Router problems.

I think you mean WPA encryption. Make sure you set the router for WPA Personal or WPA-PSK (pre-shared key) and NOT enterprise or RADIUS.

Yeah. That's Microsofts way to telling you that you need to enter the WPA password on the computer end. If they are mismatched in any way, you get the "aquiring network address" message forever. Umm... did your unspecified operating system ask you for a pass phrase when you tried to connect? If not, delete the "profile" or entry for your router in the computers connection manager and start over as if it were a new connection (or profile).

Disable MAC protection. MAC addresses are easily spoofed.

Check your unspecified model Belkin router for the latest firmware.

If you need furthur help, it would be nice if you would uncover the number keys on your your keyboard and disclose the model numbers of the router and client computer, wireless devices, operating system, revision level, connection manager, and anything else that might be helpful.

Thanks - yes meant WPA. Have set for WPA-PSK. The only way I can enter password is on the computer end so do not know what you mean by mismatched. . I have specified above that systems are all xp, and gave model number of belkin unit, so not sure where to find anything else. Only wireless devices are 3 laptops. I have several times reset router to factory default by holding down the reset button, and also on the software interface. Then set-up from scratch. 192.168.2.1. gains access.

That's correct. Did you assign a long and messy pass phrase?

Mismatched pass phrases means that you have different pass phrases on the router and on the computer.

Sorry, I missed that.

Sorry. The Belkin search didn't find anything on the model number. I didn't notice that you were in UK. Searching a different Belkin site yields a model F5D7630UK4A:

The latest firmware is 1.08.03. Is this what you have? If not, update.

Well, the laptops have a wireless card inside and use some form of client manager. The most common for XP is WZC (Wireless Zero Config). There are also wireless managers that come with aftermarket wireless cards. Which are you trying to use?

Do these laptops have a maker and model number?

Good, so there's no garbage in the previously saved settings.

You didn't answer my previous questions, so I'll try once more:

1. Are you typing in a password on the laptop when it connects? If not, delete the connection profile or WZC entry and start over as if it were a new connection.
2. Did you disable the MAC address filtering? If not, please disable the MAC address filtering until you get WPA working.
3. Did you verify the version number of the firmware in your Belkin F5D7630UK4A? If not, please do so and update as necessary.
4. Did you verify the version number of whatever you're using for a wireless device on your unspecified model laptops? If not, please find the version number of the drivers and see if there are updates available from the manufacturers web site.
5. Same version problem with the XP laptops. There were quite a few updates to XP to fix various wireless issues. Right click on the "My Computah" icon and select "properties". Does it say XP, XP SP1, XP SP2, or XP SP3? You should be up to XP SP3. If not, update.

Incidentally, this has nothing to do with the current problem, but there are a few "hidden pages" in the F5D7630 setup:

No. I'm in New Zealand. Not sure about trying that update.

Wireless enabled Acer aspire one - brand new. Two older dell Inspirons - an

1150 and a 2650 both with airplus extreme cards DWL-G650. Have tried settin g up on each one with the other two turned off.

As above.

I type in the password (and again to confirm) then select connect.

Yes - tried with mac filtering disabled.

As I said I'm in NZ. My model does not have any country code in it. It is simply F57630-4A. I have found one F57630AU4A (Australia) which is possibly the update I want, but nothing happens when I try to download it from the site.

Driver on Acer is Atheros Date 20/5/08 version 7.6.0.224 No further updates.

Yes. All are SP3

How wonderfully refreshing to see the word 'problem' instead of that dreadful euphimism 'issue'. Well done.

Did you ever type in a pass phrase in the router? It wont matter how many times you type one in the laptops if it does not match whats in the router.

Adair

Belkin doesn't show a NZ site, but there's one for Australia.

The firmware version shows 1.08.03 but might be different from the US version. I'm not familiar with the politics, but methinks AU and NZ use the same wi-fi regulations. What firmware version are you currently using?

The DWL-G650 PCMCIA card comes with a rather awful connection manager. I had far too much entertainment value trying to use it. You might find it useful to update your driver or switch to using XP WZC. There are 3 hardware revisions (A, B, and C) of the DWL-G650 in addition to various mutations of the DWL-G650+ (a totally different card). Verify that you have the latest drivers installed.

That sounds like a WZC login. Microsoft is the only vendor that seems to think you need to type a WPA pass phrase twice on the client side. Sounds like you're doing it correctly and WPA should work.

Leave it disabled until we get WPA working.

It downloads just fine for me when I tried it from the AU site.

I have to guess on the chipset and/or wi-fi card, but that looks like it's current.

There's no obvious culprit here, but there are a few clues. The fact that NONE of the 3 laptops work with WPA imply that either:

1. Something is wrong with the Belkin router or setup.
2. You mistyped the WPA pass phrase. (Use cut-n-paste to be sure).
3. Perhaps another wireless access point setup with an identical configuration. Presumably, you assigned a unique SSID to the wireless router.

Methinks a firmware update to the Belkin is the most likely solution. Also verify that you are really setup for WPA-PSK and *NOT* WEP encryption. There are some real compatibility problems with WEP.

I don't see a problem or issue with using the word issue.

Yes same 8 alphanumeric in both. Have even tried different codes. (in both)

Whatever it decided in the first place - don't know version.

I have tried to connect various friends laptops which are known to worl on other connections. Same result - nothing happens after entering password.

If I change the Sdefault SID on the router, I cannot reconnect.

Definitely WPA PSK

I do. It seems to have replaced every second word in the language. Concerns, matters,situations, problems, difficulties and plenty more - all gone. (You're younger than me - I remember these words :-)

It's somewhere in the web based Belkin configuration for the router. It might be on the "status" page or perhaps the "firmware update" page. It might also be on the first page that appears. I don't have an emulator available to check which page.

Weird. However that pretty well limits the culprit to something on the router.

There's one issue that got me a few time. You indicated that you used

8 characters for the WPA pass phrase. That's the minimum and please note that an 8 character pass phrase can be recovered quite easily by a brute force attack. Conventional wisdom suggest 20 characters minimum (including spaces). The bug that got me was that some routers wouldn't work with exactly 8 characters in the pass phrase. It wasn't very consistent and unfortunately I don't recall the maker and model of the culprit. I don't think it was Belkin as I don't use many Belkin products. Try a longer pass phrase. Something like: nowisthetimeforallgoodmen Note that there are no spaces used. That's to prevent a brute force dictionary attack. I also makes it easier to type blindly into the client dialog box where all you see are asterisks.

Then don't try to reconnect. Start a *NEW* connection. Scan for wireless networks. It should find the new SSID name. Click on it and try to connect. It should ask for the pass phrase (twice). Do your best to type it in while cursing the moron at Microsoft that decided you don't need to echo characters and then have to do it twice.

Well, ok. Just checking. If it took 8 characters, it's definately WPA. WEP uses 5 or 13 ASCII characters or 10 or 26 Hex characters.

It's being used heavily because it implies that there is no culprit or assignment of blame. All the other terms assume that someone must be blamed in order to complete the job. The term "issue" does not seem to have this connotation.

Yeah sure. I'm 60.8 years old.

Have tried longer/different passwords.

Oh dear,wrong again. - I'm 60 this month.

I'm sure the answer is to update the firmware. The uk one states uk only. The Australian one has the different product code, but clicking on that link only refreshes the page anyway. I have emailed Belkin help option from that page ,but they don't bother replying.

Sigh. I'm rapidly running out of ideas. Methinks we're down to just the router itself.

Happy birthday. I'll guess you thought I was about 20 something based on my abrasive manner and lack of proof reading.

Works for me. If you're totally stuck, send me an email with your real email address, and I'll download and forward the AU version to you as an attachment.