Toshiba Satellite A300 wireless connectivity

TOSHIBA SATELLITE A300-05U T5750 2.0G
* 2.00GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5750
* 3GB DDR2 System Memory
* ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470 with up to 256MB dedicated
* Integrated 10/100 Ethernet LAN
* Intel wireless A/G/N
* Harman/Kardon Speakers
* Bluetooth V2.1+EDR
* Integrated 1.3MP Web Cam
* Integrated microphone for Voice over IP
* Ports:
5-in-1 Bridge Media Adaptor,
4 USB 2.0 ports,
RJ11,
RJ45,
iEEE 1394,

I run iwconfig and ,
tried following the wiki guide to the letter about /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf..
wlan0 IEEE 802.11g
ESSID ""
Nickname ""
access point = not associated
mode:managed
Freq 2.412
link quality, signal level, noise level ALL = 0
all rest = 0

I browse and dont see the file, nor can I just make & edit it
getting failed to read or parse configuration
ctrl interface N/A
bridge N/A
I have gone in to network settings to enter WEP key but dont seem able to connect
if i connect the eth it connects fine and always wants to be in roam mode.
i thought i had missed a pkg but went through all of them.. least i cant find one I missed.
so i think it's in the conf file that I cant find nor seem to make.
coming from windolt I am not used to the naming conventions .. got the ESSID & WPA entered but cant see if it was saved