Network / WiFi Problem - help please.

[wisewood]

I have a notebook with built in wifi... and am trying to get it to connect to the LAN at work via the Netgear wireless accesspoint/router we have.

Router IP = 192.168.10.1

IP is assigned to notebook manually as automatic assignment doesnt yield any results.

Switch the notebook on, and look for wireless networks and it picks up the office network, and connects to it with a strong signal, connected at 54mbps.

However, this is where it gets wierd. Although it claims it is connected, it doesnt do anything. Cannot even ping 192.168.10.1

WEP key has been set correctly, and i have tried manual/automatic IP assignment with no joy.

Connecting to the network via an RJ45 works perfectly, just the WiFi that is being a hassle.

We've not got any other wireless devices in the office for me to compare to, so there must be something i missing here.

It's my first forray into the wonderful world of wireless, and so far, i'm just pissed off lol.

Help Me! Please.

[wisewood]

PS. It's running XP Home SP2, should that make any difference to your ideas.

[Jack]

My desktop was like this... can you connect with WEP etc disabled? That screws mine up nicely, so I've had to turn it off.

Also, if the laptop has XP, try disabling the Wireless Zero Configuration service as this can conflict with any manufacturer software/drivers for the wifi NIC (or vice versa; disable the NIC software and try running WZC alone).

Ahh, could well be the WZC then as this comes in SP2

[wisewood]

you've gone a bit fast for me there mate lol.

[wisewood]

oh, one other thing - the router has had its default username/password changed by "the IT bloke" and he cannot remember changing it, so i cannot change any router settings.

[Jack]

:D

Have a look in the control panel on the laptop, I think you need Administrative Tools > Services. It'll be listed down the bottom of the list as Wireless Zero Configuration. Right click on that, choose Properties - there should be options there to Stop and Disable the service (described here (http://paininthetech.com/disable_wireless_zero_configuration_in_windows_xp) ).

[edit]Does the router have a physical reset button? Usually if you press and hold the button for ~10 seconds or so it resets everything, including reverting passwords back to factory defaults...

[wisewood]

Probably has, but that would also dump the ISP details wouldnt it? rendering us without internet access and email.

Found the wireless zero configuration, its now disabled, made no difference, even after rebooting. It renders me with no ability to connect at all.

I've read somewhere this morning that there are some issues with service pack 2 and some aspects of tcp/ip and dhcp, but i cant remember what it said now, nor can i find where i read it.

[Jack]

Wouldn't surprise me for XP... SP2 did change a lot of wireless stuff...

Have you checked firewall settings on the laptop? Could be blocked there for some reason...

[wisewood]

yeah i've checked the firewall on the laptop and switched it off.

it is REALLY annoying. Glad i didnt go and spend money on a router yesterday when i bought the laptop though, at least now i can make sure it works first!

[Breeny]

Wireless is gay... just ditch it and use the normal Lan connection lol

What is the IP address of the laptop?

Does the Office Lan run dhcp or static Ip's?

Does the lan run a domain or workgroup?

[wisewood]

Workgroup > static IP's.

The laptop IP is 192.168.10.30 on the wifi card and 192.168.10.31 on the LAN card, makes no difference what the IP is set to for the wifi, it wont establish itself onto the network.

I can only assume that either 1. My wifi driver and or card is faulty, 2. That the wireless aspect of our router is knackered (no other way to test it), or 3. There is something up with XP SP2 that is interfering somehow, but the laptop was supplied with this installed.

Very annoying.

I am happy enough using wires for now, but seems a shame to have the wifi in there and not use it. At the moment it matters not, because its only going to be used for some basic stuff like word processing and a bit of web design and stuff, but i'm annoyed it wont work.

I reckon there is something i am missing in there, just dont know what.

Ping the router/other pc's doesnt work.
Ping the laptop from another pc doesnt work either.

Plug the network cable into it and its fine, works just as you'd expect it to.

Wifi shows a "Very Good" signal strength connection to the network, which it detected automatically with no problems. Also picked up a few others down the road, but non that arent protected for me to play with...

The WEP settings i have are correct, because i tried changing them to some random rubbish and it wouldnt connect, so at least i know that much is right!

[bump]

Wisewood, just a quick one as you haven't confirmed or denied,
have you got the router's IP as both gateway and DNS?

There is another scenario that some wired & wireless routers run the wireless on a different subnet to keep the wired network more secure.

Also any info as to the embedded wifi? I've had a nightmare with Belkin gear in the past.

Cheers

Bump

[wisewood]

Well, my brother in-law went out yesterday and bought himself the very same laptop that i've got. With the assistance of his tech savvy friend, they've set their home router up and his wifi sprang to life just as you'd expect.

So, there's likely no faults with the hardware/software combination on the laptop, at least there shouldnt be.

With a little help from Fester this morning we've established the WEP key that was given to us by "the IT guy" we use is a load of pants. Its gibberish, and wont work because its a 26 digit hex key, which when converted back to ascii just doesnt produce a string of the required length.

I need to find out either 1. The username/password for the router (which we dont know) or 2. reset the router and start from scratch.

Finding a means to get the username/password combination would be best option, as i am confident we dont have the ISP details to input into the router again too. Dont want to end up paying "the IT guy" to come out and sort this, because its not a legitimate business need, i just want to get my laptop on the network lol.... without wires.

[Jack]

Google the make/model of the router, see if that turns up the admin, user or support user passwords lol

[wisewood]

the admin username / password is printed on the router... tried that, along with a million other obvious ones relating to our business and its staff etc.

user: admin
pass: password

lol

[wisewood]

I solved the problem - found out the ISP settings and reset the router.

It is now set up properly and works perfectly. All that hassle and messing around, worrying about the possible problems with my shiney new laptop, all for nothing.

Happy joy joy.

[Jack]

Time to download some celebratory pr0n courtesy of the works connection methinks lol

[wisewood]

I could do that anyway, straight onto the desktop - have my own office, and my desk faces the door, so if anyone comes in i see them well before they can see what i'm up to. :-p

obviously i would never do such a thing.