You mean export your *wireless* profiles ?

I think that export feature was removed in Win8.
You have to use netsh commands from a command line.

Simple :
http://community.spiceworks.com/how_to/24989-export-import-wireless-network-info-on-windows-machines

Comprehensive & detailed :
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/45540-wireless-network-profile-backup-restore-windows-8-a.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Wireless Network Profile - Backup and Restore in Windows 8

I've never heard of anyone backing up a Wifi password, though of course there are lots of PC things I haven't heard of. What's accomplished by doing this?

I hadn't heard of this either. But I think the idea is that you don't have to go and ask for all the wifi passwords again. Seems a bit tedious though unless you could do them all at once.

A couple of times I could have used this after setting up a new laptop and trying to connect to a friend's router. Many times people don't even know their own wireless passwords, so they have to go on yet another wild goose chase to find them.
"This one ? No, that's for administrating your router. How about this one. No that's for your ISP. . . .etc, etc."

I'm not sure I'd remember to do it though.

kbarb, not trying to confuse. The Vista says, network settings, which is the "wireless" settings. I don't need to back up or restore, I need to use a flash drive to import them to Vista. The wireless gateway isn't the problem. I have original paperwork including password. For some reason, the Vista tells me it's wrong. I've input it so many times, I can recall it now. Odd for an old duck like me. Thanks for the help.

I have just dutifully copied down all the directions in your first link. I don't understand how these instructions will help me copy the info to a flash drive to import to Vista computer. It's being copied to the hard drive, (C) on Win8 as I understand what I read. Sorry, this is above my knowledge level. Will I be able to copy it to flash from Win 8?

I'd go down a different path to solve the problem. I'd change the password on the router to something easy - a short series of words with maybe a number or punctuation character thrown in is sufficient. Then just change to the new password in your PCs and devices.

If this PC connects easily to public wifi, then changing the password should shortcut the problem. If it doesn't connect easily outside your home, then the problem is more likely the PC. A PC with Vista isn't worth any effort to resuscitate, it's old.

@carolssis

Now I'm completely confused with what you are trying to do.

Which password are you having trouble with ?

You can't find the right password to get on your own wireless router - is that it ?

>> I have original paperwork including password.

Paperwork - for what ? If it's the wireless router/gateway, I'd guess perhaps the password for that was changed since then. In fact, perhaps that password is the router's administrative password ??

If that's the case, just use Snidely's advice and change the wireless password on the router. That is, assuming you have the administrative password for that.

If you don't, you may have to reset the router to its original settings.

Alternatively, if you're using the steps I linked to, yes, just copy them from wherever they were backed up to (C drive ?) to the flash drive and proceed.

>>A PC with Vista isn't worth any effort to resuscitate, it's old.

Lol, another gross generalization and overstatement from our friend.

;-)

Password is not the issue. I need to export the wireless settings From Win8 to a flash drive so I can import those settings into Vista. Thank you snidely for your always helpful input. As soon as I stop eating, I'll have enough money for a new laptop, and I like this one, so I'll continue to eat.

https://onedrive.live.com/about/en-us/requirements/

www.OneDrive.com on win8 and above backs up personal settings,, I'm really not 100% sure it will backup the Vista/7 version settings, but I imagine it will.

Basically its designed to keep a copy of your Docs/Pics/Music/Videos and personal computer settings ... bookmarks, wallpaper, desktop, to login and passwords.

Really most computers you wouldn't need to backup wifi settings. Its pretty much all automatic... give you a list of available wifi access points, you choose one and connect.. and then it asks for password.

Before you stop eating, you should give some thought to considering the suggestions people have offered, mine included but not just mine. Instead of dismissing them.

I remember your attitude now from prior posts.

I restored the hard drive on Vista. I need to export the wireless network settings to flash drive so I can import them to Vista. I did not ask about any password problem or how to back up anything. I'm asking this question based on what the Vista computer is telling me I need to do. I looked at the directions you gave me for copying the network settings to hard drive on Win8. Thanks kbarb for attempting to help. I'm not comfortable with using command prompt for fear of doing something wrong. Do I start a new line with the cursor, in command prompt, before I input the directions you gave me?

Snideley, I did not ask anything about a password. You brought that up in your post, I had never used that work in my original post, so you have managed to confuse the people who are spending their time to try to help me. We all thank you so much for your input.

"I had never used that work in my original post"

So what? You're the one who's confused and lost, I'm not. Must suggestions only follow your lead?

I'll let it rest

I was not asking about a password. I was not asking about back up. Those were your ideas, and had nothing to do with what I was asking.
"I never used that WORD in my original post" I misspelled, without a way to correct it. You used the word "password" in your first reply.

I fail to understand why you would post about something completely off topic. This is where the confusion came from.

I'm going to dig down deep and be more polite than your sarcastic comments deserve, to say this:

You have posted multiple times over the years about having wifi/networking problems. You don't always explain yourself well, but you're quick to be dismissive when someone asks you a question. You seem to like to decide what is and what isn't a relevant response, and you can ignore ideas you don't understand or like.

You sometimes seem to read half or less of what people say to you and blow-off suggestions that you think are not what you're looking for. Impolitely, in the case of many comments you've made to me. And ignorantly, too, since someone taking the time to try to help you will at least think they may know a bit more about it than you do or may have an idea of what might solve your problem.

I usually don't pay much attention to names of participants. I do try to be helpful. I think I'll be happier by letting others respond to your future questions.

Jesus Snidely, take it easy. I looked back at carolssis' comments and I
see nothing there that's sarcastic at all. You're the one making it all
so incredibly personal and emotional, and writing all the ad hominem
comments. There's nothing polite - as you put it - about your comments at all. Sure, he or she's not always giving the best explanations, but does it really deserve all that wild eyed offense and defense ? Don't take everything so damn personally.

I think the confusion is that when you (carolssiss) speak of restoring "wireless network settings" people assume that since you don't spell that out, it must mean you're talking about restoring the wireless passwords associated with the various wireless networks you've connected to in the past.

We don't have any other idea what "wireless network settings" could be, or why you'd want to do export/import them if it wasn't for the passwords. You don't provide an explanation for that.

I should add, none of us computer experts ever do this, so we're a little perplexed without having a full explanation. And we're having to fill in the blanks, since we still don't have the full story (although it seems you're trying with that.) I still don't totally get it.

For a command line interface (CLI), wherever the cursor is - usually after something like C:\Users\yourname - just start typing there. After you're finished with a line, hit Enter to execute it.

For example, type "Dir" without quotes, and hit Enter.

That will show the contents of the current folder (directory). then the blinking command prompt will wait for you to type again.

It's not as scary as it might seem. Most of the time if there's a problem it's because you've typed something wrong, and you'll get a message about that.

Just hit Enter a few times and you'll see, nothing bad happens.

For what you're trying to do, copy & paste would be helpful. So try :

Copy To the Clipboard From the Windows Command Prompt

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/copy-to-the-clipboard-from-the-windows-command-prompt/

(although I don't like or use QuickEdit Mode)

Having said all that, I think you're probably solving whatever problem's at hand the hard way, but I don't know what that is exactly, so who knows.

Thanks so much for the response. I'll try your original suggestion to use the command prompt. I was uneasy using it, as the only times I have, I was under instructions from a pro. I love my little Vista laptop and don't want to replace it. It was connected to my wi fi before the restore, so I'm completely in the dark why it won't connect now. I have the original paperwork, including passwords for my router. There have been no changes to anything on my router since it was set up. I have been unable to connect to router settings using the instructions I have. But since my Vista was connected to it before the restore, I don't understand why changing the router settings could help connect my Vista to it. Perhaps beyond my knowledge base? The instructions for copying the "network wireless settings to flash drive" come from the Vista computer while I was attempting to get it to connect to my wifi. Thanks so much for your help.

Ok, so the problem is, although you don't explicitly say it, you are trying to get your Vista laptop to connect to your wireless router.

That means you do indeed need the wireless password to enter when prompted - after you click on your home's wireless network you're trying to connect to.

That wireless password is something that is originally set on the router, and is why it was suggested to just change it in the router management interface - much easier that way.

If you set the wireless password as "12345" on the router, then you know when you try to connect to it wirelessly, the wireless password to enter is "12345"

So what difficulties are you having when you try to connect to the router to manage it and change the wireless password ?

To make any changes - since you can't connect wirelessly to it - you will have to connect to it for the meantime using a wired connection.

So then, find an ethernet CAT5 cable and connect to it, laptop to router.

Then, normally you just type in the router's IP in the location bar at the top of the browser's window (in eg IE or Firefox) and hit Enter. Typically the IP is something 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1

A logon dialog box should come up and you'll be prompted for the password to make changes on the
router.

Then, do you have the correct router admin password ? (The password for administrating the router, which is different from the wireless password).

Does that work ? If not, what is the problem you run into there ?

And can you explicitly describe what's going on when you try ?

Have tried 2 of your suggestions, kbarb. I tried command prompt. Network profiles does not exist. I know I set up my wireless network several months ago for the printer, Win8, Vista and 3 other devices. I typed "wireless network settings" into search field in Win8 and it shows I'm not connected to wifi. After reading many articles on Microsoft, it appears I need to set up Workgroup in Win8. I had already done that. Did I miss a button to save all the work I did to set up Workgroup in Win8? I'm totally confused. I had everything set up months ago. I thought.

I have original password for router and original paperwork with directions to log in. I have user manual for router. I am able to log in and have done so with no problems.

I did have a difficult time setting up my wifi when we added new printer, and setting up Homegroup. It was months ago, and memory fails as to exactly what the problems were, but eventually I did have it all working.

Looks like the problems is setting up wifi on Win8 and setting up homegroup. I'll try that again. I want to send you a heartfelt thank you for all your time and knowledge that you have extended to me. I can't say how much I appreciate it. You're truly a gem.

Ok, so I need you to confirm a few things, as the scenario seems to be changing or even a bit illusive.

1. You are trying to get your Vista laptop connected to your wireless network at home. That's the main desire. Yes ?

2. You have a Win 8 computer, but it's not connected to the router wirelessly, either. Yes ?

3. You can manage the router by entering its administrative password. You've actually tried that so you can verify that. Yes ?

4. How are you logging in to the router to manage it, if neither the Win7 nor Win8 computer can connect to it wirelessly ?

5. What is the make and model of the wireless capable router ?

If I have the answers to the questions intuited correctly, . . . you're getting way off track with workgroup and homegroup - that's about sharing files between computers and has nothing to do with wireless connections.

But if you could answer those five questions, I can probably walk you through it.

-Kent

Yes to first 4 questions. # 4, I have the Motorola router attached to Win8 computer. I can enter the log in from Win8. Motorola SBG6280 is make and model. I found that I can find the wireless network settings in Win8 by typing that into search pane. It's not hidden, just not listed as it is in Vista.

Sorry to butt in, but I found a series of YouTube videos that cover everything related to this unit. It's the Surfboard wireless Modem/Router which is a bit trickier than a separate modem and router, IMO.

The linked video steps you through physical setup but also touches on the lights on the front of the unit. After you watch this, there are other videos related to connecting to the wifi modem, changing the network name, connecting wirelessly and other relevant topics. Even though the model number is slightly different, it's basically the same unit. I wasn't able to find any information on the Motorola SBG6280.

Physical Set Up of WiFi Modem (SBG6580)

Thanks so much for the help. I have the router number wrong. SBG6580. I have the label with all documentation for this router. password, log in, security key. I'm the problem here. I'm not anywhere near as familiar with Win8 as I should be. So many things that were easy to set up in XP and Vista are so difficult to find. I now have Win8 connected to wifi. That's another odd one. I thought if the router was connected to the Win8 pc, the Win8 pc would automatically be on wifi. Not the case here. I have also logged into router, see everything appears to be normal. I'll not change the password for router until I am able to get Vista connected. This is the odd thing, the Vista connected easily before, this router has WPS button. But Vista is telling me I have wrong info.

In the meantime, I have double checked Win8. I have network discovery enabled and have checked the whole page to make sure it's correctly set up. I have typed a page with all my relevant router info to refer to when setting up Vista. We had no problems connecting 3 other devices using the WPS button on router, and I have tried that for Vista. I'll keep checking on Win8 in case I've missed finding that the problem is with settings here, as I'm not as knowledgeable about Win8 as I could be. It's just a long winding road to find some of these settings that I need to find.

Kent and PKponder, thanks so much for the help. I'll watch the video, but I suspect it's all the information in the user's guide that I have. Just in case. I'm determined to do this, I did have it working before and it was an easy set up. I've probably screwed something up. I'm having a tough time seeing some of these things, that's why I type them up in text size I can read. Ha ha. Thanks for the link. And thanks to both of you for all your expert knowledge and time. It's so helpful to me.

Ah, I see you posted while I was writing. I figured out it was the Motorola SBG6580.

Your Win8 computer would not automatically connect to the router wirelessly until you set that up. That is, manually start the connection process, then enter the right wireless password.

Whereas, the way most computers are set up by default, they will indeed connect by a *wired* connection.

To get your Vista laptop connected wirelessly, you will need to manually enter (or at least check) the wireless password on the Motorola, then enter the same wireless password on the Vista laptop.

Assuming the IP network address of the router hasn't changed, it should be 192.168.0.1
On your Win 8 computer, you want to open up a browser page (eg IE, Firefox, etc) and enter that IP address at the top of the page, where it usually says something like http://www.cantgetthisthingtowork.com, whatever. Then hit Enter.
When the router's login dialog box comes up, enter the user name and administrative password you have.
The defaults are Admin and motorola, respectively.
(If you don't get that dialog box, you probably have the wrong IP address.)

Then when you see the management ingterfack, click on the Wireless tab at the top.

For the rest, I have to make some guesses, as there are different iterations of the interface.

Make sure Wireless is Enabled - it might be on a Basic tab.

Then you want to click on "Primary Network", probably on the left.

Then check these :

1. Primary network = Enabled

1. Make a note of the SSID - that's the name of the network you will connect to on your Vista laptop. You can change it as you like.
2. SSID broadcast = Enabled (if there is that setting)
3. WPA2-PSK = Enabled
4. WPA/WPA2 encryption type = AES
5. WPA Pre Shared Key ---> Click the "Show Key" box if there is one so you can see what you're typing. Then :
   Enter your desired wireless password here. This is the crux of the matter. Write that down - it's what you will enter later when you try to connect using your Vista laptop.
   For just testing purposes, to see if everything works, you can just make it something simple for now like 54321, whatever.
   Then click Apply at the bottom of the page.

Now, go back on your Vista laptop, and try to connect to that network that has the SSID network name. Of course, make sure the laptop is in range of the router so you can pick up the signal.
When prompted for the password, use the one that you entered in step 6.If you have changed the wireless password on the router during this, you will have to enter that new password on the Win8 computer, as it will be using the old (now wrong) password.

That's the basics of it, although there could be other issues like the level of encryption chosen, so if you need more help, just ask.
If you have problems, please try to describe it with as many specifics as possible.

Good luck,

Kent

Also, in addition to the above, there is a pretty good guide for that router :

Complete Wireless Guide | SBG6580

Does what you're looking at look like what's on that page ?

And the manual is here, although since it seems to be actually a rebranded Arris router it looks their original management pages for that router look slightly different.

SBG6280 User Guide

I've logged onto router. No problems. I watched the videos. Thanks. I have all that info in the user guide I printed out. I have the WPA pre-shared key, printed large enough to read. I have encryption noted on my printed page. I learned long ago to write everything down. so thanks for those suggestions too. I usually check the "show characters" box when adding the pre-shared key, it's so long and complicated.

My new question is this: If I change ssid, log in, and password on router, will I have to change all those settings on Win8, 2 phones, one pad and Vista, also? I can do all those. I set them up to start with. Hubby gets frantic and that's the problem. I'm supposed to be the geek and he won't let me make changes to his phone, and doesn't understand what I'm doing. That explains my reluctance to make any router changes. I haven't tried to connect Vista yet this am. I'll make sure it's in range of our router, but it's still real early here, so will wait a few hours until hubby is up.

Kent, your last question on what I see on router pages, is yes. I checked last night, all the settings are looking the same or very similar. I checked "basic" "wireless" and "primary network" pages on router. No problems logging in. Yes, I knew the Motorola brand has been sold to Arris. Our router is less than 2 years old and appears to be a good one.

Thanks so much for your help. I know you've spent some time looking stuff up to try to help me. It's been quite a learning experience for me. That's a good thing, I know more about my Win8. Will post after I (again) try to connect Vista. Thanks.

When you change the SSID, it will change what's shown as available to connect to on a wireless network survey. By that I mean, anyone trying to connect to the router with a phone, laptop, whatever, via wireless will now see a differently named wireless network, in the list they see of all wireless networks they can choose from.

But you don't have to enter the SSID network name, you just have to choose it from a list of what's available to connect to.

But you will be prompted to provide the new password.
Any device trying to connect would have no way of knowing it's the same network it was connecting to before.

For the router passwords, etc :

Remember, there are two different passwords being used here.

1. The router's SSID and wireless password are what's I addressed above. That's all about getting on the internet.

2. But to make **changes** on the router, you used the router's **administrative** login ID and password. Anyone trying to **make changes** on the router would have to use those, but that's relatively rare.
Most people are just trying to connect to the router via wireless, to get on the internet, so they should never have to deal with the administrative login ID and password.

If you have problems connecting with your Vista laptop, report back, but let me know the make and model so I can look some things up.

I'm glad to help - most of it is hold hat and not any great amount of work, so not to worry.

Have just logged in once again to my router. The WPA pre-shared key had been changed. No idea who, how or why. I did not. I changed it back to original one that is on my label from router. There have been several other changes in settings on router on the 'primary network' page also. I haven't changed any of those. I HAVE successfully connected the Vista to my network. I'm so glad I had the presence of mind to write down the primary network settings from router page last fall. That's when I was trying to connect new phone and pad. The group of numbers and letters on the router that had been changed were not even close to what the original had been, and much shorter. How can I prevent this in the future? I'm assuming that whoever changed it will try again. Should I try to shield the router with something metal to prevent any unauthorized usage? I read an article on How to Geek about using a can to shield the router. I can pick up router from across the street and 2nd house down. But don't know the password or key. Thanks so much for your help. And I hope we can make the security on this router better.

I'm glad to hear you got it all working.

But don't shield the router with metal in any way - it will prevent the wireless from working.

What you want to check is, that the wireless password is strong.
I use ten characters - alphabetical upper & lower case, numbers, and punctuation.
I put it on a small cheap flash drive so when friends come over they can use it to copy and paste, although it's still a bit of hassle for mobile phones as you can't plug in the flash drive.

I would think about changing it to some completely new password that no one could know.

Like, you didn't have some wild party where some interloper looked on the bottom of the router and copied down the password ?

You can use more than ten characters if you like, but the wireless network would be the main entry point for some bad guy. They'd have to first have wireless access, and once that's achieved, know the administrative password to get into the router, to make changes.

It's much harder for someone to get access via the **wired** network -
they'd have to get in your house and plug in, so that's not of greatest
concern. But a strong administrative router password is the defense
there, and that way you can keep your husband from poking around and mucking things up as well (just teasing.)
Make sure that the router's admin password is changed to something other than the default, because there are websites where you can look up the default login passwords for all routers. The login user ID is not so important.

Myself, since I'm in a very urban area (San Francisco) and there are tons of techies and routers, I named my wireless network SSID "Typhoid" just to kind of scare off anyone. But of course it really is no real defense.

Next, you should look around for the router setting that controls **visibility **from the outside world over the wired connection. It's usually a checkbox in the Advanced settings saying something like "WAN Blocking."
Make sure that's enabled so people can't see your router when looking around.

Also look for something that controls administration **from the outside** , named something like "Remote Management", and you want to make sure that's disabled.

Finally, you might check if your router is updated to the latest firmware - the software in the router that runs the show. The latest version would have all the latest fixits and patches for any vulnerabilities. You need to check it on the router, then compare it to what's offered on the company's website for that router. If your version is way behind, you should read the manual carefully about how to update. Usually it seems scary, but is actually pretty easy to do.

That's all i can think of at this time.
Best of luck !

-Kent

Yes, good it's working now. Was the fix to change the Wifi password?

If a skilled outsider wants to access your wifi signal and your network, they will. In my view, it isn't something to worry about. MAC filtering is one way to try to keep out unauthorized connections but it's overkill for most situations. I try to avoid making suggestions that entry-level users can be uncomfortable with.

Those are all good suggestions from both of you, thanks. Problem is, after I was able to connect Vista, in the same room with the router, I moved it to where I usually use it. No connection. This is less than 5 minutes from when I connected it and changed the WPA pre-shared key. Now I can't get on to the log in page at all with "http://192.168.1.0. We are retired, have no family or friends who have had any access to our computers or router in any way. I made sure I typed it correctly, enter key and get a cannot display this page.

I may not be pro level of experience but I did have my XP computer for over 10 years. I had a different router before this one. One of the problems is that the router manufacturer calls the security key one word and the Computer call it a different one, which causes confusion when setting up. I have that all figured out now, after these many tried to connect all these devices.

I had planned to change my log in to router, the security key, (which is 25 case sensitive letters and numbers) the passwords, etc. Now I can't even log in to the Motorola router. I'm thinking that since it happened so fast, after I changed security key back to original, that I may have key logger?

I know one thing, from the very first time I set up this router and chose it from the list of networks I could connect to, the network was listed as "protected" by security settings. Now, it apparently is not.

Isn't there a re-set button on this router? Would that work? In my user manual, it shows reset on rear panel, next to it, it states, "returns modem to default settings,(custom configurations are removed) and restarts the cable modem. I'm thinking I should run a keylogger or some kind of spyware program first.

I doubt you have some kind of keylogger. If it was there, someone would have to be monitoring the keylogging, then - assuming they had access - they would have to be watching over your shoulder and immediately change the password. But, by what scenario would someone install a keylogger, then change your wireless password or router admin password ? It doesn't make a lot of sense so I doubt that's going on.
As my father, who was a doctor, used to say, when you hear the sound of hooves, think horses, not zebras.

First things first . . .
You were at some point able to connect wirelessly with the Vista laptop, right ?
Then you moved away, and couldn't connect.
So then, can you connect if you move back to where you were able connect before ?
And just because you can't connect, it doesn't mean it has anything to do with the password - there are many factors involved.
What about, can you connect and login to the router using the Win8 computer ? That's a way to double check things, right ?

If you can connect with the right password, you will see in your wireless networks list that you are connected. Usually you can hover over the icon with the bars in the system tray at the lower right. Also, network adapter settings usually shows if you're connected or not.

If you are connected, but still can't get anywhere on the web, that's a different problem.
But you would at least have proof that you are connected wirelessly with the right wireless password.

The protected / not protected thing . . . sometimes that message is erroneous. There are sometimes delays before the computer gets updated as to the status of the router.
The one way to tell is if you try to connect, are you prompted for a password. If you are, the router is "protected" and not open to all.

Another thing . . . if you make changes on the router, like changing passwords etc., you have to hit "Apply" or something similar like "Save".

But sometimes they don't stick until you actually reboot the router. You can just pull the cord, wait 15 seconds, then plug it back in, then log back in and check to see if the changes are still there.

And yes, you have it right about the reset button - it will return the router to defaults, and then you'll have to set it all up, all over again. Given the hassles you've been going through, I think you'd be setting yourself for a lot of hurdles to surmount, so I wouldn't do that yet.

Sorry I was MIA for 2 days, dealing with home repair instead. I ran network troubleshooter and adapter troubleshooter. I have finally connected my Win8 to wifi. Yippee. Haven't changed anything on router pages yet, but I'm going to. I have all these other devices to set up again anyway, so I might as well make changes now. One page I read about what services other devices on my network can access. IMAP 3 & 4, Telnet, Remote desktop, etc. I would be inclined to check all but the remote desktop on that list. (properties?) the list was 8 to 10 items. There was another box came up, 2 questions only. Second was check box to let other devices make changes to network settings. I would be inclined to not check that one. I'm sorry if I'm being vague, but I have information overload and am so tired from kitchen issue. Thanks so much for all your help and time. I can't say how much I appreciate it.

Ok, sounds like you're making progress.

I know it's hard to focus on boring tech stuff when the house is going chaotic.

But yes, if you need more help, try to give specifics about what you're doing when you need help, so we can follow what's going on.
Like, explain the trail you followed or clicked on, or the title of the page, and on what device (router, Windows settings, on the web, etc).

Anyway, sounds like you're getting a handle on it.Good luck with the kitchen.

-Kent

Thanks so much Kent. I have the kitchen issues resolved so I can again concentrate on the computer stuff. I am fascinated by this. Always have been. I wish I could have taken classes to learn more. I'll write down my trail of pages I need to know about or boxes that come up. I expect most of them will be accessible from Network and Sharing Center. I need to get my ducks lined up to make the changes on router, password and ssid. I got a goody for the ssid. but I'll need more time to get all the devices all together at the same time to set them all up, one by one. And, as I usually do, make note of changes and type it all up so I have it in readable form. Large enough for me, anyway. :) I'll get the router done, and then do all the changes to everything else. Then I can go back and check the pages, boxes, etc. to see what settings I need to know about. Thanks so much for your help. I've learned a lot and I feel much easier in my mind about Win8. Knowledge is a good thing. I'm a happy camper now.

I again cannot connect to the wifi. I do have internet connection with Win8, it's still connected by Ethernet to the router. But I checked this morning, and no wifi again. Then I saw the flag for our antivirus program and it checks for updates, but does not download any but still says I have not fixed the problem. It does not tell me what the problem is. I think the whole computer has a problem. We have cable, high speed internet and phone bundle with out carrier. If any of it were not working, we would know if the phone or tv were not working. I can't seem to resolve the issue with the wifi myself. I asked for recommendations on our neighborhood site for a computer shop. We are out of warranty and I have hopes it's not too expensive as we're retired and on fixed income. I've learned a lot on this site with the nice help of all you folks, but I think I'm wasting our time and effort to fix something that is beyond my experience. Thanks for taking the time to try to help me. There seem to be so many problems. I certainly never had these kinds of issues with XP or Vista, and I have worked with them for 13 years on XP and 7 or so on Vista. off to the computer shop. Wish us luck.

Ok, so no wifi, but again, hardly any details.
You say you can't connect, but can't connect - with which computers ??
And what exactly do you mean by that ?

To get on the internet, several things have to happen.

First you need a radio connection from a computer to the wifi router.
If the computers are too far away, or there is too much interference, you won't even get that to happen.
But if you can "see" the router on the computer when you're trying to connect, and you get at least a bar or two, then probably there's enough radio signal for a connection.

Some common house devices can interfere with wifi, like microwaves.
Also lots of metal in the walls, heavy concrete walls, wet lumber and so on can block wifi.

Then you must get a "handshake" with the computer by providing the right wifi password when prompted. After that it's usually stored on the connecting computer.
There are several other things involved in this, like the router must provide a type of secure connection (WEP, WPA, WPA2, etc) that the computer can use to connect.
Since you've connected before, that's probably not the issue.

Sometimes just rebooting the router and computer can solve the problem.
And I've seen quite a few routers finally break down after a few years and not work reliably anymore.

If you want to do any more troubleshooting though, we'd really have to have more details than "can't connect to wifi." None of us can see what you're doing when things aren't working.