Hello. Please allow me to ask a question. I am very puzzled. Perhaps some of you could shed some light on my current situation.
Scenario: Windows XP Pro with Netgear WG111 USB 2.0 wireless(wifi) adapter. Drivers and applications installed from latest zip file from netgear (wg111_2_1.zip). Native netgear apps not running at all, instead I am using Windows XP's capabilities to manage my wifi network which consist of an ad hoc network with desktop as host and a laptop as the client. I am using Win XP's Internet Connection Sharing (and its DHCP capabilities).
The ad hoc network runs at 11 mpbs (802.11b) and has a wep key.
For 2 weeks everything works fine. Win XP assigns an IP address to the laptop everytime it connects to the ad hoc network, and I can use my broadband internet connection from my laptop. All is good. Getting great range and data transfer rate is great when streaming music from the host desktop.
Then for what seems like totally out of the blue, Win XP does NOT assign an IP address to my laptop anymore. The laptop connects to the ad hoc network, but hangs on 'acquiring IP address' or something like that, and finally times out and gets a default IP address. If I run ipconfig /renew in a command window on the laptop, I get the message that the DHCP server cannot be reached.
Any ideas? Why would Win XP DHCP suddenly stop working after 2 weeks or so?
Please note that if I manually assign an IP address to the laptop, then all is good again. I can see the host and transfer files etc. Since I have other wifi networks at work, I would like to use Win XP's DHCP again at home because I do not want to have to assign and unassign IP addresses all the time (DHCP at work, then manually at home etc.).
Thank you in advance. CHEERS!