networking idiocy abounds

October 2, 2005 2:44 PM

Help me remove a wireless network I've created by mistake.

In trying to set up home office networking, I've created an extra wireless network called "Network" that requires a network key. In the setup process I don't remember being given a key, and to be honest, I don't have the faintest idea what I'm doing.

Now, on both of my computers (XP Home/Pro) I see an extra wireless connection called "Network" but am unable to connect to it. I'd like to remove it entirely, yet the only option I can find (removing it from preferred networks) doesn't remove it.

Can you help? It isn't affecting my connection, but its existence annoys me to no end (a reminder of my failure).

Thanks!

posted by cior to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

It sounds like you haven't actually created another wireless network, you've just created extra entries in Windows's "history of networks I've connected to". It doesn't mean that there's actually any network with that name, just that there once was. I'm sorry I can't offer advice on how to clear that list of networks in Windows, but in any case it's likely to fill up again with spurious networks if it ever catches wind of a neighbor's wireless network, so my advice is "don't worry about it".
posted by breath at 3:05 PM on October 2, 2005

Try this: Goto network connections, right click on the offending network, properties, select the second tab "Wireless Networks", click on the one you want to rid yourself of and hit remove.

HTH
posted by Botunda at 3:09 PM on October 2, 2005

Could it just be that you're seeing a neighbor's network that's unrelated to what you were doing?
posted by stopgap at 3:46 PM on October 2, 2005

Response by poster: Clicking "Remove" from the Wireless Networks tab only removes it from the Preferred networks list. When refreshing, the offending "Network" still appears in the available networks list.

It isn't likely that this is a neighbor's network, as it only appeared after I started wildly throwing my networking idiocy about.
posted by cior at 4:12 PM on October 2, 2005

Are you trying to create an ad-hoc (computer-to-computer) network or are you using a separate router? Also, in the available networks list, is the icon by "Network" a transmitting antenna or two computers sending radio waves to each other?
posted by stopgap at 4:48 PM on October 2, 2005