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Tech Tips / Windows XP / Networking

Enable WLAN for automatic wireless configuration

Windows XP ships with a built-in support for wireless local area networks (WLANs), which is compatible with the 802.11b standard. Simply insert a WLAN PC card in your laptop or desktop computer and the OS automatically installs the required software and runs the services.

However, there are times when XP installs the drivers but the WLAN still doesn't work. This typically happens on tuned computers with experienced owners who have disabled services to get more available memory.

Follow these steps to enable WLAN:

1. Open the Services console from the Administrative Tools folder.
2. Browse and right-click on the Wireless Zero Configuration service.
3. Select Properties.
4. Make sure Automatic is selected on the Startup Type drop-down list and press OK.
5. If the service is not started, right-click on it and select Start.

The computer is now ready to automatically configure WLAN. If you're still having problems, check out Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q313242.