laptop wireless connection no longer works

by N.T.Gray - 2/29/12 1:55 PM

My laptop wireless connection no longer works. By that I mean that with a brand new wireless adaptor it still doesn't work (I've tried two). But the wired ethernet connection works fine.

It's an older laptop, Dell circa 2006 and running WinXP.

I'm soon going on a business trip and will be staying at a motel with wireless internet but no wall plugs. Does there exist a device for picking up a wireless signal and sending it to an ethernet wire which runs to the laptop?

(Getting a new laptop or repairing the old one are possibilities, but I'd like to avoid the expense if I can).

NTG