No communication between wireless NIC and AP

[aznluvsmc]

Hi,

I have an SMC 802.11b wirless card with latest drivers installed on my laptop running Windows XP. My home is currently using a Linksys B router with the latest firmware.

I've set the SSID broadcast to disable and WEP to disable also. The problem is that my card cannot communicate with the AP after receiving DHCP configuration. By communicate, I mean the card cannot ping the router as it just times out therefore I cannot get on the net. I cannot access the router configuration windows through I/E either. Signal strength says Excellent.

I have two other laptops running an integrated LAN Express 802.11b wireless NIC and they can communicate with the AP just fine. I know the card works on my other laptop which is running Windows 2000.

I think the problem is directly related to running it on Windows XP. Anyone have any ideas?

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[aznluvsmc]

Just to clear things up. I have 4 laptops at home. The two laptops that can communicate are identical Compaq 2180CAs running Windows XP Pro. The laptop with the problem is a Compaq 2170CA running Windows XP Pro. The laptop that the card works on is a Toshiba Satellite 2230CDS running Windows 2000 Pro.

Hope that helps.

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[Philly44]

I would defintely check SMC and/or Linksys's websites support sections about this. XP is known to have wierd wireless issues. If its not that there may be compatibility issue(you would think the 802.11 standads would eliminate that but you never know)

 

[aznluvsmc]

I've checked both knowledge bases and have turned up nothing. I know XP has wireless quirks so hopefully SP2 will have fixed it.

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[cdogg]

The wireless card uses a software utility where you can enter network information/settings right?

If so, make sure you have the correct SSID name listed. Also, try releasing/renewing your IP address.

If that doesn't solve it, write down the MAC address of the card and go to one of the working PC's to enter the router config. Try to hardcode the MAC address of the wireless card into the Wireless config.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[aznluvsmc]

I have the correct SSID in there. Note that the NIC has received an IP address from the AP alredy so they are on the same network. Releasing and renewing doesn't solve anything as I've tried thousands of times.

I have a MAC table filter setup which only allows pre-defined MAC addresses to connect. I have double checked to make sure I typed the MAC address of the card correctly. Remember, the card works on Windows 2000.

I read on Linksys' site that the problem is due to an RTS threshold setting. I followed their instructions on lowering it but that also didn't help.

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[cdogg]

Out of curiosity, do you have any firewalls installed? If do disable them - including the WinXP firewall (right-click the entry under Network Connections and go to Properties). The reason for my suspicion here is the fact that you can receive a valid IP from the router, but cannot pint the router itself.

I know there are some quirks in XP with wireless, but I've set up several Netgear, D-Link, and Linksys cards up in XP with no issues.


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[aznluvsmc]

No firewall what-so-ever. I will try installing Windows XP on the working Toshiba laptop to see if it's a problem directly related to the OS.

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[franklin97355]

Have you asked this question in the ethernet or XP forums? From what you say this doesn't sound like a hardware issue.

 

[cdogg]

aznluvsmc,

Yes, for future reference you might want to post in a networking forum such as forum916.

However, I'll just emphasize that XP's built-in firewall is activated by default on some systems. Definitely make sure it's not enabled. Other than that, I doubt you need to go through the trouble of installing XP on a working PC just as a test - we're pretty sure it's a setting in the OS causing the problem. Installing it on another workstation isn't going to prove or disprove anything (since settings can be different).


~cdogg
[tab]"All paid jobs absorb and degrade the mind";
[tab][tab]- Aristotle
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[aznluvsmc]

Thanks, didn't realize there was a Linksys forum.

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[aznluvsmc]

Ok, I finally found what the problem is but a solution to it has not yet been found.

The problem is that my Compaq laptop uses an o2Micro oz6912 Cardbus controller. This controller for some reason doesn't conform properly to the Cardbus standard therefore causing some problems. I've researched this topic on the net and there are many people who are experiencing this.

I maybe sending an e-mail to o2Micro tomorrow to inquire about this. From what I understand, Linux will not install on the laptops due to this Cardbus issue also. I was planning to put Linux on one of the machines later so now I will have to get it working first.

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[franklin97355]

If the card is built into the laptop (not a PCMCIA card) get your drivers from Compaq. They muck with their drivers and mostly are not stock.

 

[aznluvsmc]

The SMC NIC is a 32-bit PCMCIA Cardbus card.

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