PDF Print E-mail

Your XP Wireless Access Point, Where Is It, And How To Speed It Up.

If you are one of the millions of Windows XP users out there, even though free support has been discontinued, and you plan on holding off on the Vista or Windows 7 Upgrades, then you need to know a few things about your XP Wireless Access Point:

First, for those that don’t already know, your XP Wireless Access Point is the point at which you are accessing a wireless Internet or device connection, such as a WiFi hotspot or home wireless router.  Every XP Wireless Access Point is given a name when connected, and these points are stored in XP forever, unless you decide to delete them.  So it’s best to know how to view that list, and how to check there often to see if you are making the connections that you think you are. Here’s how to check the list:

1.    Click start on the XP task bar (the big logo bottom left)
2.    Click Connect to > Wireless Network Connection
3.    When the Wireless Network Connection Properties window opens, click Properties on the bottom of the window, then the Wireless Networks tab.

In the lower portion of that window you will see a list of Preferred networks (if you have connected to wireless device once before).  Most users will see several, one for when they were at Starbucks, one for their home router, and perhaps one or two used at work.  But the point is this:  you should check the radio tower icon (if already connected) and verify that the XP Wireless Access Point that is highlighted (the tower icon will be emitting signals) is the one you should be connected too.  It is very easy to connect to another unsecured wireless network when one is in range  - without you ever noticing!

Now that you have confirmed that you are using the right XP Wireless Access Point, check the list for other points used in the past but you think you will never use again, like the one you used at Pattaya Beach Thailand three years ago while on vacation.  Delete all unused XP Wireless Access Points, as each one listed could be potentially slowing down the performance of your machine each time you go wireless.

Now that your Preferred networks list is cleaned up and verified (only valid XP Wireless Access Points are listed on the window) then highlight each one  - one at a time -  and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to arrange the points in the order of most used to least used. In this way you will improve your connection performance the next time turn on your machine or when you are out and about and switching from one hot spot to another.

By the way, this same list is where you can check to see what passwords are being used (if any, and hopefully there is one for the sake of security) and this is also where you can quickly make changes when required. Just select any XP Wireless Access Point in the list, and then click Properties and the password is displayed in the resulting window.