eMachines 500 User Guide

getting started

common problems and solutions

The wireless utility icon shows that my wireless is off, but when I right-click the

icon in the system tray and select “radio on” the wireless does not turn on.

Press Fn + F2 on the keyboard to turn the wireless on. This hot key is the master

on/off toggle.

I turned the wireless on, but it takes a while to connect.

When the wireless is turned on, it automatically scans for available connections,

which can take approximately 30 seconds to complete.

My connection on the network seems intermittent.

In addition to other factors, the strength of a wireless connection is determined

by the distance from the access point and structural material that the signal

must travel through (such as walls, cabinets, ceilings, and floors.)

If you cannot relocate, see if you can improve the connection by changing the

channel of the access point.

I can see the network, but cannot communicate, send files, print, or get to the
Web.

If WEP is used by your access point, go to the Windows XP Wireless Networking

Properties window and make sure that both the WAP and the WLAN in the
notebook have matching WEP keys.

I’m in a wireless network, but no available networks are listed in the Windows XP

Wireless Networking utility.

If the network you are attempting to access does not broadcast its SSID, you

need to request the SSID from the administrator and add that network’s

information in to the wireless utility.

You may want to try entering “ANY” as the SSID, which will make the notebook

try to auto-detect the network.

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