Cannot connect to network at all ...please help !

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swayzak

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2002
23
0
0
hi again

Further to my other thread http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,18412342

I can no longer connect to wireless network.

I took some info off the PC quickly this morning -

Windows Network Connection Details lists:

Physical address - filled
IP Address - filled
Subnet Mask - filled
Default Gateway - empty
DNS Server - empty
WINS Server - empty

Linksys wireless PCI card:

"Connected to access point but internet cannot be found"

Sometimes this changes to "No access point" or "Connected to Ad-hoc network" (both symbols change to a network card, rather than card & router for the latter)

Also, although it says connected to access point, I cannot get into to the router setup page wirelessly from IE7.

The Linksys app site survey (this morning) listed:

my network 11 51%
BT Homehub.. 11 49%
BT Voyager.. 6 39%

Sometimes this list has 4 or 5 networks listed.

Network Stumbler has my network as usually green (but occasionaly yellow) with SNR varying from 16 - 25.

Also, my HP 6890 printer will no longer accept the wireless settings created on USB stick via Windows Wireless Network Setup Wizard - the wireless light on the front just remains blinking. It should reset to always on when networked correctly.

Can anyone help me get my network back !?


thanks


swayzak
 
Fardringle

Fardringle

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2000
9,200
765
126
What are you actually getting for the IP address?

The fact that you don't have a default gateway or DNS server tells me that either your computer is not actually getting an IP address information from the router at all (IP address will start with 169 if this is the case), you have an invalid static IP address configured on the wireless adapter, or the router is misconfigured or malfunctioning and not providing proper address information.


If you have an IP address beginning with 169, I would suspect that you are either connecting to the wrong router (totally possible if you frequently have several other networks available) or the security settings on your router do not match what is set on your computer. Verify the WEP/WPA security key on the server and re-enter it on your laptop. Also, if there is more than one wireless source showing in Net Stumbler with the same name, change your router's SSID name to something else.

If you have a static IP address set on the laptop, don't. Change it to DHCP.

If no wireless devices are able to connect to the router, then you may actually have a router problem and I would recommend cycling power on it (unplug power to the router for a few minutes then plug it back in, and if that doesn't work, a full reset of the router might be needed (press and hold the Reset button on the back of the router for about 30 seconds).
 
S

swayzak

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2002
23
0
0
thanks

Originally posted by: Fardringle
What are you actually getting for the IP address?
Click to expand...

169.254.130.240

Verify the WEP/WPA security key on the server and re-enter it on your laptop.
Click to expand...

Will do - I might do a reset by using the Secure Setup button (this should connect & reset WPA key). Also it's a desktop, not laptop.

Also, if there is more than one wireless source showing in Net Stumbler with the same name, change your router's SSID name to something else.
Click to expand...

Not necessary - mine is the only renamed network, the others are just router defaults

If you have a static IP address set on the laptop, don't. Change it to DHCP.
Click to expand...

Not sure about this one...

If no wireless devices are able to connect to the router
Click to expand...

Actually, my xbox360 (which is downstairs) connects OK, even with a single red bar strength signal ! Good enough for playing pool anyway....

then you may actually have a router problem and I would recommend cycling power on it (unplug power to the router for a few minutes then plug it back in, and if that doesn't work, a full reset of the router might be needed (press and hold the Reset button on the back of the router for about 30 seconds)
Click to expand...

Ok - may try this also.

Could this all be signal strength/quality/line of sight related ?

It jsut seems strange that it was working fine before...

 
A

Allanv

Senior member
May 29, 2001
905
0
0
that 169.254.130.240 address means that windows has temprarily assigned one as it cannot see the DHCP server (Router)

as the printer isnt seeing it either a reboot of the router will be needed to start with.

let us know how you get on
 
hanoverphist

hanoverphist

Diamond Member
Dec 7, 2006
9,867
23
76
its not a mismatch. the new routers with that SES set up dont work as well as previous versions. i just went thru this very same thing at my moms house with their new wireless set up. all i did to fix it was run the SES configuration thing (click the green logo) and let it choose its own WPA settings and key. got that into the wireless on the laptop and it all fell into place. im not sure how i like their new set up, the old way had more steps but at least it worked consistently when you did a manual set up. oh, make sure your router is set as a gateway and not router, that makes a huge difference. =P
 
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swayzak

Junior Member
Dec 5, 2002
23
0
0
Right - I have (qualified) success. Here's what happened:

1. As advised, I went through each of my partitions (there are 4 XP installations on the wireless PC) and moved wireless network config control over to Windows. Disabled the Linksys service from starting up.

2. Logged into router via cabled PC and changed channel to 1, and also the WPA key. Also wrote down all the Status settings for Router, Local Network and Wireless in case I need them.

NB I noticed that on channel 11, the new "bully" network had a stronger signal than me ! This is the main reason I decided to switch to 1.

3. Went back to wireless PC and booted into each partition - 3 of them connected OK (after a bit of a search "acquiring the network address"). The 4th hung at this step, but 3/4 wasn't bad, considering the situation.


However, when I booted back into the 1st partition again, lo and behold, it got stuck at "acquiring network address" again (this really has been the main symptom all along...getting stuck at this stage).

So I disconnected & reconnected again and it managed to connect.

2 further observations:

1. Often the signal strength seems all over the place (5 bars on several wireless network searches . patently rubbish as the signal is 2 bars). This is also reflected, I think, by NetworkStumbler which shows a rather erratic signal (it used to be completely flat & steady).

2. Signal speed seems well down (at least according to Windows) - barely "b" ratings e.g 1 to 11 Mbps. This used to run at 11 - 40ish.

However, MySpeed shows healthy download speeds of 5-600 kbps, and XP SP2 (my test for a good download) runs at about 330 kbps.

One further point - hanging the Hawkins omni aerial out of the garage window (which is where the router is based) improves the signal massively .... upto good / v good !! Guess it doesn't like going through a double-glazed windows ...

How do you find the details for the successful connection on the wireless PC e.g. numbers for IPs, MACs, DNS, subnet etc ? Wouldn't it be useful to make a note of these in case I need to enter them manually (and how would one do that ?) ?

I'm pretty sure when I reboot the PC tomorrow, it'll hang at "acquiring network address" again ... :?

Oh, and I got the printer back online. I think the Wireless Network Setup Wizard was still writing an old WPA key for some reason (even though I had reset it in Windows). So I created it using the Network Setup Wizard, which allowed me to enter the key manually before tranfer to USB stick - this worked fine :)
 
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