HELP: turned on WEP, and range plumetted

also i should say I have long preamble turned on. 128 bit encryption (i'm tying in the passphrase on each computer, channel 6).

computer A: g adapter works fine.

computer B: same adapter doesn't connect. I can ping google.com, and out of 4 packets sent only about 3 come back. However the icon in the tray (the wireless icon in XP) says signal strength: Good. I check in the netgear wireless utility and I'm getting 36-48 Mbps, signal strength of 88 (not 100 like computer A though). its not the 54 Mbps I'm getting on computer A, but its not terrible either. What gives?

What can I get for computer B to see 100% signal strength. I should add, its in the basement and the wireless router is on the 1st floor :)

Have you tried 40-bit just for grins? What if computer B were a little too slow to de-crypt 128-bit at full speed? I have a 233Mhz laptop that I carry around the house. It takes about 5 minutes to establish it's connection and then runs fine. (using 40-bit). I suspect it takes that long to connect while it works out the decryption, but I can't figure out why. Bottom line: I have seen behavior like this too. Once you enable WEP, it acts like the range is less.

Yes, enable WEP and it acts like the range is less... thanks for verifying that for me. I can try 40 but I've heard 40 is basically a waste, might as well not use WEP at all :) I'm thinking of buying a repeater perhaps and putting it 20' from the base transmitter, to give the signal a boost. I wish these netgear antennas were more robust. Its just this little dingy thing...

Some people exaggerate.