So you lost the wireless connection on your laptop?

From ITS Wiki

This is a “rerun” of a tip from September 2010. If you, or your students, are using laptops and experience problems connecting to the wireless network (on a machine that has previously connected to the wireless network without issue), you might want to read this tip and check the switch on the front of the computer. Many thanks to Tyler Chelf for writing the tip last Fall.

Many new laptops come with a feature designed to disable the wireless network adaptor for cases when security may be a concern (traveling in an airport, etc). On many older laptops one would have to hold down the Fn key and press another key on the function row to enable/disable the wireless, however many new computers are coming out with a simple switch located on the front bezel of the laptop that allows one to simply slide it to the off position and back on when needed. Unfortunately these switches are also notoriously easy to slide into the off position, cutting off access to the network and logon servers.

With the new laptops we purchased for Young Hall and the library in 2010 the switch is especially easy to slide to the off position (like when putting the laptop into its travel bag). If the switch is off and you attempt to login to the computer you will most likely get an error message stating that the “Domain was not available for authentication” or some variation of that statement. If you look at the switch on these machines and see the color red then the wireless is turned off and you simply need to slide it to the other position and allow the computer a moment to connect back to the Centre College wireless network.

Please NOTE: Some other models and brands will use different color markings, be it a similar design that instead uses green when on and black when off (Gateway) or a light up switch that turns amber when off and blue when on (HP).

If you are using these laptops in class you may encounter a student or two that have machines with the switches accidentally set to off, so knowing how to turn it back on will help you get back to the lesson at hand quicker!