BleepingComputer.com: Cant get laptop (windows XP) to connect to wireless network

The laptop is ADK brand. They are a small company.

Wireless

Router is Netgear, whatever comcast supplied us with last summer. Point is that it works with every other computer in the house.

Distance from the router is upstairs. I already tried it right next to the router. No difference.

Internet is cable.



Here is what I have noticed:

I try to set up the wireless as a preferred network. I know for a fact that the network name and password are correct. The password is all weird (encrypted?) so I'm pretty sure that means it is WPA. No, I know it is WPA because that's how I set it up on my roommates laptop last week. WPA2 actually.

When I set up the network as WPA or WPA-PSK (no idea what the PSK means), I confirm everything, and then try to join the network. It simply indefinitely says "connecting to network" or something like that. When I go back to the properties, it has switched itself to "open" and "WEP." Happens every time I try to switch it back to WPA. I checked my roomate's desktop which also runs XP, and her wireless network properties reads exactly the same. "Open" and "WEP." What's weirder is that the password is actually 2 characters shorter than it should be in that window. 8 characters instead of 10. Why? That doesnt make any sense. Yet my roomate's desktop has no problem connecting to the internet, while my laptop shows all the wireless networks and just hangs indefinitely when I try to connect. I'm out of ideas. Every time I try to connect to the internet on XP it's a new adventure.

Is your laptops wireless adapter compatible with WPA encryption? PSK stands for pre shared key. Try disabling wireless security and see if you can connect then.