iBook to Linksys password problem

I just bought a Mac iBook 800MHz G3 laptop running OS 10.4.9, with 640 MB of RAM (PC100 SDRAM) and an Airport Card (802.11b) for my daughter on her thirteenth birthday. As a long time slave to the PC and Windows, I have very little experience with Macs but I decided it was the way to go for her because of it's user friendly reputation. I mean the thing was advertised as to allow the user to "surf the internet right out of the box".

The problem is that it doesn’t accept the password I have set up on my secure Linksys Wireless-N Gigabit Router (WRT350N). I've had 2 PCs, laptop and desktop, running wirelessly in my house for some 6 months with no problems whatsoever.

The Linksys is using WPA-PSK network authentication and AES data encryption. How should I set up the AirPort card on the Mac to accept the password I've setup on my Linksys?

Does OSX prompt you for a password for the router? Does it say WPA?

By the way it's WPA-PSK.

I have seen issues one time with one Dlink router and a Mac using WPA, and changed it from AES to TKIP and it worked. Never had that issue using my Linksys routers.

WPA is what I meant...sorry.

To answer your question, the OSX does prompt me for a password and the WPA security options are WPA Personal, WPA Enterprise, WPA2 Personal and WPA2 Enterprise...whatever that means.

Your iBook is a 2002/2003 era machine. I'm not sure if anything supported AES at that time. TKIP should work.

If you want more modern wifi I think you're going to have to get a usb dongle.

I'm really angry that this "user friendly" machine won 't connect. I can tell my daughter, as much as she wanted an Apple, is dissapointed by all this hassle. I'm starting to regret not just getting her a PC instead.

WPA Personal.

Sparkopolis said:

I'm really angry that this "user friendly" machine won 't connect. I can tell my daughter, as much as she wanted an Apple, is dissapointed by all this hassle. I'm starting to regret not just getting her a PC instead.

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Your expectation is unreasonable. You bought 4 year old hardware but expect it to have features that weren't generally available 4 years ago. I doubt you'd have much success finding a Windows laptop from 2003 with integrated WiFi that supports WPA-AES.