XP and Wireless Networking

[mcp6453]

Here is a post for a friend. The problem is interesting to me as I have
another system (unrelated) with a similar problem. It appears to be XP
related...

got a new laptop recently (hp ze4430 for $899 after rebates at circuit
city) with a built in 54g wireless card. got a linksys cable router in
the hopes of saving $45 bucks a month on the extra interne cable access
at home. set up worked fine. hard wired desktop gets consistent internet
access. laptop is another story entirely. although no problem with
connection to wireless network, usually good or very good signal
strength. seems to be a problem with getting internet access. IP address
generation problems. when this happens i click for netwrok repair.
sometimes this works sometimes it doesn't. when it does succeed in
generating a good address, sometimes i can log on through compuserve
other
times only through internet explorer. many times it is unbearably slow.
transmitting at 1 or 2mbs although at other times it zips along at
transmission rates as fast as 21 mbs. biggest problem seems to be
inconsistancy. is this par for the course? is this technology just not
ready for prime time or is it a problem specific to cable internet
access. if it was a wireless problem i would consider hard wiring the
laptop to the router, since desk top that is connected to router through
ethernet port doesn't seem to be having these problems. any input from
the tech gurus would be most appreciated. I had hopes of wandering the
house with my laptop having an internet connection wherever i laid my
hat.

[Walter Clayton]

Some disillusionment first.

Wireless is not secure. In fact, mixing vendors the way you have tends to
make things a bit more problematic since WEP isn't implemented the same
across all vendors. WPA, once it arrives, will be the first legitimate step
towards securing wireless networks, but even then, there are certain
"annoyances" that must be followed and will be skipped by most users since
they require a bit of effort. That's not a slam on the people unwilling to
make the effort, but frankly there's enough of an issue getting people to
use passwords on XP. Problem is that most people don't want to do the
required things to harden a wireless network and are content with
broadcasting their credit card number for the world to see. Another issue,
is that 802.11g still hasn't been formalized the last I looked, but if it
has, is in it's infancy. There are always problems with new standards and
technology. Eventually they tend to settle down but it takes a flurry of
driver and BIOS updates over time before things stabilize in some instances.

For your specific problem. Make sure that the router and the wireless are
set for infrastructure mode rather than ad-hoc. Enable DHCP server on the
router and enable DHCP on the laptop as well as the desktop. Depending on
what's inside of the walls of your house you may have to install multiple
access points and wire those to the main router. Basically you may have some
interference with the signal transmission going through walls or across some
RFM noisy source in the house. Upgrade the BIOS and drivers on all wireless
devices.

Personally, I have 100 ft. of cat 5 that I drag around with my laptop. 100Mb
LAN all the time with no problems and a lot fewer security issues to boot.

--
Walter Clayton - MS MVP(WinXP)
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced.
http://www.dts-l.org
http://support.microsoft.com/servicedesks/fileversion/default.asp


"mcp6453" > wrote in message
...
> Here is a post for a friend. The problem is interesting to me as I have
> another system (unrelated) with a similar problem. It appears to be XP
> related...
>
> got a new laptop recently (hp ze4430 for $899 after rebates at circuit
> city) with a built in 54g wireless card. got a linksys cable router in
> the hopes of saving $45 bucks a month on the extra interne cable access
> at home. set up worked fine. hard wired desktop gets consistent internet
> access. laptop is another story entirely. although no problem with
> connection to wireless network, usually good or very good signal
> strength. seems to be a problem with getting internet access. IP address
> generation problems. when this happens i click for netwrok repair.
> sometimes this works sometimes it doesn't. when it does succeed in
> generating a good address, sometimes i can log on through compuserve
> other
> times only through internet explorer. many times it is unbearably slow.
> transmitting at 1 or 2mbs although at other times it zips along at
> transmission rates as fast as 21 mbs. biggest problem seems to be
> inconsistancy. is this par for the course? is this technology just not
> ready for prime time or is it a problem specific to cable internet
> access. if it was a wireless problem i would consider hard wiring the
> laptop to the router, since desk top that is connected to router through
> ethernet port doesn't seem to be having these problems. any input from
> the tech gurus would be most appreciated. I had hopes of wandering the
> house with my laptop having an internet connection wherever i laid my
> hat.

[Rob Schneider]

mcp6453 wrote:

> Here is a post for a friend. The problem is interesting to me as I have
> another system (unrelated) with a similar problem. It appears to be XP
> related...
>
> got a new laptop recently (hp ze4430 for $899 after rebates at circuit
> city) with a built in 54g wireless card. got a linksys cable router in
> the hopes of saving $45 bucks a month on the extra interne cable access
> at home. set up worked fine. hard wired desktop gets consistent internet
> access. laptop is another story entirely. although no problem with
> connection to wireless network, usually good or very good signal
> strength. seems to be a problem with getting internet access. IP address
> generation problems. when this happens i click for netwrok repair.
> sometimes this works sometimes it doesn't. when it does succeed in
> generating a good address, sometimes i can log on through compuserve
> other
> times only through internet explorer. many times it is unbearably slow.
> transmitting at 1 or 2mbs although at other times it zips along at
> transmission rates as fast as 21 mbs. biggest problem seems to be
> inconsistancy. is this par for the course? is this technology just not
> ready for prime time or is it a problem specific to cable internet
> access. if it was a wireless problem i would consider hard wiring the
> laptop to the router, since desk top that is connected to router through
> ethernet port doesn't seem to be having these problems. any input from
> the tech gurus would be most appreciated. I had hopes of wandering the
> house with my laptop having an internet connection wherever i laid my
> hat.

The kit you have *should* work. Follow the instructions in the Linksys
box and it should be ok. Read the manual. The "Quick Install" is just
that. Set it for DHCP, and turn on 128-WEB encryption. Take note of the
WEP Key and configure your laptop with this key.

Your problem is probably related to signal propagation in the house.

First step is to make absolutely sure the wireless works ok. Put the
laptop next to the wireless unit and check it out. On the XP Wireless
connection box, I'll get all four green bars "on". There are very few
settings to make and you should be able to achieve this. Use the
Linksys and your laptop's wireless documentation as guide.

Then move around the house. Remember the signals are relatively weak
and *will* get deflected. I found that signals in my house were blocked
by the internal concrete block walls. The position of the antennas also
will make a difference... Go to the LInkxys "Wireless" settings on the
ADvanced Tab. Read the manual about these settings. Try vertical and
horizontal, and try different settings for "Antenna Selection" ... Left
Spread On, Right Spread On, or Diversity Spread On.

I ended up buying a second Wireless Access Point and positioned it in
the attic near the gutter at the back to broadcast into the garden and
my son's bedroom. Other than the roof beams, plywood roof, and roof
tiles, it's a direct line of sight of about 15 meters. I get 2 out of 5
bars 'reported' at 11 mb/s. I'm very satisfied with performance. The
other unit now also sits in the attic, and I've extended the antenna to
a little "antenna pod" which sits on the ceiling of the center all
connected to one of the Linksys antenna. It effectively broadcasts into
the two rooms where I want a connection. It still can't cover the whole
house. I also can't get a signal from this for more than a few feet
out side the front of the house.

All this was a lot easier and less expensive than installing cabling. I
won't get the 100 mb/s speeds of a the cable connection, but don't need
it (yet).

*Remember*(: turn on 128-bit WEP encryption unless you want to share
your connection and data traffic with your neighbours.