Losing internet connection

[wrz0170]

greetings!

I am having difficulties in keeping a connection with my wireless home network. I am new to the whole wireless home networking thing.

I have two computers networked.

One with XP home, has the 802.11b MS Base station

the other with XP Pro with MS USB adapter

The computers see each other and I get a good signal.

I am able to log on, then after a short period of time, the connection drops and I am forced to reset. Meaning I have to bypass my router and hook directly to my eth. card on my computer. No problems there and then reconnect the router to get my connection back.

The modem doesn't drop me because I still have the online LED status light.

I have also checked for any firmware updates, but none available.

I could use some pointers on how to diagnose. If I should take the router back and get another one or different brand.

I would like to rule out operator error first :D before I do anything rash (I just bought it less than a week ago).

Thanks in advance!

[x586]

Need a little more info.

I am able to log on, then after a short period of time, the connection drops and I am forced to reset. HOW Long ?

Meaning I have to bypass my router and hook directly to my eth. card on my computer. No problems there and then reconnect the router to get my connection back. ARE you using the router to connect to DSL or are you connecting to DSL with the home machine and sharing the connection ?

The modem doesn't drop me because I still have the online LED status light. Is this DSL or cable ?

My 1st thoughts are it being mac address problem with your provider, and the fix is to clone the mac address in the router's settings. But without more info this is just and educated guess.

[wrz0170]

X586,

Thanks for the reply, I do appreciate it. I solved the issue by replacing the router setup. I decided to get rid of the Microsoft router and went with a Netgear 802.11g.

It seems to have solved most of my problems. No more dropping connections and it has pretty good range. I was able to still get a high 60% reading in my basement with my base being in the second story. :D

My only issue now is trying to access the other computer from the host...........they see each other easily enough. More than likely, I am missing a setting or something.

Thanks again

[x586]

See if file and print sharing is enabled, or just the the network config wizard (Network task (Set up a home or small office network).

[wrz0170]

X586,

Yes, they are enabled. When I go to Network Places and then goto View Workgroup Computers, I can see the other computer, but when I double click on it, I get an access denied.

I double checked on the sharing, matter of fact, I tried sharing the entire C drive of the other computer. I also ensured that the Workgroup names were the same. I still scratch my head.........

[x586]

There are a lot of possiblities from this point, the easiest 2 would be to run the network config wizard, and if that fails then trying going to a previous restore point.
It is possible that policies are set to disable network access.

On second thought I may know what the problem is: I think you are using XP home and you do not type a passowrd to log on when you boot the machine up. You are not using simple file sharing and since there is no password you can not log on.

I don't remember exact details, but there is something in home pro and file sharing combinations that requires accounts to have passwords.

Create 1 account on each machine for example: add administrative user: test , pass: 123pass do that on both machines. Now reboot both machines and log on with that account on both machines.

At this point both machines should have full access to each other.

If not then it could be a problem with the router, windows policys, or protocall.

x586

[wrz0170]

x586,

I don't have passwords to either machine. I have XP Home for the router and XP Pro for the "client".

But when I boot the machine, I don't need a user name and password.

In any event, I will try your suggestion and see what happens.

Thanks!

[seasteve]

Something else...ensure you have a device or directory "shared" on each computer.