acquiring network address

I am trying to help a neighbour with his wireless internet connection.

I have established that the Internet and wireless is working perfectly well
as I used my own laptop to connect wirelessly.

The problem is therefore with his own client. The wireless hardware is
Netgear (both router and USB receiver) and I have tried netgear's own
software and windows' own to get the client connected. The netgear software
shows that it has been completely successful in connecting to the wireless
router and it's happy with the wep key entered. It's when xp tries to "link
in" (if that's the right terminology to use) that the problem arises.

The icon in 'network connections' just says "acquiring network address" and
stays like that seemingly forever. If I disable and then re-enable, it
closes the wireless connection then re-establishes it but always comes back
to "acquiring network address".

I have tried going to the command prompt and typing ipconfig /all and the
connection shows 0.0.0.0 as the IP address and same for the subnet mask (I
imagine that that means it's unassigned?). I then tried ipconfig /release
then ipconfig /renew but that did not help either.

I then went to support.microsoft.com and typed in "acquiring network
address" in the search box but didn't find anything that may have been
specific to my problem.

If anyone out there can help then it sure would be appreciated.

Double-check that you are entering the correct WEP/WPA key to connect to the
wireless network.

Also try downgrading the router's security to WEP

Not all network cards work with all encryption schemes - and this involves
more than the key.

Check the details on the router as to exactly what scheme is used, and be
sure that the client matches the type the router is using. You may need to
turn down the scheme on the router.

I have seen one model of Netgear router with an odd firmware glitch: If
all four possible keys were entered, *even if they were the same*, no client
could connect. If only one was used, no problem.

It's sometimes helpful to connect via wire so you can copy and paste
settings (the key) from the router's config page.

First, try connecting without using DHCP - that is, set a fixed IP address
rather than letting the router assign one.

Also, try it without any security enabled, to ensure you get a full
connection. Then find the right security setting that accomodates both
router and laptop.

Thank you SCHRS but as I say the WEP key has been accepted by the receiving
Netgear software. I am using WEP.

Using a cable is a possibility and I may try this
tomorrow.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not too sure how to do this. Is this possibly
right clicking the icon in the network connections and choosing properties?
If so what IP address should I assign to it? The laptop is a side issue and
was there simply to prove that there was nothing wrong with the wireless
router / internet, thereby proving that the problem was with the client PC.

In network properties, for the wireless device peoperties, Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) there you set an IP - it should be within the same range as the
router (often 192.168.1.xxx), subnet mask 255.255.255.0, gateway is the
router's internal IP ( probably 192.168.1.1) - you can get DNS
automatically or enter those IPs if you know them. If you have a machine
that is accessing the router's setup software, you can confirm the router
settings.

I assumed the client PC you're working on was a laptop as well.

To find this out, you really need another system or to connect via cable.

Connect to the router, find out what its DCHP range is set to, and pick an
address outside of it. The Gateway is the router's address, the subnet
mask will be listed.

In control panel, networks, Right-click on the network adapter, choose
Properties, then TCP/IP, Properties, and you'll find the options.

Note, however, that there are some network cards that won't work when set to
a fixed IP.

I shall try again tomorrow armed with my
super-long network cable (router is downstairs and client PC is upstairs)
and try all the things suggested to me on the forum. Thanks to all who have
contributed.

Not sure how many people come back to the forum to give feedback but I
thought I might.

The good news is that I got this gentleman's computer up and running with
his cable broadband today (Sunday).

As Windows was refusing to acquire the network address from the router, I
had to "spoon-feed" it the addresses by going to the TCP/IP properties and
entering the values manually. I was really pleased when it started working.

[gamtnman]

I had the problem with my wireless LAN icon often displaying “acquiring network address.” The internet worked in spite of the problem. After weeks of research and trying many suggestions, I finally found the answer to the problem. Let me give some specs first on my laptop:
-IBM Thinkpad T30
-Windows XP Home w/SP3
-Intel Pro Wireless 2200BG LAN

The solution:
-Changed the wireless manager from Intel to Windows.
-Turned off the tray icon for the Intel manager (This may not be necessary)

The cause had to do with a glitch with the Intel manager or a “tug-of-war” between it and WinXP. I suggest, if applicable, switching to Windows as the wireless manager to solve the problem no matter what wireless device you have.

To switch from Intel to Windows, right-click on the Intel Wireless icon in the “System Tray” and look for an option to switch to Windows as the wireless manager. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with your devices settings to turn off the tray icon (if necessary).

[frankrober]

Great answer. That solved my similar problem. I have a Belkin external USB WiFi card that was connecting strongly with a fast connection but was endlessly "acquiring network address" and never enabling Internet access.

After reading the above suggestion, I set the Belkin software to "use Windows to configure my wireless network," which then disconnected me. I then re-scanned and connected using the Windows wireless network tool and I right away connected with a network address and Internet access.