Wireless won't connect

[cantthinkofanickname]

I have just installed a Belkin wireless card on my PC (XPHome). I have installed the software to manage it. I am using WPA-PSK. It recognises my network ssid and shows some connectivity but indicates a yellow warning against the links (PC to range extender, extender to router) reasons given pwd wrong or signal too weak. If I switch to XP managing the link it says signal ex. and connected but the browser still will not connect.I use channel 11 (not sure how to change those) and other networks are around but they are all secured. If I put my laptop next to the PC it connects OK over the same link. I am in a building 50 yrds from the router (another building) and have another laptop in room downstairs using another range extender which connects OK. I am wondering if there is either some interference or some obscure config. in the PC messing things up.Advice on how to analyse further appreciated.

Edited July 8, 2009 by cantthinkofanickname

[Tushman]

If I switch to XP managing the link it says signal ex. and connected but the browser still will not connect.

Could be a dns issue. While you're using WinXP zero configuration utility, try the following.Open up a command prompt window, and type:ipconfig /flush dnsNote the space before the forward slash.

I use channel 11 (not sure how to change those) and other networks are around but they are all secured. If I put my laptop next to the PC it connects OK over the same link. I am in a building 50 yrds from the router (another building) and have another laptop in room downstairs using another range extender which connects OK. I am wondering if there is either some interference or some obscure config. in the PC messing things up.Advice on how to analyse further appreciated.

You can change the channel by going into the router's Admin console. Type the following into the browser's address bar.192.168.1.1It will ask you for a username and password. I think the default might be admin/Admin. If not, look in the user manual. Edited July 9, 2009 by Tushman

[cantthinkofanickname]

You can change the channel by going into the router's Admin console. Type the following into the browser's address bar.192.168.1.1. It will ask you for a username and password. I think the default might be admin/Admin. If not, look in the user manual.

If I change the channel on the router, will I have to change it on the other laptops that are working? Note that the laptop next to this PC does connect.

[zlim]

If I put my laptop next to the PC it connects OK over the same link.

What do you mean by the same link?

[cantthinkofanickname]

What do you mean by the same link?

I mean that it connects OK into the same network router. Thus the signal strength is OK at that location.

[Specmon]

Sounds like you might have a configuration issue, but over the distance you are from the router, you need to rule out the simple stuff first.Remember that the radio signal radiates out of the "sides" of the antenna, not the tip. You want the two antennas perpendicular to the line connecting the two units, not pointed at each other. This can make a huge difference in signal strength.And if you change the channel that the router is broadcasting and listening on, you need to switch the wireless card(s) to that same channel.

[Tushman]

And if you change the channel that the router is broadcasting and listening on, you need to switch the wireless card(s) to that same channel.

I'm not so sure about that. When you change the channel on the router, all you're doing is changing the frequency, therefore the card should automatically pick it up as long as you keep the SSID the same.This is what I have found in my experience.

[Specmon]

I'm not so sure about that. When you change the channel on the router, all you're doing is changing the frequency, therefore the card should automatically pick it up as long as you keep the SSID the same.This is what I have found in my experience.

While I'm not an electrical engineer and I don't "know" this, it would seem to me, that just like channels on a TV, the wireless routers and cards that we use must be able to narrow in on a single channel (frequency range) to "listen" to each others' broadcasts, otherwise how do you sort out your signal from the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum?A card can't make sense of all available channels at once. Otherwise, what would be the point of channels in the first place?

[Tushman]

While I'm not an electrical engineer and I don't "know" this, it would seem to me, that just like channels on a TV, the wireless routers and cards that we use must be able to narrow in on a single channel (frequency range) to "listen" to each others' broadcasts, otherwise how do you sort out your signal from the rest of the electromagnetic spectrum?A card can't make sense of all available channels at once. Otherwise, what would be the point of channels in the first place?

Perhaps I didn't explain myself well. The NIC changes frequency automatically - the user doesn't have to do it manually is my point. Whether you use WinXP's zero configuration utility or the software that comes with the wireless NIC - it doesn't matter. Like I said above, as long as you keep the SSID the same - changing the channel on the router does not require you to manually change it on the NIC.

[cantthinkofanickname]

Perhaps I didn't explain myself well. The NIC changes frequency automatically - the user doesn't have to do it manually is my point. Whether you use WinXP's zero configuration utility or the software that comes with the wireless NIC - it doesn't matter. Like I said above, as long as you keep the SSID the same - changing the channel on the router does not require you to manually change it on the NIC.

That's OK, thanks. I've had another go but not successful. I have not changed any channels. I have reinstalled the Belkin Card. The Belkin utility says I have a signal and shows every thing running but IE does not connect to the internet. However if I go to the windows wireless facility (there is an option in the Belkin software), it reports "aquiring network address" so I assume the dhcp server has not given the PC an IP address yet?I have dug down into the parameters in windows and did see something suggesting the link was using channel 1 but I thought the router was at default (11?) but could not see a way to change it.At the moment I can only think of reloading the OS. Would this work?

[ross549]

If I change the channel on the router, will I have to change it on the other laptops that are working? Note that the laptop next to this PC does connect.

I was reading your most recent post...... and I thought about it for a second. If you are not getting the IP address, the router may be competing with another one in your area. Can you see a bunch of other networks? They may be on the same channel, casuing packets to be dropped.Also, if you change the wireless channel on your router you should not have to change the channel on your laptop. I say "should not" because i have changed my channel on my router various times, and the clients all picked up the change with no problems. The thing is, if the computer can see the network, it knows what channel it is on.Adam

[cantthinkofanickname]

I will try to change the channel and see what happens.

[cantthinkofanickname]

OK I have now changed the channel to 7 and 13 but same results. Windows is trying to renew the IP address and can't for some reason. If I click on the details it shows:00-17-3f-d4-19-fa162.254.49.101255.255.0.0Default Gateway (blank)DNS Server (blank)WINS Server (blank)The IP address is wrong! I should be in the range 192.168.0 x. HOWEVER if I go into ipconfig /all it DOES show 192.168.0.6 which should work!Is this the problem? How do I force a change on this one?UPDATE: I have forced the IP address in range and now windows says connected and 11Mb/s and the little icon in the task bar does not show the red cross. BUT IE does not connect and after 1 min shows the not connected page.Advice appreciated.

Edited July 15, 2009 by cantthinkofanickname

[Tushman]

UPDATE: I have forced the IP address in range and now windows says connected and 11Mb/s and the little icon in the task bar does not show the red cross. BUT IE does not connect and after 1 min shows the not connected page.Advice appreciated.

You should not have to manually assign an IP address.Did you try flushing the dns? See my post above #2.

[cantthinkofanickname]

You should not have to manually assign an IP address.Did you try flushing the dns? See my post above #2.

Yes I did. I also did ipconfig /all and I got the response "No operation can be performed on Wireless network connection 6 while it has its media disconnected."What does this mean?

[zlim]

If you google this error, lots of people see it.I found this.

In my experience. this is simply caused by the router broadcasting in a mode that the wireless adapter on the PC/laptop can't decipher. (Sometimes this is caused by simply updating firmware on your router, or switching to a different router.)

I also found a list of things to try:1a) If it's a laptop check if the wireless switch is on1b) "Control Panel", "Add or remove programs", "Intel Pro Wireless adaptor", then "Repair".2) get and run WInSockFix http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=2573)start Zero configuration service and go to and check the box for "Use Windows to configure my wireless connections"4) Change the registry as explained on the Microsoft website http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?...kb;en-us;2399245) Reinstall drivers for card.and this

What eventually fixed it was changing the RF channel at the base station. Mine was originally set up to run at 108Mbs 'high speed' mode, which has to use channel 6 (the middle of the band). I think that this is probably the default for most new out of the box setups as well. I throttled it back to 54Mbs G only mode (which is still more than adequate for my broadband) and switched it to using channel 11 and it burst back into life.

edited to correct spelling and the link for winsock fix. Edited July 18, 2009 by zlim

[Tushman]

Yes I did. I also did ipconfig /all and I got the response "No operation can be performed on Wireless network connection 6 while it has its media disconnected."What does this mean?

It means that the router does not recognize the NIC as being connected. I really don't think changing IP address will solve your problem. What you should do is check to make sure your firewall settings are not interfering with a good connection and turn on DHCP .http://www.more.net/technical/win/dhcp.html#xpDon't mess with the Winsock utility unless you know it will cure your problem. If the laptop is able to connect to the internet w/ a hardwire connection (CAT5), a corrupt Winsock is most definitely NOT the problem. Edited July 17, 2009 by Tushman

[Jeber]

Great advice so far. Sometimes wireless connects effortlessly, sometimes it makes you want to tear out your hair. Could be why I no longer work at D-Link, I don't have enough hair left.I'm using WPA-PSK at work and one of our employees can't connect to our network while everyone else can. We concluded it's because he has a 802.11n wireless card and I configured the network as 802.11g only. There are no other differences between his laptop and mine.Just a couple of points that may not be very helpful. Channels 1,6 and 11 are the only three that don't overlap and so are the preferred channels for the router. Make sure you aren't getting an APIPA address (Automatic Private IP Addressing) on your wireless computer. If you run IPCONFIG and get an address like 169.254.X.X, Windows has assigned a private address because it can't get one from the DCHP server in the router. Getting Windows to release an APIPA address can be trying. IPCONFIG /release and IPCONFIG /renew might work and might not. Try reducing security to WEP and try connecting. If you can connect and get a valid IP address, try re-enabling WPA while connected. You "should" get a dialogue box on the wireless computer asking if you want to connect to the network and asking for the passphrase. If for any reason you suspect your wireless computer's TCP/IP stack is corrupted or not properly bound, try rebuilding the stack. In order to rebuild your TCP/IP stack, issue the following command via Start > Run…: netsh int ip reset c:\tcpiprebuild.logIf no errors are reported, you should be good to go. All events related to this command will be logged in c:\tcpiprebuild.log. Are there other wireless devices that can connect successfully to your router? Can you try another laptop?

[cantthinkofanickname]

Thanks for those responses. I shall try theses later today. Just one Q, IF these do not cure the problem, will the problem be cured for sure if I reload windows?

[cantthinkofanickname]

Well, I've done it. I ran the winsock utiliy and that worked. I changed the channel from 13 to 6 (which isn't being used by other local systems), had to reset the wireless repeater in our remote building. It's taken me 4 days but I shall put that down to experience!Thanks very much to all who helped. PS this forum is the only one I got regular responses to. I have used other boards here and got good results so I shall use it as my prefered forum for windows and linux matters.Cheers for now.

[cantthinkofanickname]

Using channel 6 is causing the link to drop out regularly so much that it is not useable. I've changed to using channel 13 and this seems more stable. The signal strehgth can go from "Very good" to "week". The symbol in the taskbar is sometimes green and sometimes black, I guess this reflects if it is connected or not. (The wireless devices are belkin).I have tried introducing another relay (there is already one the connection is linking through - I know that because if I turn it off connection goes down) but when I did that the router itself bombed out and I had to remove the extra relay point. Is it possible to have two relays?1. Can anyone suggest how I might improve on this?2. Alternatively, I am thinking of running a cable between the buildings (rather defeating the object of wireless!) and then instead of running separate cables within the building having wireless (I have a spare netgear wireless router) within the building. Given that this will mean two routers on the network how would this be setup?

[cantthinkofanickname]

Well it did work but was continually dropping out. It was using channel 6 so I changed it to channel 13. That improved things a lot and the user has been able to work on most occassions. It is still dropping out and is worse on some days so I think my problem boils down to a weak link. I bought a laptop along and this showed the signal strength to to poor - fair.The arrangement is a belkin in the main office and a belkin relay in the remote building. There is a laptop nearer to that relay and the signal is "very good". If I switch off the relay comms from that building fail so the PC cannot see the office router and proves the connection routing. I tried moving the relay but results changed but did not improve the signal. In conclusion, it seems to me the signal is at it's limit and I'm looking for advice on options.1. would changing the channel again help (I have tried 6 but there are other networks in the area)?2. I have tried installing another relay but the system failed as I assume the relays and router got confused (all belkin). Do I have more rley options?3. Could I run a cable (difficult) within the building to another router so I have two routers in the system (instructions)?4. I am using (in the UK) F5D7132.

Edited July 29, 2009 by cantthinkofanickname

[Tushman]

Seeing as though you've already tried using different channels, trying yet another channel is not going to cure this problem most likely. It does sound like a weak signal issue. The most reliable fix would be use CAT 5 cabling. You do not need to purchase another router for this, just get another switch and connect it the main router you're using now.An example of a switch that I'm talking about is here.

Edited July 30, 2009 by Tushman

[cantthinkofanickname]

Seeing as though you've already tried using different channels, trying yet another channel is not going to cure this problem most likely. It does sound like a weak signal issue. The most reliable fix would be use CAT 5 cabling. You do not need to purchase another router for this, just get another switch and connect it the main router you're using now.An example of a switch that I'm talking about is here.

Thanks, I think you are right. I would prefer to connect a cat5 to the new building and then use radio to a new access point so I do not have to wire to each station. Is it possible to have two wireless routers/switches on one system? Just wondering about the connection scenario I need.

[Tushman]

Is it possible to have two wireless routers/switches on one system? Just wondering about the connection scenario I need.

No problem having 2 switches connected to the same router. I *think* the maximum number is determined by the number of ports available on the router itself. As for having 2 routers on the same network, not sure why you would want to do that - but yes it's possible to do so using a hub. For your purposes however, 2 routers is overkill. If all you want to do is connect another PC/laptop - a switch is what you need like I stated above.

[cantthinkofanickname]

Thanks to all, we are running in a cable and will use a spare switch to handle extra PCs in the remote building.