I’m trying to connect my laptop to my Wifi network which currently has a number of computers already connected. I’ve supplied the WEP key it requires but all I get on this laptop is “Acquiring networking address” and it never actually connects. Is my laptop’s WiFi broken?

Connecting to a WiFi network is a tad trickier than just plugging a network cable into a computer, but it gets easier and easier as software gets more advanced. I have seen this problem in the past, and it’s usually caused by an incorrect WEP key. I don’t want to sound condescending, but it’s possible that you typed it in wrong, and I would suggest you try to reconfigure it again.

Right-click on your wireless icon and then choose “View Available Wireless Connections”. Click on the “Change advanced settings” link on the left. Left-click on the Wireless Networks tab and you should see the name of your WiFi network in the Preferred Networks section. You may have other networks listed in the section if you have connected to other Wifi networks in the past.

Left-click on your Wifi network and click on Properties. Make sure the Network Authentication option is set to Shared and make sure that “The key is provided for me automatically” is unticked. Wipe out the Network Key and key it in and confirm it before clicking OK.

Hopefully this will fix your problem otherwise you have my permission to go as green as one of those perennial plants and smash up your computer. (Hope you get the Hulk reference there)