Taking a moment's reflection, Gordon mused: | | The setup works very well except I can not set the SSID Broadcast | to Disabled. That is, when I do set it to Disabled, desktop | computer #2 goes blind and deaf. It drops the connection, then | can't find the gateway, and obviously, it can not connect to the | internet. The primary desktop and the notebook don't have a | problem with this, just the second desktop computer.
Disabling SSID Broadcast, while commonly touted as a security measure, is actually outside of the specification set forth in 802.11x ... therefore it can (and often does) break functionality of many network cards. Therefore SSID Broadcast should be left enabled.
Regarding its use as a security measure, there is no security benefit. Use WEP, but use WPA if you have it. Those with the ability to sniff WEP keys and potentially crack your security will be able to also detect your SSID whether you are broadcasting it or not ... same as your MAC addresses.
Also, disabling it can create unintended consequences as well. For example, your neighbours will not know that there is already a wireless network on the channel you are already using. So, they may set their network up on that channel as well ... assuming it is clear (since no networks show up). If they also hide their SSID, then you (and they) will have no idea why your connections are being dropped and throughput is terrible.
Leave SSID on, and enable WPA-PSK (or WEP if that's all you have).