How to Troubleshoot an Airport Card
The airport card is the wireless card that allows Apple computers to connect to a WI-FI Internet signal. Several different versions of these cards have been issued over the years. The different versions of these cards have been enabled with different security protocols and wireless connectivity standards, but the basic troubleshooting steps remain constant regardless of which model of card you might be working with. Always test your Internet connection with a hard line connection before proceeding to Airport troubleshooting, to ensure that the Internet connection is working properly.
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Instructions
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Isolate the problem to a single computer. If another computer has no problem connecting to your wireless access point, then you know that the problem lies in the Airport card or the Airport settings on the computer that you are trying to troubleshoot.
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Power cycle the wireless router that you are using, and attempt to reconnect to the wireless signal. If this does not resolve the issue, move on.
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Make sure your Airport card is being recognized by the computer. Click on the apple in the upper left hand corner of the screen, and select "About this Mac." Click on "More Info." Scroll down to "Network" and make sure that the Airport card is recognized. You can also run the Hardware test included on your install disks to check the status of the Airport card. If it is not, try a PMU or SMC reset. You can also perform a PRAM reset. If you have a model of Mac where installing an Airport card is a user-accessible option, check and make sure that the card is properly seated. If this does not resolve the issue, you have a hardware problem. Take the computer to a repair specialist to have the issue looked at.
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Run the network assistant. When you try to connect to the Internet through your browser and fail, a button will appear in Safari that offers you the option of running network diagnostics. Run this assistant, and follow the prompts on the screen to try and re-establish your connection.
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Reset your base station or router, and delete all previous wireless settings in your computer. Set up the connection from scratch. As long as you have established that other computers can connect to the router, and that the hardware is working in your computer, this should reconnect your wireless.
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