You can’t make a connection to your WiFi network because the wireless networking icon or properties dialog box does not appear.

I’m offer you a few solutions:

Windows XP Compatibility
Your problem may be that your wireless network adapter is not compatible with Windows XP. To check whether it is compatible, check the Windows Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). When you get to the site, click See the Windows Catalog, then from the page that appears, click the Hardware tab. Next click Networking and Modems, and click the Wireless Devices link. Browse the list, which is alphabetized by manufacturer, to see if your wireless card is listed. If it’s not listed, there may be a conflict with XP that will not allow it to run, although you can try the next steps in this recipe to try and get it to work.

Read more »

From the Device Manager, you can check the status of your WLAN drivers to make sure the device is working properly. If the Device Manager shows a yellow circle and an exclamation point next to your wireless adapter, then your wireless adapter may not be properly installed.

Right-click the adapter in question, select Properties, and then look at the Device Status box from the General tab to see that the adapter is working properly. If necessary, select the Driver tab in the Properties dialog box to access controls that let you uninstall or update the
driver.

Read more »