Wireless network connected, but can't get online

Chippy_Minton

lamb-for-the-slaughter wrote:

Chippy- The wireless network is 'not connected' I double click and the screen asks me to choose a wireless connection from a list. I select my neighbour's network. It says 'not connected' but in the text block it says "This network requires a network key (which I have). You are currently connected to this network. To disconnect from this network, click Disconnect below" (there is an option to disconnect.) I seems strange that the system tells me I am 'not connected' but then tells me I am connected and tells me how to disconnect. Does the system have a bug?

That's interesting. It sounds like intermittent poor wireless transmission quality. If it says 'Connected' then you really are connected! Try doing an ipconfig/all when it says Connected. Your Local Area Connection (LAC) will still say Media Disconnected, but your Wireless connection should show something like:

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : AA-BB-CC-DD-EE-FF
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.5
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Thursday 09 Mar 2006 01:22:10
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Friday 10 Mar 2006 01:22:10

albertross_2

netstumbler will tell you what channel the router is set to, and can also show signal strength.

Assuming Xp, right click the wireless network icon, open network connections, right click wireless network connection, properties, configure, advanced, it should show the channel.

the ssid (network name) should appear in the (right click the wireless network icon, open network connections, right click wireless network connection, properties) ,wireless networks, preferred networks screen. Delete and re-enter the details that you have (or you could just re-enter the encryption key to start with, to see if that works).

Make sure you select the correct type of encryption used on the router (WEP/WPA-PSK etc..)

lamb-for-the-slaughter

Yep!

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Wireless Mini PCI Card Model 0508
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : (I'll leave this out unless necessary)
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : no
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.222
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip..............: Disabled


Any good?

-Albertross- I'll try downloading tomorrow. It's getting late here and I don't fancy waiting for a long download via dial-up tonight. Sounds promising though! Thanks again for everyones help so far, I'm going to bed now need...sleep...zzzzzz

Chippy_Minton

lamb-for-the-slaughter wrote:

How do I check the channels? Do I need to know which channel my neighbour has too?

Network Stumbler will tell you which channel the router is using. But remember to close down Stumbler when you've got this information because it disables the Wireless Zero Configuration service which Windows uses to manage the wireless connection.
Edit: snap Albertross!

Regarding encryption, Network Stumbler displays 'WEP' if encryption is on, but this could mean WEP or WPA encryption is being used.

To check the channel on your laptop, show Properties of Wireless Network Connection. On the General tab, click Configure and the channel number should be shown.

albertross_2

Is it working?

Those numbers look good, you should be able to ping the router now..

ping 192.168.1.1

albertross_2

Chippy - good points about netstumbler, it's getting late, and good to have you around to cover the missing bits..

This wireless thing is far more complicated than it should be!

albertross_2

Those numbers look like you are connected, and assuming that IE is configured correctly, you should be able to surf wirelessly now, unless I am missing something..

Anyway, it's past my bedtime too, so goodnight to you and Chippy.

Chippy_Minton

That looks pretty good. So good in fact that it should be working!

How to troubleshoot wireless network connections in Windows XP might be useful.

lamb-for-the-slaughter

-previous message edited-

Thanks guys, I'm packing in for the night.

Ping 192.168.1.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64

It looks like it works, but only temporarily. Choose wireless network shows "Automatic" for neighbours connection and now gives option to "connect". It then attempts to connect, says connected! and then goes back to 'not connected' but with options to disconnect. logging onto google gives "www.google.com could not be found".

I'll download netstumbler tomorrow (via dial-up YAWN)

Sleep well.

albertross_2

Interference from a video sender, dect phone, or another router in the vicinity on a similar channel would be my first guess.

If you can arrange it, it is a good idea to pick channels at least 5 channels away from other routers in the area, 1, 6, 11 etc. If they are using the same channel or a channel too close, then you can get this type of problem.

Changing equipment can also help sometimes, other posters have reported weak signals with Linksys routers (although many are happy with Linksys), change to Netgear, and the problems go away..

Netstumbler will identify the channels used by other equipment in your area.

Sitting next to the router will help identify if it is a range or interference problem.

Also changing the encryption method can sometimes make a difference, WPA is more secure than WEP, and it also seems to work better on my router.

Patching the router to the latest firmware often helps as well.