Wi-Fi setup

[BarakO]

Ya know, I've never considered myself stupid about computers (all my friends come to me when they have problems with theirs), and I read up on this and thought I understood how to make it work, but this wireless router I just got is kicking my butt!

Of course, I'm not trying to use it in the normal way... I'm on dial-up because I live out in the sticks and that's all there is.

Anyway, I'll pass on what I've done so far and what I've seen, and anyone who can offer any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

I set up my desktop for Internet connection sharing (which enables the DHCP on it, correct?).

Then I turned off the DHCP on the router. I plug my LAN line from the desktop into the WAN port of the router.

I set the SSID. Originally I had all security on (not broadcasting SSID, WPA, etc) , but as I got more frustrated and the laptop couldn't find the network I took it all off and turned on the SSID broadcasting... still nothing showing up on the laptop.

I finally go to bed last night in frustration.

Get up this morning, turn both desktop and laptop on and son-of-a-gun if the laptop doesn't find the network and attach itself! Cool! I pull up a web page to make sure it's working and it is. Thirty seconds later the connection dissolves and the laptop says it can't find any wireless networks again. Grrr...

Suggestions? Links to articles about someone else dumb enough to try and do something like this? (My google-fu appears to be weak today)

 

[Jupp]

My personal opinion is that ICS is an invention that comes directly from Asmodeus's private little laboratory. It is clearly designed to bring endless pain and suffering to humankind

Having said that my advise would be to get something like NAT32 http://www.nat32.com/ or WinGate http://www.wingate.com/product-wingate.php

Those programs are very robust and work like they should. At least that was my experience in the past before I switched over to broadband. Those applications do cost you money but if you get a working solution for that I would say it's worth it

The problem with your WiFi connection could be that perhaps someone else has a WLAN device near you that is configured to run on the same channel as your device. Sometimes that can produce unexpected disconnections. Also, did you update to the latest firmware for your WLAN router? I know that for example D-Link had some very flakey firmware releases in the past. And another thing, do you perhaps have one of those new 108Mbit routers? If yes, try going down to 54MBit and see if that works. I had the (un)pleasure to test several of those 100+ MBit devices and most of them are simply not ready for everyday usage (means: avoid it like the pest for now and wait for a good firmware release).

Edit: And just for testing purposes, assign fixed IP addresses to your computers and start shuffling around large files between the two. See if you get disconnections after some time or unexpected drops in speed and link quality. If that is the case you could also try updating your network card drivers. Also make sure that you have the latest XP Service Pack (2) and all hotfixes that have followed after that.

 

[BarakO]

Ooops, should have specified equipment.

Router is a Linksys WRT54G v.3
Notebook card is a Linksys WPC54G v.4

I live in the sticks in my own home, so no other wireless gear is within range (unles they can stretch more tha 1/2 mile?).

I tired changing channels last night just in case, no luck there.

The wired part of the network works just fine (iow, I plug the laptop in with a wire and all functions as it should, and the second desktop works as it should, both to transfer files between machines and with the ICS).

I'll try setting fixed IPs when I get home tonight and see what happens. Thanks for the suggestions.

Anyone else have any ideas ? I'd like a whole slew of options to work through once I get home tonight

 

[Jupp]

Another thing that can lead to problems: In the properties of the PCMCIA WLAN card you have the ability to indicate whether your card is affected by the power saving features of Windows XP/your notebook or not. Please clear the checkbox there to prevent Windows shutting down the card to save energy. That will save you headaches later on.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

First thing to do is download NetStumbler and see what it sees. If it doesn't see the Linksys access point, you've got interference or transmission issues. If it sees it with a strong signal but the wireless configuration in Windows doesn't, then it's likely a driver or settings problem in Windows.

Also, you shouldn't have anything plugged into the WAN port on the router. That's just going to complicate things. Your router is the PC running ICS -- it's got one connection on the local LAN and another via dial-up to the internet. You're not using the Linksys as a router, you're just using it as a switch plus a wireless access point.

If this is going to be a long-term solution for you, I'd recommend either getting an old PC and configuring it to serve as a dial-up router, or getting a dial-up router that will eliminate the need for ICS. Multitech used to make one pretty cheap, as I recall, and if you have an old PC, you can use Linux or BSD or whatever to make one yourself.

 

[BarakO]

Thanks to all those who tried to assist, but I've given it up as a bad job at this point. (Gotta quit before I take it out, lay it in the driveway and run it over a few times).

I got the hardwired portion of the network running with no problems. I got to where the laptop could see the AP consistently and connect, but I could not get out to the internet to save my life.

The good news is that the satellite will be installed next month and I'll try it again then and hopefully have some better luck (I better, or Linksys will be getting a nastygram ).

Thanks again all!