Mark's Help Connecting to Studentnet using Windows XP
Windows XP and Studentnet - getting going
An advantage of studentnet is that once you're connected, you don't have to log in each time. The following only has to be done once - after which the machine will connect automatically. It follows that you should only use this on your own laptop.
Note that studentnet's name is lower case throughout.
Here's info on connecting from other systems.
Windows and Wireless Connection Managers
Before you start, you need to know the following: in your laptop you (hopefully) have a wireless card - the thing that handles your wireless connection. At the bottom right of your screen, you may see an icon like the one on the left - though that one indicates a wireless card that hasn't connected ...
Your laptop manages the card in one of two ways:
- Either ...
- Windows is allowed to manage the wireless connections
- Or ...
- Software provided by the laptop's seller manages the wireless connections
You need to ensure that Windows is managing the wireless connections. To check, right-mouse-click the 'Wireless connection icon' at the bottom right of your screen and choose 'View available connections'. If you're in range of it, 'Studentnet' should be listed - check that it is listed and then ignore this for now.
From the right hand side of the list of networks choose 'Change advanced settings' and then the 'Wireless networks' tab. You'll see something like the image on the right.
Ensure there's a tick against 'Use windows to configure my wireless network settings' and click 'OK to close the dialogue box. Now you're free to deal with the connection and the certificate it needs.
Set up the connection to 'studentnet'
- Connect to 'studentnet'
- Right mouse click the wireless network icon at the bottom right of your screen and choose 'View available networks', which brings up a window. Hopefully you're within range of 'studentnet' you should see it listed. Select it and choose 'Connect'. This will not be successful, as the connection will report 'Windows was unable to find a certificate to log you on to the network 'studentet'.
- We'll change the properties for the (broken) connection we've just set up
- From the 'View available networks' window, select 'Change advanced settings' and then the 'Wireless networks' tab - as you may have done earlier. You'll see 'studentnet' listed as a preferred network ...
- Prepare to tell Windows XP about the certificate it needs
- From the preferred networks, select 'studentnet' and then select the 'Properties' button. A panel appears - select the 'Authentication' tab.
- Change the EAP type
- Set this to 'Protected EAP' (PEAP)
- Authenticate as computer?? Not!
- Uncheck 'Authenticate as computer when computer information is available'. You don't want this ...
- EAP type has a 'Properties' button ...
- Select that 'EAP type' 'Properties' button ... a panel appears ...
- Tell Windows about the certificate it needs
- In the 'EAP type' 'Properties' panel:
- Ensure that 'Validate server certificate' is checked
- In the 'Trusted Route Certification Authorities' section, find and put a tick against 'GlobalSign Root CA'. If there's two, tick them both.
- The connection needs to avoid using the details with which you logged on to the laptop
- To the right of the 'Secure authentication method' dropdown, which should be set to (EAP-MSCHAPv2), there is a 'Configure' button: ensure the checkbox 'Automatically use my Windows logon name and password (and domain if any)' is not ticked ...
- Confirm everything
- To close out this dialogue, you should select OK on the four windows you've opened along the way ...
Your laptop should now connect to 'studentnet'. On the way in it will ask you to provide your student number as your username, your University password, and the domain (put ACADEMIC as the domain)
Problems?
If your laptop will not connect to 'studentnet', double check the settings - particularly the last one. If that's ticked, your laptop uses the wrong details to log into the network and the login fails. Or, see the full instructions on the University Wiki (staff / student login required)
Connecting to 'Securenet' from an XP Machine
This should work in the same way - just use the same process but substitute 'securenet' for 'studentnet'.
Mark Annand • Site updated April 12th 2013
All before you, in this world, is smoke and shadows.All before you, in this world, is smoke and shadows.
Words found on a door lintel in the garden of a house in the Cretan village of Argiroupolis.
The lintel is a fragment from the city state Lappa, which occupied the same site.
Fifteen hundred years later, when you use the web, from time to time you might well feel that the author was on to something. And if you work with particle physics, you'll know he was ...