Wireless Wierdness

Alyosha

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
May 1, 2003
Messages
1,883
Just put a 11 Mb linksys wireless card in an old box and am trying to get internet off of an 11 Mb linksys AP. The wireless card detects the network, connects and shows that everything is ok but I can't get online. Upon further checking, when the computer first starts, it detects the proper network settings with an IP address of 192.168.1.xxx and subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. After about 20 seconds the network info changes to something completely random with an IP address of 169.254.245.184 and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. I'm very perplexed, any ideas?
 
you may be picking up a stronger signal from another AP or a signal on the same channel from another AP. dl a sniffer and see if there are any other networks around that may be causing your grief.
 
Tried net stumbler. On the computer (running 2000 pro) in question it wouldn't even detect that there was a wireless adapter installed. I installed the card in my own computer (XP pro) and the card worked but caused BSODs. Net stumbler didn't detect any other networks from my system. Sound like a defective card?
 
Hmm yeah I think the card is shot.

Try to get another card from a friend or somewhere to test.
 
thats a possibility, but its also possible that netstumbler isnt compatible fully with that wireless nic. i would try first another one or a friends lappy with wifi. thats my problem, the lappy i have is connected to my wifi, so it makes it hard to diagnose problems from an "external" point of view. i find too that someone around here has a SSID of "default" which for some reason attracts the powerbook to it like metal filings to a magnet. i often have to manually change it. i wish i could find them and tell them to change thier SSID. <grumble>
 
Alyosha said:
changes to something completely random with an IP address of 169.254.245.184 and a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0. I'm very perplexed, any ideas?

this is the default IP for windows when it is unable to get an IP addr from a dhcp host

which means it gains a connection then losses it
like the card powers on works for a few seconds then overheats and shuts down

the problem really sounds like a faulty card

I assume it does the same thing if its been freshly rebooted?
 
wankrtron said:
thats a possibility, but its also possible that netstumbler isnt compatible fully with that wireless nic. i would try first another one or a friends lappy with wifi. thats my problem, the lappy i have is connected to my wifi, so it makes it hard to diagnose problems from an "external" point of view. i find too that someone around here has a SSID of "default" which for some reason attracts the powerbook to it like metal filings to a magnet. i often have to manually change it. i wish i could find them and tell them to change thier SSID. <grumble>

But netstumbler did work with the other computer I tried the card in (before that computer BSOD'd) and it didn't detect any other networks.

this is the default IP for windows when it is unable to get an IP addr from a dhcp host
which means it gains a connection then losses it
like the card powers on works for a few seconds then overheats and shuts down

the problem really sounds like a faulty card

I assume it does the same thing if its been freshly rebooted?

Exactly, re-boot the computer and it gets the right network settings for a second and then goes to the default settings. Looks like I'll be doing an exchange today. Thanks for the insights.
 
ok ok, ill jump on the "bad nic" bandwagon, but if that doesnt fix it, im calling for configuration issues. ;)
 
wankrtron said:
ok ok, ill jump on the "bad nic" bandwagon, but if that doesnt fix it, im calling for configuration issues. ;)

Sorry to doubt you, it looks like the NIC may have been functional after all. I got a replacement and had the exact same issues. I know there is at least one other WiFi network in our area but it hasn't caused anyone else any trouble. I believe I'm just going to pull some cat5 as the run isn't too long and I find manual labor infinitely less frustrating than mysterious software problems.
 
well, before you do that, log in to your wireless router and make sure you have ssid on until you get it setup, and change the main channel that you are on by adding or subtracting 3 from what it is now. that will take care of over lapping for wifi broadcast areas. that could fix your problem. different manufacturers often set all their broadcasts to the same main channel, so if you are running dlink and the other happens to be dlink, changing the main channel will help you out.

ive never used net stumbler, but kismac on the Mac is very helpful in avoiding this type of thing. there are about 7 or 8 constant wifi broadcasts reaching my apartment, and up to about 15 on certain days. i try to keep a main channel of one not being used or on the one with lowest signal strength.
 
Well, this continues to be wierd.

-I tried a new channel on my AP; the NIC detects the channel change but continues to malfunction otherwise.
-If I leave the NIC in DHCP mode it switches itself to that windows default IP address. It can't get on the net and net stumbler won't detect the card.
-If I give it a static IP net stumbler won't detect the card unless I disable and re-enable the card (re-starting the computer won't do it). If I do that, net stumbler works fine, detects my network and sees all the correct settings. I still can't get on the internet.

So, it doesn't look like interferance from another network and its not a physical problem with the card. Are there any issues between Windows 2000 and wireless cards that I might be missing?
 
i bet youve got some os configuration issues. will 2k even handle wireless networking without a patch? i cant remember when xp came out so im not sure how far 2k is into wireless networking. do you know if the os is seeing the card? does it show up as useable for wireless? what does the system properties show? and " ! "?

sounds to me like you need to either install the drivers/sw or more likely run the setup for the wireless network, both of which i am sure you have done, but you might wanna double check that you actually try to join the network again. you arent running encryption on the wireless connection are you? mac addressing any security that would block you?
 
does the card work corectly in another machine

and can other machines connect normaly to your network?
 
wankrtron said:
you may be picking up a stronger signal from another AP or a signal on the same channel from another AP. dl a sniffer and see if there are any other networks around that may be causing your grief.

true this could be.
you may just be getting interuption from a different network that may be stronger than what your trying to recieve.
 
baconsphere said:
true this could be.
you may just be getting interuption from a different network that may be stronger than what your trying to recieve.
it doesnt look like this is the issue. he has already worked on this one:
Alyosha said:
Well, this continues to be wierd.

-I tried a new channel on my AP; the NIC detects the channel change but continues to malfunction otherwise.
-If I leave the NIC in DHCP mode it switches itself to that windows default IP address. It can't get on the net and net stumbler won't detect the card.
-If I give it a static IP net stumbler won't detect the card unless I disable and re-enable the card (re-starting the computer won't do it). If I do that, net stumbler works fine, detects my network and sees all the correct settings. I still can't get on the internet.

So, it doesn't look like interferance from another network and its not a physical problem with the card. Are there any issues between Windows 2000 and wireless cards that I might be missing?
 
Well, it works now. I was just about to call Linksys and see if they had any insights but I figured I'd try disabling WEP and see if that did anything. And what do you know, no encryption makes int4rweb=teh go. But that only replaced one problem with another, I wasn't going to leave my network unsecured. So I re-enabled WEP to see what would happen and my AP password changed. I thought, that shouldn't have happend, so I had to physiclly reset the AP, reset it up and zip-bang-pow I'm online. This whole ordeal only solidifies in my mind that networking is the spawn of satan and ought to be attempted under only the gravest of circumstances. Thanks for all the help people; another problem solved with the help of the [H] tech support team.
 
glad to hear you got it fixed. i dont have encryption turned on on my wifi, even though i prolly should. ive got mine locked down by MAC addresses, and dont wann screw with the encryption hastles.
 
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