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Excellent Link and signal strength, but no connection !
Hello folks:
I recently replaced my wired router with a SMC7004AWBR wireless router. I also installed an SMC2635W - 2.4GHz 11 MBbps Cardbus Adapter in a new COMPAQ 2100 series laptop.
Unfortunately, I am unable to establish any wireless connection between the laptop and the internet or the LAN.
Nevertheless, the wireless Card Manager utility on the laptop reports link quality and signal strengths between 90% and 99%. (excellent).
I checked the troubleshooting section in SMC's FAQ and read their take on the problem at http://www.smc.com/index.cfm?action=...AQ¬e_id=583 . They suggest changing the channel on the Wireless Router, and/or disabling the wired adaptor on the wireless computer. I followed both suggestions changing the channel from 6 ( to 7, and then 11), and disabled the wired network device on the computer. But all this was to no avail.
All connections to the internet and the LAN work fine when the laptop is connected to the router in wired mode.
I am a total newbie as far as wireless connectivity, and may be overlooking something quite elementary. Any hint or suggestion to fix the problem would be appreciated.
The fact that you can see the signal strength and such on your laptop suggests that you have a link. You are apparently associated but not authenticated. Try checking to make sure your SSID is the same on both devices.
If you had no link you would not be able to monitor signal strength
Is Alice Fazooli's still there by the mall? I love that place....
Originally posted by spiderbite The more I think about it ...you would not be able to do that if the SSID's didnt match either.]
The SSID on both the router and the laptop's wireless adapter are set to "default".
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Is all the layer three IP address stuff correct?
What exactly are you referring to? I know what IP addresses are, but I don't see anything to set manually. If it works in wired mode why should it balk in wireless mode? Help me here. You may be able to guide me through some steps I missed.
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Is Alice Fazooli's still there by the mall? I love that place....
Sure is. There is one location in Mississauga and one in Oakville (virtually in Mississauga) where we dined 2 times. We too love that place.
So you hit repair and it looks like it released your IP information, but didn't renew it.
Try this now to obtain a new IP address:
Close all IE windows and then open a new one. That should renew your ip address...then try your ipconfig again (although it looks like you had a valid IP address before) and see what you get. If nothing, then go into IE tools, options, connections, LAN settings and make sure the "auto. detect proxy settings" is clicked. If not, click it, and shut down IE and open it again.
Also, if you're running XP and you have the little connection box in the bottom right corner showing your wireless connection, you should be able to double click on that, hit details, and it will show all your IP addresses.
Also, I wouldn't be afraid to restart your computer after you make any real changes...XP (esp. XP Home) is funny about network settings like that.
Hope that helps,
__________________
David Wieland
Tantus Network Solutions
312.850.0732
Originally posted by davidjwieland So you hit repair and it looks like it released your IP information, but didn't renew it.
Try this now to obtain a new IP address:
Close all IE windows and then open a new one. That should renew your ip address...then try your ipconfig again (although it looks like you had a valid IP address before) and see what you get. If nothing, then go into IE tools, options, connections, LAN settings and make sure the "auto. detect proxy settings" is clicked. If not, click it, and shut down IE and open it again.
Tried all this to no avail.
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Also, if you're running XP and you have the little connection box in the bottom right corner showing your wireless connection, you should be able to double click on that, hit details, and it will show all your IP addresses.
I did.
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Also, I wouldn't be afraid to restart your computer after you make any real changes...XP (esp. XP Home) is funny about network settings like that.
Hope that helps,
I restarted the laptop many times.
There is a hint of progress: I have Yahoo Messenger that starts automatically. Two times, it loaded up and I was able to send a one word message out. But I couldn't get any reply, because the connection had timed out. IE also nearly opened my home page "my.yahoo.com", but then timed out.
Could my Zonealarm firewall be creating a problem? It doesn't in wired connections. But I also tested disabling it, on both a PC on the LAN, and the wireless connection. But there was no progress.
Run a continuous ping on your gateway. "ping 192.168.0.1 -t"
Let it run for a minute or two (press ctrl+c to stop). If you are right next to the router, and you hit it a few times but the majority of the time you time out, your card is hosed.
"Data deactivate the self-destruct control sequence."
"Data NO!"
"DO IT Data!"
"30 seconds to warp threshold"
"Resistance is futile!"
The issue as I see it is the laptop sees the AP, but does the AP see the client. In the wireless environment we sometimes forget the 802.11b is bi-directional.
Whiole this might not be the problem. I would ask some basic questions.
1) How far away from the AP is your laptop?
2) Is it line of sight?
3) Are the client drivers current?
4) Is the AP settings correct and the same as the client? I am thinking of any encription setting like WEP.
5) Is there anyway to try out the card in another laptop? Maybe the card is not tranmitting?
6) Is the LAN open to outsiders - Is DHCP enabled?
7) You might try loading Net Stumbler to see the activity of the 802.11b.
8) Try powering your system, as this way you activate DHCP (if active) which should get you a fresh IP.
I am sure there are others who could add more, but for this Sunday morning here are mine.
Keep us updated as we are all anxious for you to get operational.
Originally posted by Aiakos Run a continuous ping on your gateway. "ping 192.168.0.1 -t"
Let it run for a minute or two (press ctrl+c to stop). If you are right next to the router, and you hit it a few times but the majority of the time you time out, your card is hosed.
By this test my card is indeed hosed.
But are there any other possibilities? Is it possible that my wireless router is hosed, rather than the card?
If I return the card to the dealer, is there any way I can show him the card is the problem, so he doesn't blame something else. [ I don't plan on taking my laptop and router with me too]
That 169.x.x.x address is a public IP address that would not be on your internal Network.
You need to check and see what the configs are for all of your equipment.
The IP above is probably the address from the ISP.
Ping 127.0.0.1 to test your IP stack.
If successful ping the gateway, and work your way out of the house.
Didnt you say you had two routers one regular and one wireless?
I do not believe you have a bad card.
Take everything off the network that is wireless. set them up separately. Manually configure IP addresses in the same class and range for both devices and set all the SSID stuff either to default or the same id.
If this works it aint the card.
I believe this is a good old fashioned networking issue.
Post configs from all devices and ping the stack make sure it works (127.0.0.1)
That 169.x.x.x address is a public IP address that would not be on your internal Network.
This was the IP address that showed up in the Command Prompt box after I did a "repair connection" and typed ipconfig. Why it got there, I don't kno.
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You need to check and see what the configs are for all of your equipment.
Can you tell me exactly what I should check? I believe have already specified all my settings and IP addresses.
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The IP above is probably the address from the ISP.
I typed it in the browser and got "This page cannot be displayed".
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Ping 127.0.0.1 to test your IP stack.
I did. There was 0 loss.
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If successful ping the gateway, and work your way out of the house.
Pinged it, (192.168.2.1) and got 4 time outs.
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Didnt you say you had two routers one regular and one wireless?
The old wired one is disconnected. The new wireless one has 3 RJ45 connectors for wired ethernet. What are you suggesting.?
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I do not believe you have a bad card.
Take everything off the network that is wireless. set them up separately. Manually configure IP addresses in the same class and range for both devices and set all the SSID stuff either to default or the same id.
If this works it aint the card.
What do you mean? I can remove the card from the laptop, uninstall the driver and related apllications, and start all over. Is that what you mean?
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I believe this is a good old fashioned networking issue.
I hope you are right. I wouldn't want to replac the card, only to find out that the new one had the same problem as theis one.
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Post configs from all devices and ping the stack make sure it works (127.0.0.1)
Tell me exactly what settings I should post, and where would I find them. I installed Netstumbler on the laptop, but I don't know what to do with it. There is a steep learning curve ahead for me.
Originally posted by carter1945 The issue as I see it is the laptop sees the AP, but does the AP see the client. In the wireless environment we sometimes forget the 802.11b is bi-directional.
Whiole this might not be the problem. I would ask some basic questions.
1) How far away from the AP is your laptop?
2) Is it line of sight?
For testing purposes, it has been within inches of the router/AP. Moving the laptop to another room, there is very little signal degradation.
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3) Are the client drivers current?
version 1.79.0424.2003 (dated April 24, 2003). It is not the latest. I will install the later one from the smc.com website and report any change in result.
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4) Is the AP settings correct and the same as the client? I am thinking of any encription setting like WEP.
WEP is disabled on the AP and on the laptop.
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5) Is there anyway to try out the card in another laptop? Maybe the card is not tranmitting?
No other laptop. According to the wireless card manager, Throughput looks like this now:
Rx fragments 63995
Tx fragments 766
Link quality and Signal strength are generally excellent.
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6) Is the LAN open to outsiders - Is DHCP enabled?
I'm not sure what you are asking? The DHCP server is set as enabled in the router configuration screen.
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7) You might try loading Net Stumbler to see the activity of the 802.11b.
I loaded Netstumbler. I shows some activity, but I don't know what to look for.
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8) Try powering your system, as this way you activate DHCP (if active) which should get you a fresh IP.
I powered up all systems more than once. There is no difference any time.
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I am sure there are others who could add more, but for this Sunday morning here are mine.
Keep us updated as we are all anxious for you to get operational.
Thank you. I appreciate your help, and that of all other participants in this thread. Thank you all. Eventually, I will learn something from you all.
Originally Posted by spiderbite
Remember- wireless and all is on layer two of the OSI model. It doesnt care what IP address (layer 3) anything has to do its job.
Yes, but this does not rule out a Layer 1 problem with the card. If some part of the intetional radiator is defective, it could produce massive packet loss.
GeorgeC:
1) What are the statistics for the continuous ping on your gateway address (they come up when you press ctrl+c)? Run it for 5 minutes. If you are getting very few replies (<25%), I would say there's a good chance you have a layer 1 problem with the card or router. Most likely the card.
2) Can you trace route google? Type "tracert 216.239.51.99" at the command prompt. Try 5 times. If you ever get anywhere outside your network try to trace route google threw DNS. Type "tracert www.google.com" at the command prompt.
3) Are you getting a APIPA (169.254.x.x) address when you run "ipconfig" at the command prompt? If so type "ipconfig /release _all", then "ipconfig /renew _all". Did you get a 192.? If not power down the router for 20 seconds, turn it on and try again. If your are getting 192.'s, try step 1 & 2 again.
4)If you are getting 192.'s are you on the association table in the router? Type "192.168.0.1" in the Internet Explorer address field, and search around the web interface for the association table. Look for the MAC address of the laptop. To find the MAC address type "ipconfig /all" at a command prompt. Look for the "Physical Address", it will be a hexadecimal 8 octet of numbers similar to 00-00-80-3E-D4.
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I loaded Netstumbler. I shows some activity, but I don't know what to look for.
Does it work? If it works your AP should show up with a colored dot next to it. Click the + next to channel, --> click the + next to the number (channel) --> click the colored dot. This chart shows
you the signal strenth of the AP's probe response frames.
Are you getting a good signal? Lots of green over red? Is it continuous or sporadic?
* You may have to disable your client manager for NS to work properly. Right click on the icon next to the clock, and click exit. Then start netstumbler.
Linear Mode
