Linksys Wireless Adapter Auto-Connect

I have a Linksys wireless adapter (WMP11) installed in a new Dell Dimension

3000 running Windows XP SP2.

I have my preferred network configured to auto-connect so that when I start my pc I'm automatically online.

The trouble is, most of the time the adapter does not connect automatically and I have to do it manually. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas as to why this option behaves so unreliably.

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna
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Try these: set infrastructure-only mode in adapter; set router/adapter to open key; broadcast SSID; remove all networks except yours from preferred networks; uncheck the box in the advanced properties "automatically connect to non-preferred networks"; change the channel; change the SSID. Also, use either WZC or the Linksys config utility but not both running simultaneously. Some have reported that running the wireless network setup utility twice or more will cure this problem.

Also, what signal level are you getting at the PC?

Q
Reply to
Quaoar

Q,

Thanks for the feedback, I will experiment with your suggestions. My signal strength always shows "Very Good".

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna

Q,

I'd also like to note that this pc has both an integrated nic card and a wireless adapter. I noticed a query in Linsys' kb regarding this and Linksys said the nic card should be disabled.

I was thinking about trying this one also, although the nic card is unplugged and I don't see why that should be a problem, any thoughts?

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna

Disable the ethernet simply to prevent annoyance from the "cable disconnected" error. It's pretty much standard practice in XP with wireless connections.

Reply to
Quaoar

Q,

I took the following actions:

Changed to infrastructure only mode in adapter Adapter was already set to open key, no change Left broadcast ssid disabled for security reasons My network is the only preferred network, no change "automatically connect to non-preferred networks" not checked, no change Didn't attempt to change the channel or ssid (not using the default ssid) Ran the linksys ez connect utility to diagnose problems, it identified an outdated driver and updated it. Disabled the nic card.

Result:

No improvement.

This is more of an annoyance as you can always connect manually and sometimes it autoconnects for a period of time. It's just puzzling as to what is causing this fickle behavior.

Thanks,

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna

There is no justifiable security in disabling SSID broadcasting. Some wireless cards simply will not connect reliably if SSID is not broadcast. You network is not invisible if SSID is not broadcast. Anyone with the interest in hacking your wireless will be able to determine the SSID with no effort whatsoever.

Q
Reply to
Quaoar

Q,

I'm not trying to say it makes it hack proof, but with broadcast ssid it sure makes it pretty darn easy, your pc shows you all available networks within range without even trying.

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna

So institute all of the available security features in the router: change default username and password; set a unique IP address (192.168.XY.Z); set up MAC address filtering; use strong encryption, WPA if possible; limit DHCP connections to the number required; turn off the protocol options the router supports, password protect your network drives. You don't even mention if your connection problems are mitigated by broadcasting SSID. Any interested 10 year old can find your SSID in an instant.

Q
Reply to
Quaoar

Q,

I'm over 10, but I'm interested in understanding how one discovers the ssid of a wireless network if it's not broadcast.

I'm going to enable ssid broadcast to see if this solves the autoconnect issue.

Thanks,

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna

Q,

Not sure if you're still following this thread, but I found that when I enabled broadcast ssid, my pc started autoconnecting as it should.

Thanks for all your input.

Rich

Reply to
Richard Mesagna

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