Windows XP Wireless USB Problem

[nutDAVE3]

This is a long message, but it's stumped everyone at IGN and Gamespot's forum's so help would be appreciated . Anyway, here it is:
Ok i have a IEEE 802.11b wireless network set up at home using the HP hn200w router and hn210w USB device. Everything works fine, connectivity, DHCP etc. However I encounter problems when playing games from my computer which connected wirelessly. My pings are fine in all games and I get high speed ~ 400 kb.s to and from the WAP. Anyway what happens is about every 3 minutes i experience a 5 second period of lag where i can not control anything in the game, then after the lag is over the game speeds up real fast to get caught up with what just happend and everything returns to normal. This is very annoying and makes it difficult to play FPSs on-line because i also seem to be in the middle of a firefight when it decides to lag for 5 seconds. I am using Windows XP Home on both computers. I have heard this is a generic problem with XP searching for a wireless signal every so often, but don't know how to fix it.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[WarmAndSCSI]

Does your wireless adapter have it's own network config utility? If it does use it and statically configure your wifi settings - this should cause it to disable Windows' built-in network scan function.

Hope this helps

 

[nutDAVE3]

Originally posted by: WarmAndSCSI
Does your wireless adapter have it's own network config utility? If it does use it and statically configure your wifi settings - this should cause it to disable Windows' built-in network scan function.

Hope this helps

I don't really know much about it. Someone installed it, though. I found the configuration software, put it in, and looked for something obvious that would help my problem. I couldn't find anything. Should I be looking for a certain comand in Windows or my software? Thanks. By the way, someone over at IGN told me this:
"There's a problem that WinXP has with wireless connections in that it's constantly scanning for new ones. Which can cause a mild interruption in the connection to a current wireless network. The service is called "Wireless Zero Configuration"

I think this issue is fixed in the service pack release but could be mistaken. Basically the recommended fix is to turn the service off by going to Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Services and finding it on the list. Then double click the service and changing the startup type from Automatic to disabled.

While I have been told that this is the approrpiate fix, I've never had this issue so haven't tried it. A friend who attempted it received a blue screen upon reboot, had to log in safe mode and reenable the service to get the PC to boot. So attempt this at your own risk."
But, I tried that and it totally shuts down you internet coonection....

 

[prosaic]

Aye-aye-aye! Why do people tell other people to DISABLE vital services??? With Wireless Zero Configuration disabled there is no way to get a wireless connection established in the first place -- though I've never seen a case where disabling it would cause a blue screen upon reboot.

This isn't a problem with Wireless Zero Configuration so much as it is a characteristic. It can be ameliorated to some extent by telling the wireless connection to connect ONLY to approved infrastructure. This setting is found by clicking on the advanced button on the Wireless Networks tab of the Wireless Network Connection Properties dialog. You set the radio button for "Access point (infrastructure) networks only", and you uncheck "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks". This makes the wireless network adapter stop being so "promiscuous". It stops looking around for other networks and pays attention to the connection it already has.

There is also a characteristic behavior caused by having 802.1x authentication turned on, but that one would normally cause complete loss of the wireless connection every three minutes (by default). You check this one out by going into the properties dialog for the individual wireless connection. You check to be sure that "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" is UNchecked. Otherwise you lose your connection after three minutes.

I found a Wireless Zero Configuration service workaround months ago and posted it here and elsewhere before I realized that I was losing my connection every three minutes because application of SP1 had turned the above-mentioned 802.1x authentication back on. (Application of some hotfixes may also do this, so it's best to go check that setting if you start losing wireless connections on a frequent basis.) That fix worked (apparently) for some folks who were using problematic wireless adapters / drivers. The workaround consisted of issuing "NET STOP WZCSVC" to turn the Wireless Zero Configuration Service off AFTER the wireless connection was established. That made it possible to get the connection in the first place and then maintain the connection by preventing WZCSVC from doing its thing and causing disconnections. But using the NET STOP command to stop the service isn't the same thing as disabling it. After issuing NET STOP WZCSVC from the CMD prompt the service can still be restarted manually (NET START WZCSVC) or by rebooting the system. (You can also stop and start the service by wading through the GUI to get to the services applet and using the controls there.)

I would suggest trying the settings I mention in the second paragraph before trying anything more extreme.

- prosaic

 

[nutDAVE3]

Very interesting read. I'll check it out right now.

 

[prosaic]

Please let us know how it goes. I'm not a LAN or Internet gamer guy, but it seems that those settings should help out. I have also seen a number of wireless clients that had terrible support for Windows XP. For those the NET STOP / NET START trick sometimes worked pretty well. But it's better to just have hardware and drivers that work well for the OS you're using.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

- prosaic

 

[nutDAVE3]

Alright, here's what I did. I did everything you said in paragraph 2. I started up MOHAA online, and lagged once in about five min. I'll play longer to see what happens. I tryed to do what you said in paragraph three, but this is what I got: "IEE 802.1x authentication can only be enabled in access point networks that use WEP network keys for data encryption." Although the check area was grey, I saw it was uncheaked. I'm going to go play some more online and see if this works. Thanks.

 

[nutDAVE3]

Damn, i'm still lagging. Although not as often as before, I am still lagging. I figured out how to do the configurations you wrote in the 3rd paragraph, and I'm gonna play online after I dl something. Thanks again for all the help.

 

[prosaic]

Hi,

Actually I don't think that 802.1x authentication is your problem. I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear. If 802.1x were enabled you would totally lose your connection to your access point every three minutes instead of just lagging. At least that's what would happen in all cases with which I'm familiar. If there's no RADIUS server and you have authentication running the connection just gets dropped in three minutes.

I think paragraph four might do the trick -- using NET STOP WZCSVC as soon as a solid wireless connection has been established. You should probably use NET START WZCSVC (or reboot) after you are done gaming, though, so that your system can re-establish wireless comm if the connection is lost.

But this advice also may not help. I remember there were people with a couple of specific brands and models of wireless NIC (dlink and Netgear, if I remember correctly) that just saw this sort of thing in Windows XP no matter what they did. I have no definitive proof, but I strongly suspect that their drivers were just not up to snuff. The same cards apparently worked pretty well in other operating systems. You might want to check with HP to see if they've got updated drivers for your equipment. Might even check out your USB configuration. Weird things happen with certain mixes of devices on USB ports (mixing USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices on the same USB 2.0 controller, for instance), and the USB driver support isn't always everything it could be, either. I'll hope that you can figure something out. I wish I knew more about online gaming. I'm sure I could be missing something vital here.

Best of luck, and please let us know how it turns out.

- prosaic

 

[nutDAVE3]

Hey, don't worry about it. You know more than both the gaming forums I go to at IGN and Gamespot. As for the updated drivers, I downloaded the newest ones about a month ago. I might have mixed up USB ports (my comp is 2.0, but the device may be older), but I'm sure the firmwire updgrade would've fixed that. I'll see what I can do, maybe mix around the stuff you said it paragraph four. Thanks.

 

[nutDAVE3]

Good news. It works after I did what you told me what to do. If you ever wanted to go to Gamespot's forums, you'd be a great addition there. Thanks for your help, and now I know where to come.

 

[prosaic]

I'm very happy that you've got it sorted and that I was able to help out a little.

I've wondered if I would enjoy playing online games, but I don't seem to ever get the time to find out. There always seems to be something else to do. If I scare up some time maybe I'll get a chance to mosey on over to Gamespot to give it a shot.

It was nice communicating with you.

- prosaic

 

[nutDAVE3]

Nice talking to you also. You should give online games a try. They can be very fun. Games like Medal of Honor, Battlefield 1942 or Unreal Tournament are all great to play online. I hope to see you online gaming one day!