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LinkSys adapters fail to find signal

P II Homebuilt, Asus P2B mobo, 500mb RAM Windows XP SP1 Linksys WRT54GX, WMP54GS, WMP54GX

Wi-Fi network has been up and running without problems for more than a year. One Dell laptop and one HP laptop have communicated with the router in that time without protest. The HP laptop crashed and while it is being repaired I needed to press a retired PII into limited service including an Internet connection. Previously it had been successfully connected directly to the modem via a USB cable and installed drivers. That connection was removed per our request to the cable company when the machine was retired. Since I am building a new desktop machine that will need a wi-fi card, I purchased a WMP54GS v1.1 on e-Bay thinking it could serve the old PII now and the new box later. I installed the drivers, then the card as instructed. DEVICE MANAGER SEES THE CARD AND REPORTS NO CONFLICTS. The Linksys config software caused repeated crashes, I switched to the Windows setup. The Linksys Netclient app can not find the signal. I opened the Wireless Network Connection Properties > Wireless Networks > Preferred networks

Properties and fill in the boxes per the LinkSys config text file

and click OK. The Preferred networks windows shows the SSID with a red X. I click the Available networks > Refresh button and the red X goes away however the SSID does not appear in Available networks. Close the window and the red X remains over the Network Connections LAN entry. I have disabled all firewall and other filtering/monitoring software with no change. I updated the driver and switched antennae also with no change. I spent two hour by phone with LinkSys Tech Support with no success. They did not walk me through any test or configs and just said the antenna or the card was defective and that they would not replace it because it was obtained through a third-party vendor.

I ordered the WMP54GX from newegg expecting to finally get a connection and it does not even show up in Device Manager. There is not even a Network adapters header so there is no where to go with that one.

At this point I don't know if either or both of these cards is defective. I have no other box in which to install them to see. I am less experienced with this aspect of computers than others and may well have overlooked some part of the process that is obvious to more experienced users.

Suggestions are welcome and gratefully appreciated. Thank you.

Reply to
bogus
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I have never been able to psyche out LinkSys software. Have about 6 LS cards from over the years. Recently was trying to connect to a very popular RV site with wi-fi and my USB Linksys refused. My best guess was that it was an IP/DHCP problem. BUT!!, I decided to use the "Let Windows Configure" and lo and behold starting seeing and connectng to that site and others.. Might try that one..Wireless Zero handles mine with no problems..Regards

Suggestions are welcome and gratefully appreciated.

Reply to
Zack

You should check your router setup pages for any MAC address filtering, etc, that might be confusing the issue. Check the router DHCP client table for the new NIC also to see if in fact the router "sees" it. Disable WEP/WPA for the duration of troubleshooting.

Make sure that if using Linksys to manage, that you Stop the WZC service or if using WZC there is no Linksys app lurking in the background. Check that the wireless card is fully inserted in the slot, and you have disabled any power saving mode in Device Manager settings. The internet connection sharing service should be disabled on the PII.

From a command prompt type: ipconfig /all and post back the report.

Q
Reply to
Quaoar

Quaoar BIG thanks for the check list to follow. It is what I need in my relative newbie state.

ipconfig /all (P II)

Windows IP config Host Name: [listed] Primary DNS Suffix [blank] Node Type: Broadcast ( MS Knowledge Base suggests this should be set to Infrastructure but the one box I found to make the change did not alter it here) IP Routing Enabled: No WINS Proxy Enabled: No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection Media State: Media disconnected (I was concerned about this until I saw that it is the same on the computer that is connected.) Descripton: [correct description] Physical Address: [listed]

Other test ping: 127.0.0.1: Reply from 127.0.0.1 ping: [my IP address]: Destination host unreachable - which is known

BTW What is Microsoft TCP/IP version 6? Listed as a protocol under Wireless Network Connection Properties, the description says it is the next-generation version of the internet protocol that provides communication across diverse interconnected networks. This would seem to be the better protocol and I have not seen it mentioned in all of my searches for answers.

I look forward to your feedback.

Sincere thanks.

Reply to
bogus

On 17 Jul 2006 12:03:01 -0500, snipped-for-privacy@invalid.net wrote in :

It would better for you to copy and paste the exact output. Run: IPCONFIG /ALL >IPOUTPUT.TXT Then open IPOUTPUT.TXT, select and copy all the output, and paste it in a post here.

IPv6 (which wasn't created by Microsoft) is the answer to eventually running out of address space with IPv4, and is still currently of little real value to most Internet users. For more info, see .

Reply to
John Navas

Good evening, Mr. Navas Thank you for replying to my post. In all of my reading and Googling my problem between the time Quaoar offered some guidelines last week and yours today, I learned about the text output for ipconfig. At this point however it is a moot point because I had the feeling this thread was dead and every approach I attempted on my own, guided by one source or another, failed to bring me any closer to getting on-line using the old P II. While I remain unconvinced that the card was defective as LinkSys suggested, it was returned to the vendor this morning.

I am now left with the (supposedly) superior WMP54GX which my mobo / O/S fails to see at all. It is properly seated in the PCI slot. In point of fact, I have tried three different slots with the same result. It seems to me that if the card won't play at all, there is nothing to be done except return it also.

I certainly welcome any suggestions you or the other members of this forum care to offer. They will be gratefully received and dutifully followed. Failing that, I have the feeling I will again be asking questions when the above referenced NIC is replaced.

Reply to
bogus

On 20 Jul 2006 21:25:03 -0500, snipped-for-privacy@invalid.net wrote in :

I would try it in a different computer, if possible.

If you do replace it, I'd suggest a USB adapter, which will give you more placement flexibility, and not require opening up your computer.

Reply to
John Navas

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