Good Wireless connection to Network but Usually can't access Internet

My laptop immediately connects to a friend's wireless Roadrunner cable modem connection w/o problems, but I only occasionally can access the Internet. Sometimes I'll have internet access which lasts for as little as a few minutes or sometimes several hours. Sometimes I have Internet right after boot-up, sometimes its unavailable after startup but is becomes available later (without restart).

I'm able to connect to other wireless roadrunner connections like this one: Open authentication and disabled encryption. I have the connection set for the DNS to be automatically assigned as well as IP (by DHCP). I always connect as 192.168.0.110 and am able to ping the DNS within a 2-7ms response time.

I'm using a new Sony Vaio with the latest XP and Norton Security Suite. I've tried disabling the firewall, but that doesn't seem to help. I've repaired the network connection, but that doesn't seem to help. There is one nearby, encrypted network, but I don't think that's the problem. Its on a different channel.

Sometimes, if I restart my pc a few times, I'm able to get Internet access. Even when I don't have Internet, I'm always connected to the network and able to get a prompt reply to my ping. When I have internet access, its pretty fast. I've gotten downloads rated at over

350k. Its like a lightswitch; when it works, it works great, otherwise it doesn't work at all.

For what it is worth, the DNS, DHCP, & Default gateway are 192.168.0.1 and subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 I get a lease with a one week duration. DHCP and autoconfiguration are enabled. The Firewall on the cable modem is not enabled.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Reply to
johnny_huang_2005
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Everytime I respond to someone who cannot access the internet even though they are receiving the correct IP address from DHCP, Norton Security Suite was the culprit. I inform the customer of the availability of standalone apps such as Zone Alarm and EZ Trust Antivirus and recommend that they install the independent apps.

Reply to
Doug Jamal

Well, I'm posting this from the connection and Norton is running. As a matter for fact, the connection has been working fine for about 3 hours. I have no special love for Norton, but I don't have any problems connecting to 3 other Roadrunner networks and 2 Bellsouth DSL connections.

Reply to
johnny_huang_2005

johnny_huang snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com hath wroth:

That's nice. Now turn off Norton Internet Security by right clicking on the Norton icon in the system tray and selecting "disable internet security". Select "until next reboot". If the wireless now magically works, you've found the problem.

Incidentally, I agree with Doug Jamal. Norton security is a very common cause of connectivity issues.

Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

That's nice. Now turn off Norton Internet Security by right clicking on the Norton icon in the system tray and selecting "disable internet security". Select "until next reboot". If the wireless now magically works, you've found the problem

I tried it this morning and on other instances and it didn't help. After work, I'm going to uninstall it and see if that makes a difference.

Assuming that removing Norton doesn't change things, what would your next suggestion be?

Reply to
johnny_huang_2005

johnny_huang snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com hath wroth:

Are you sure you disabled Norton Internet Security or Firewall part of Norton Security Suite and not the anti-virus or some other part? I would guess that 90% of such connectivity problems as you describe that I've seen can be attributed to the Norton Firewall.

I don't think that removing Norton is going to help. However, I would do it anyway. Make sure you have a suitable anti-virus replacment available. (FreeAVG, Avast, MS Anti-Spyware). The built in XP SP2 firewall is adequate.

The next possibility is that this is the side effect of removing spyware or a virus that didn't clean up the LSP (layered service provider). There are several cleanup tools but there are problems. Most will reset the LSP to defaults which will break other network applications. You can also do it from the cmd line with: netsh winsock reset Methinks it would be best if you created a restore point before proceeding. Afterwards, if it appears that fixing the LSP didn't help, use system restore to put it back to its previous state.

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Reply to
Jeff Liebermann

Yes, I disabled the entire suite, esp the intrusion protection and firewall...on more than one occasion. No trouble with Norton on other Roadrunner networks.

In general, It SEEMS as if its getting slightly easier to get Internet and that it lasts longer over time. I'm just wondering if there's some variable that allows me in or is keeping me out.

Reply to
Johnny Huang

Yes, I disabled the entire suite, esp the intrusion protection and firewall...on more than one occasion. No trouble with Norton on other Roadrunner networks.

In general, It SEEMS as if its getting slightly easier to get Internet and that it lasts longer over time. I'm just wondering if there's some variable that allows me in or is keeping me out.

Reply to
Johnny Huang
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

I do. It's a neverending source of problems.

Me too.

AVG Free is fairly good -- I previously used and recommended it myself -- but other products are better.

I now prefer Avira AntiVir, which has a free version .

Not anti-virus, but a good complement. A number of other anti-spyware products are also good.

Agreed.

Good advice.

Reply to
John Navas
[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

What exactly is the problem? Can you access the admin screen on the wireless router? Is DNS failing? Try "tracert

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" and post the results here.

Reply to
John Navas

I removed Norton and was still unable to access the Internet. I did access the admin screen and looked at the settings. I didn't change anything as I couldn't determine that anything was improperly set. Its open, unsecured and using the 192.168 prefix for IP addresses.

tracert

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said it couldn't resolve the address. I'll get the exact text when I'm back there. When I am able to get Internet, I'll run that tracert and post it here, too.

Thanks to everyone who has provided suggestions. I guess Norton messes up a lot of connections, but it doesn't seem to be the problem for me...

Reply to
Johnny Huang

d[POSTED TO alt.internet.wireless - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

Good. That means the wireless link is good, and if you didn't fool with the adapter settings, probably means DHCP is working properly.

To give us more complete information, run "IPCONFIG /ALL" in a CMD window, and post the result here. Likewise "ROUTE PRINT".

Ah ha! Sounds like a DNS problem. The output I asked for above will help pinpoint the problem. When you have the problem, try "tracert 66.102.7.147" (the IP address for

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Reply to
John Navas

For what it is worth, I have not been able to access the Internet even once since removing Norton.

Reply to
Johnny Huang

Had that happen when I tried going to a different program, upon uninstall it turned my security center firewall setting back on (in XP SP2) and even stopped ICS!

Reply to
Peter Pan

That is an excellent point, however, I checked and tried it with and without XP's firewall on. I'm reinstalling Norton and hoping for better results! I'll post the results of tracert and ipconfig the next time I'm able to get Internet access on that network.

Reply to
Johnny Huang

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