed Windows 7. There are practically no fundamental differences:

On this wifi setup on a laptop with Windows 7 is completed. When connected, you enter the security key and gain access to the Internet.

For Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 there are no differences in settings from the seventh version. The list of networks available for connection can be called up directly from the notification panel - there is a special Wi-Fi icon in the tray.

Video of Wi-Fi settings on a laptop

Set up a wireless network...

Today we are witnessing the rapid development and popularization of wireless networks. Until recently, a built-in Wi-Fi controller in a laptop was considered a pointless waste of money, and it was almost impossible to find a use for it, but today many public institutions, including cafes, restaurants, libraries, hotels and airports provide the opportunity wireless access to the Internet, providing the user with fast and inexpensive (and often even free) access to the World Wide Web.

Today on the Internet you can find many reviews devoted to various wireless equipment, but they all talk about the equipment itself and do not answer the main question for many of us, how to connect everything?

In this series of articles we will try to correct the situation, and using the example of standard LevelOne and X-net equipment, kindly provided by Svega Computer and Atlantic Computers, we will tell you how to quickly and efficiently organize a wireless high-performance network with Internet access at home.

Simple and cheap wireless connection

So, let's say you have at home desktop computer with a permanent connection to the Internet, and a laptop that you would like to connect to a local network with a desktop computer, and also provide shared access to the Internet. Today, there are several solutions to this problem, but not all of them can be called simple and accessible, especially for users who do not have special network knowledge.

In our opinion, the simplest and most accessible way is to use two Wi-Fi adapters(the so-called Ad - Hoc or “point-to-point” connection), operating according to the 802.11b standard and providing an exchange speed of 11 Mbit / s, which is quite enough for normal operation.

For our experiments, we used the WNC-0101 USB USB controller and the Realtek RTL 8180 Wireless LAN controller built into the MaxSelect Mission Hammer Wide, Mini - PCI laptop.

Why USB Wi-Fi controller? It really doesn't matter which controller you use, you can choose PCI, PCMCIA, CF or SD. They all provide approximately the same level of functionality and communication quality. Main advantage USB controller is ease of installation and versatility of use. In other words, to install the controller there is no need to open the computer, and you can use it not only with a regular desktop computer, but also with an old laptop that does not have a built-in Wi-Fi controller, as well as with various compact Barebone platforms, where it is not always possible to find free PCI slot.

As for disadvantages of USB Wi-Fi controllers, then we can note the built-in antenna, which somewhat limits the range, however, given that we are talking about home network, where the short range of the wireless network is not critical, we do not pay attention to this feature.

Installation features…

First of all, we recommend installing the driver and utility to configure parameters and monitor the connection, and only then connect the LevelOne WNC-0101 USB USB Wi-Fi controller. These recommendations apply not only to the LevelOne controller used, but also to any other USB Wi-Fi controllers.

Once you have installed the USB Wi-Fi controller, you can begin setting up your network. There are two ways to do this. In the first case, you can use your own IEEE 802.11b WPC Utility(USB), and in the second, you can use Windows XP tools. Moreover, it is important to note that before the appearance of the second service pack, which we strongly recommend installing if you really care about the security and stability of your computer, the built-in tools in XP somewhat limited the wireless connection capabilities, although they were quite functional. In the second service pack, Microsoft has significantly expanded the capabilities and significantly simplified the work with wireless connections.

In order for you to fully understand the configuration features, we present both methods and start with the tools built into XP.

So, first of all, open the properties of the network environment, where all the network connections available on your computer are displayed. As you can see, our computer has many different wired and wireless network controllers installed, but now we are only interested in “wireless connection 3”, which is based on the LevelOne WNC-0101 USB controller. Now we open the properties of this connection, where we are interested in the second tab “Wireless Networks”. This is where we will make all the settings for our wireless network.

First of all, pay attention to the checkbox in the topmost item “Use Windows to configure the network”; this option allows you to choose which tools will be used to configure the network.

At the next stage, you must create your first wireless network, for which we press the button add in the "Preferred Networks" section, where you need to enter the name of your network (we chose the name MyHome), as well as set some special parameters that provide a certain level of security for your wireless network.

To simplify our first connection we decided to use open network without enabling data encryption. As you understand, such a network does not provide sufficient security for your data, but for home connection type Ad - Hoc or computer-to-computer it is quite sufficient.

Windows XP tools allow you to create a wireless network using a special wizard available in the " Available networks" To do this, click the “Wireless Networks” button and in the wireless network manager that opens, click the “Set up wireless network” button. The main difference of this wizard is the ability to save wireless network settings on a Flash disk, which greatly simplifies the transfer of the network configuration to other computers on your network, however, for our situation, when we need to connect two computers, this feature is not relevant.

We will return to this manager a little later, but for now we will consider the second configuration method using the utility supplied with the LevelOne WNC-0101 USB controller. Let us remind you that in order to allow the use of a proprietary utility, you must uncheck the “Use Windows to configure the network” checkbox in the “Wireless networks” tab.

The utility includes a slightly larger set of features than Windows tools. There are six bookmarks here. The first tab “LAN Status” displays all wireless networks found around, in our case there are none yet, and also shows the strength and quality of the signal (it is also not displayed for an Ad-Hoc connection).

Create new network you can by opening the “Settings” tab. As you can see here, everything is very similar to what we saw above, but several features make working on wireless networks much more convenient.

First of all, pay attention to the ability to create up to five profiles that allow you to quickly change connection parameters. So, we create the first profile, initially we indicate the network name (SSID), network type (AD - Hoc). The communication channel used and the country can be left unchanged. Additional connection properties are available in the Advance window. Here the user can select the transfer speed, energy saving mode (important for laptops), and encryption mode.

The remaining bookmarks perform information functions and are not particularly in demand if everything works fine.

In principle, at this point the first stage of setting up a desktop computer can be considered complete, and it’s time to set up a wireless network on a laptop.

In general, this process is completely identical to that described above, and we will not repeat ourselves; we will only remind you that depending on the Wi-Fi controller used, the functionality of the configuration utility may differ, but the basic settings remain identical.

Establishing a connection

It's time to establish a connection between the two computers. To do this, you can use either a proprietary utility or a network manager. Windows connections XP, which we said a few words about above, but before you do this, reboot both computers, which will allow an automatic connection of the two computers to be established, as evidenced by the icon in the system area of the desktop.

If the connection does not occur, open the utility Wi-Fi settings controller or network connection manager Windows XP. Personally, we recommend using the manager. It provides an easier and more intuitive wireless experience.

The main manager window displays a list of detected networks. If you see something similar to our screenshot, then we can assume that you have almost achieved the main goal - connecting two computers to a network.

If this is not the case, we recommend clicking the “Update network list” button. If nothing happened in this case, check whether the second computer is turned on, whether the Wi-Fi controller is working, and whether there is an error in setting up the wireless connection.

Last steps...

So, we have come to the final stage of connecting computers into a network - setting up an IP connection, setting up a gateway and sharing access to files and printers. Despite such a complex name for the upcoming procedure, everything is done very simply, for which special thanks to the developers of Windows XP.

However, before you start setting up, we recommend paying attention to some hidden pitfalls that we encountered when we first set up a wireless network.

If your desktop computer is connected to a dedicated Internet channel and uses an internal IP address (for example, 192.168.0.0…255 or in another internal range), we recommend disabling network cable. The fact is that during setup, your wireless controller on your desktop computer will be assigned the address 192.168.0.1, which is usually used on the internal network, which will cause an address conflict and you will not be able to configure the gateway.

The second “stone” that made us tinker with setting up a wireless connection is the firewall built into Panda Internet Security. For the wireless network to work, you need to configure the firewall appropriately, both on your desktop computer and laptop, or simply temporarily disable it. By the way, the firewall package built into the second service does not cause any problems.

So, let’s launch the wizard on a desktop computer with an Internet connection. After answering a couple of trivial questions, you need to perform some actions that indicate to the wizard which connection is used for what.

First you need to check the box “ignore disabled network hardware", which will allow you to use a wired controller disconnected from the network. In the next window, you must select the role of this computer in your network.

Considering that our desktop computer has a permanent connection to an external network, and the laptop will connect to the Internet through it, we choose the first connection method.

In the next step, you specify which connection is used to connect to the Internet. In our case, this is “Connection via local network».

Next, we select which connections are used to connect to other computers on the network. Please note that you can combine wired and wireless connections here. In our case, we selected only “Wireless Connection 3”, which is based on the LevelOne WNC-0101 USB controller.

In the next two windows, you enter a computer name and description (optional), as well as a workgroup name.

Please take into account that the computers on your local network must belong to the same working group, otherwise you won't be able to see them online.

Finally, the last window allows you to enable or disable file and printer sharing.

After clicking the “Next” button, the wizard will begin configuring the IP connection parameters, as well as sharing and security. If you did everything correctly, a final screen will open, in which you will be asked to save the settings or simply complete the wizard, which we will happily do.

After setup, you will notice some changes in the network connection settings.

So, in the properties of “Local Area Network Connections” in the “Advanced” tab, all the checkboxes will be checked, and connections for the home network will be defined.

And in the properties of the TCP / IP protocol of “Wireless Connection 3” a fixed IP address and subnet mask will be set.

Now you can proceed to launch the wizard on your laptop. Here everything happens noticeably faster and you only need to install the second type of connection. The master will do the rest for you.

That’s it, the setup process can be considered complete, and you, as the full owner of your home wireless network, can run any Internet applications, including games. In addition, you can easily work with both disks on another computer and printers, providing wireless printing from a laptop located in another room.

A few words about the speed and range of the wireless network...

As we said above, for our first wireless network we used controllers operating according to the 802.11b standard with a maximum transfer speed of 11 Mbit / s. Of course, in today's times this is not much, and against the background modern controllers, operating under the 802.11 g and 802.11 Super G protocol, providing transfer speeds of 54 Mbit / s and 108 Mbit / s does not look very good. However, for the first experience, such a solution is sufficient, allowing you to achieve quite good capabilities without having to deal with some specific features high-speed connections, which we still have to tinker with in the future.

As for the actual exchange speed, to study it we used the ICB 2000 program, which allows you to measure network traffic. Moreover, we are not interested in the speed of artificially generated traffic, but in the speed of actual transfer of files and other information.

So, first we will look at what our wireless network is capable of when copying large file from a desktop computer to a laptop with simultaneous on-line viewing on the laptop of a film recorded on the desktop computer. In this mode, we load the wireless channel as much as possible.

As you can see, the maximum throughput wireless channel in this mode averages 4636 Kb/s. It is very important to note here that we did not observe any slowdowns when watching a movie, which allows us to conclude that in small home networks, the capabilities of 802.11b networks are quite sufficient.

If you start copying in the opposite direction, i.e. in Download mode for a desktop computer, the maximum throughput of our channel will be slightly higher - 4984 Kb/s with a peak value of 5305 Kb/s.

If, while copying a file from a desktop computer to a laptop, we run the same task, but in the opposite direction, the speed will drop slightly. Moreover, the speed in Upload mode does not drop significantly, but in Download mode we observe a noticeable decrease in performance.

And finally, let's see what happens when we run any network application, generating a balanced load on the channel. Here we simply started watching a movie recorded on a desktop computer on a laptop.

As you can see, in this mode the load on the channel is so insignificant that you can easily launch network viewing on a couple more computers. This is what explains the lack of slowdowns when watching a movie while copying a file in parallel. As for the range, in such a network it is not very large, and depends on the configuration of the room. In fact, in a regular apartment or small office everything will work fine.

How many computers can be connected to such a wireless network?

A pleasant surprise for many of you will be that a simple Ad-Hoc network can include several computers at once, which can be easily connected to each other and provide easy access to the Internet. However, remember that an increase in the number of computers working simultaneously on the network significantly reduces network performance, which is due to the need to transfer all data through the desktop computer, which in our case is the gateway.

Conclusion…

So, we hope that the above detailed recommendations will simplify your first experience of creating a wireless home network. Despite the apparent complexity of the process, everything turned out to be more than simple. However, we cannot claim that the presented solution is universal and will be equally correct for all cases. Experience shows that almost every installation of a wireless network with new equipment raises some questions, especially for users who do not have special training. The main thing is that you must clearly understand and imagine the sequence of actions that should lead to the successful launch of a wireless network. In the next article, we will introduce you to equipment that can significantly increase the performance of your home network.