AT&T DSL → Laptop won't connect to Netgear 7750 with AT&T DSL

Sister has 2 laptops in her house, she recently replaced her 2Wire Wireless Gateway with the Netgear 7550. After about a week one of the laptops stopped connecting to the internet, it says local connection only. The other laptop connects without a problem

The problem is not a defect with the wireless network card in the laptop because I brought it to my house (I have Comcast HSI) and it connected wirelessly with no problem.

I tried to enter the AT&T configuration page by going to 192.168.1.254 but it does not open, IE says it cannot connect to the server.

I’m just wondering if anyone can tell me if there are any settings I should check for that can be causing the issue. Thanks

Things that come to mind,.....

Does the non-functioning laptop have a IP address or is it derived via DHCP. Goto command prompt type ipconfig /all and look at output to determine. Make sure IP address settings is within the subnet range of the router. 192.168.1.x or 192.168.2.x

Check the wireless security in place. If it's WPA2 try WEP, or no security and see if it connects. I've seen issues with non patched XP operating systems refusing to connects with WPA2 secured networks.

Doubtful issue but check router config for MAC address filters. If one is in place either disable or add the MAC for the laptop to the white list.

Thanks for your reply. Funny but the laptop which is connecting with no problem is about 9 to 10 years old and runs XP, the laptop that's having the problem is newer and runs Vista.

I did check and it was a legitimate IP address, and static IP address, I changed to DHCP just to see if that would work but it didn't. I also disabled the firewall temporarily just to see if something was blocking it from getting a connection.

The strange thing is she says it was working for a week then all of a sudden not.

If you have the capability,.. connect a laptop to the 7550 via Ethernet and navigate to 192.168.1.1 in any web browser.

Review the router config carefully taking note of the specific WLAN security that's in place and more importantly the password/passphrase in use. Also, while you're in there, make sure the DHCP functionality is turned on and that the IP range for DHCP leasing is large enough for your needs.

As a last resort temporarily disable all wireless security and test. Also, set a static IP on the Vista machine as 192.168.1.33.... gateway 192.168.1.1 and subnet mask of 255.255.255.0.

most windows Vista dont usually work with Netgear 7550, dont know why.

correction for the default gateway. all at&t modems have 192.168.1.254 gateway unlike normal Netgear modems (192.168.1.254).

try the following:
1. remove the old profile on your wireless network by going to Network and Sharing Center -> Manage wireless network
2. Access your modem GUi using your gateway IP 192.168.1.254
3. remove the wifi security.
4. reconnect to your wireless network

if your able to get online without the wifi password it means that there is no problem with your computer but more likely that the problem is with the netgear 7550 firmware.

what you could also try is that you can update the network driver of your wifi. it usually say that you already have the latest driver available. After that try and reconnect to the wifi network, it works for my laptop. Hopefully it help yours.