Problems with Internet access via wireless but not by direct connection.

Dear All,

I have a curious problem of being unable to accessing the Internet despite having no problems connecting to my wireless access point. Identical settings using a direct ethernet connection poses no problem. I wonder whether this is a known issue and wonder whether anyone can offer a solution.

I access my ADSL line via a D-Link DSL504 router to which a Linksys Wireless

54g wireless access point is connected. Wireless access is secured using a WPA-PSK encryption key protocol. My Toshiba Protege R150 notebook runs Windows XP Home Edition and connects to the wireless access point without any problem. TCP/IP is set to obtain IP address and DNS server automatically. The ipconfig command shows that my notebook has been automatically assigned the IP address 169.254.182.136 with the subnet mask 255.255.0.0. Nothing is assigned for the default gateway or DNS.

If I switch off my wireless device and connect my notebook directly using an ethernet cable, it goes straight through. Ipconfig then reports an IP address of 192.168.0.8 with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0 and the default gateway 192.168.0.1. These are all the right numbers.

Now I thought I could solve the problem by directly punching these values into the alternate configuration tab under the TCP/IP properties. No! I still cannot access the internet via the wireless access point! Frustration!!!

The strange things is that I do not have these problems with my ASUS notebook running Win2K. I used Linksys notebook wireless adaptor and set it up in minutes. Of course, with Win2K I have to load the Linksys driver on the notebook. Is this a peculiar WinXP problem?

I find this very curious. Has anyone come across this before? I suspect someone must have been. If so, can you point me to the right direction. If not, can you offer some suggestions?

Most grateful for all your help.

CTJ Chan

Reply to
CTJChan
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"CTJChan" wrote in news:ctigi7$523$ snipped-for-privacy@titan.btinternet.com:

The 169 IP means that the O/S timed out in obtaining a DHCP IP from the router and assigned the 169. IP to the NIC. The 169. IP will allow the machine to access other machines on the LAN. But since the machine didn't get an IP from the router, it will not be able to access the Internet. Most likely, this is due to some kind of mis-configuration of the wireless NIC or the router. Or it's possible that the wireless NIC or router is defective. But 9 times out of 10, it's some kind if mis-configuration.

You may want to call Tech Support for the wireless router and the NIC. They should be able to help you with the configurations.

Duane :)

Reply to
Duane Arnold

"CTJChan" wrote in news:ctigi7$523$ snipped-for-privacy@titan.btinternet.com:

IP addresses in the 169.254.x.x range are assigned automatically by Windows when a DHCP server cannot be found. Something appears to be blocking access to your DHCP server, which I assume is the DSL-504.

I suggest the first thing to try is to run (temporarily!) without wireless security. Disable encryption, and see if things start to work.

If they do, then you know where the problem lies. If they don't, shout out...

It's my experience that WPA-PSK encryption does not work on all devices (despite the fact that it cappears to be configured correctly), and it's most definitely a problem with certain network configurations because of the way the encryption key is generated.

Hope this helps

Reply to
Richard Perkin

Dear Richard,

Thank you for your advice.

Just tried what you suggested, disable all security and tried connecting again. Connected alright to the WPA but still cannot access the Internet. Ipconfig gives me IP 0.0.0.0 and subnet mask 0.0.0.0. Nothing for default gateway or DNS.

Weird!

CTJ Chan

Reply to
CTJChan

connecting

Internet.

DSL-504.

network

her's.

What driver is xp using? Might check for the latest drivers on the manufactures website for WinXP

Reply to
Airhead

"CTJChan" wrote in news:ctis30$n6d$ snipped-for-privacy@titan.btinternet.com:

Agreed. Something is blocking communication to the DHCP server. Are you running a software firewall which may be blocking DNS traffic, including Windows Firewall or ICF? (Temporarily) disable any software firewall and see what happens.

What model access point do you have? You say it's an 802.11g device - is the wireless card in the Toshiba laptop also a 'g' device? If it's a 'b' device, you will need to set the access point to 'mixed' mode or 'auto' or whatever jargon it uses [although you did say you could connect...]

Hope this helps

Reply to
Richard Perkin

CTJ Chan,

I am having the exact same problem. Did you ever find a solution? Thanks for your help,

Gene

Reply to
WGB

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