Wireless Network Help

[VCDHunter]

My old neighbour has a BT Wireless connection that has 2 PCs connected to it, one by USB the other by wireless. The USB connection works fine but I could not get the wireless to access the internet at all. the wireless PC won't even ping the router. I tried turning off encryption and the firewall to see if this would impact it but no. What steps can I take to try and get this bloody thing working ? I've done this before with my wireless router and it worked perfectly.

[tekkieman]

Is the router broadcasting the SSID? When starting the wireless pc, does it see a SSID that it can join? Can you enter the SSID on the wireless directly?

[ViRaL1]

Check to see if any encryption is setup on the router. If it is, make sure you use the same settings on the adapter. As tekkie said, it might help to broadcast the SSID if you can't connect by setting the SSID on the adapter. Sometimes you can do it without broadcasting and I try to avoid broadcasting whenever possible. Sometimes though, you have no choice.

[VCDHunter]

Is the router broadcasting the SSID? When starting the wireless pc, does it see a SSID that it can join? Can you enter the SSID on the wireless directly?

Yes the router is broadcasting the SSID but I can't see how I join it from the wireless. It's been allocated the right IP (192.168.1.66 for wireless / 192.168.1.65 for the 1st PC) which I take to believe means its contacted the router but IE simply displays the Technical Difficulties page.

[VCDHunter]

Check to see if any encryption is setup on the router. If it is, make sure you use the same settings on the adapter. As tekkie said, it might help to broadcast the SSID if you can't connect by setting the SSID on the adapter. Sometimes you can do it without broadcasting and I try to avoid broadcasting whenever possible. Sometimes though, you have no choice.

I've turned off encryption and the firewall.

[ViRaL1]

What OS are they running?

[tekkieman]

Yes the router is broadcasting the SSID... It's been allocated the right IP (192.168.1.66 for wireless ) which I take to believe means its contacted the router but IE simply displays the Technical Difficulties page.

If the IP has been provided from the DHCP server on the router (and not manually entered), then the wireless is seeing the router fine. If we take IE out of the equation, you said that you cannot ping the router (it should be at 192.168.1.1). That is a problem. Can you ping the IP of the other computer (192.168.1.65 by your post)?

[VCDHunter]

Yes the router is broadcasting the SSID... It's been allocated the right IP (192.168.1.66 for wireless ) which I take to believe means its contacted the router but IE simply displays the Technical Difficulties page.

If the IP has been provided from the DHCP server on the router (and not manually entered), then the wireless is seeing the router fine. If we take IE out of the equation, you said that you cannot ping the router (it should be at 192.168.1.1). That is a problem. Can you ping the IP of the other computer (192.168.1.65 by your post)?

1st PC (connected to router with ethernet) 192.168.1.65
2nd PC (Connected via wireless) 192.168.1.66
Router 192.168.1.254 (Weird IP I know, don't ask me why)

Neither 65 or 66 wil ping each other, but 65 will ping 254, 66 will not.

[VCDHunter]

What OS are they running?

XP home (SP2) with all the stupid teletubbies settings turned on, that and a crap mouse meant it was like trying to use windows wearing boxing gloves.

[tekkieman]

Do they both have the same workgroup name?

[VCDHunter]

Do they both have the same workgroup name?

AFAIK they are both called MSHOME.

I think the problem lies with some 3rd party wireless software, when I set up my wireless network I simply plugged in the wireless card and windoze did the rest.

I installed my wireless router (BT Voyager) yesterday with my new Pipex service yesterday by simply changing the username and password on the router and hey presto instant ADSL, no stupid installation CDs.

I also attempted to use the install CD of my neighbours to setup the wireless PC as it has the option there, but it fails when connecting to the router - says can't connect or something like that. Surely XP can do this ? I really don't need 3rd party software do I ?

I also noted that the Belkin Wireless card has some setting called 2WIRE761 on channel 6 - but I've no idea what that is.

[tekkieman]

It could be picking up a nearby wireless. Is the wireless you're on set to the same channel as the router? If the IP is getting assigned, I would think so, but it never hurts to make sure.

Some wireless manufacturers claim that XP wireless is faulty, and you should use their setup disc. I have had issues with XP wireless on a Netgear USB, and used their app to get it working. That computer is still on SP1, so the problem might be corrected in SP2.

[ViRaL1]

If the router is .254 it's might be a 2-Wire router. I think by default they have encryption setup. The key is the S/N on the bottom of the router. Give that a shot.

[VCDHunter]

IIRC its on the same channel (6) and is also on 2WIRE761. As you say its being assigned an IP one up from the other PC but I can't ping the router.

I have a wireless card for my mums laptop which I may borrow 2morrow and pop along with that and see if I can hop onto the network.

I ******* hate dealing with other peoples PC problems.

[VCDHunter]

If the router is .254 it's might be a 2-Wire router. I think by default they have encryption setup. The key is the S/N on the bottom of the router. Give that a shot.

They did have encryption on but I disabled it. The S/N thingy on the bottom sounds familiar but shouldn't really make any difference if I have disabled it on the router should it ?

[ViRaL1]

If the router is .254 it's might be a 2-Wire router. I think by default they have encryption setup. The key is the S/N on the bottom of the router. Give that a shot.

They did have encryption on but I disabled it. The S/N thingy on the bottom sounds familiar but shouldn't really make any difference if I have disabled it on the router should it ?

No, not if it's disabled. Try removing the entries for both in the DHCP table and then just connecting the one that's not working to see if it picks up the .65 address. If it does then it's more than likely NOT a hardware issue.

[gummyAvenger]

Can you ping a website such as google.com?

Could be a number of things, but if you can see the wireless network but can't connect to it, chances are your router is broadcasting G-only, and your PC has a B card in it.

[VCDHunter]

Can you ping a website such as google.com?

Couldn't even ping the router - didn't even try a website. Main problem is it's not my setup or equip and I'm doing it as a favour so I can't really **** about to much with it in case it all goes tits up

chances are your router is broadcasting G-only, and your PC has a B card in it.

I don't know too much about this fella, could you explain ?

[p_l]

Updating the firmware helped me solve connection problems when I installed my Belkin.

http://web.belkin.com/support/

And if all else fails, there's the reset button. Sometimes starting from scratch is the quickest and simplest solution.

[gummyAvenger]

chances are your router is broadcasting G-only, and your PC has a B card in it.

I don't know too much about this fella, could you explain ?

2 of the main wireless broadcasting formats are 802.11g and 802.11b. 802.11g is newer and runs at 54 Mbps; 802.11b is older than G and runs at 11Mbps. All G cards can read both a G and a B signal. B cards can only read a B signal. Some B/G routers default to broadcasting G only. Depending on the router, the this might be because it can't broadcast as fast when it's broadcasting both G and B. So, if your router is broadcasting a G signal, but your PC has a B card in it, your PC may be able to see the G signal, but it won't be able to connect to it. If that's the case, you'll need to see if you can set the router to broadcast G and B at the same time.

I hope that all made sense

[VCDHunter]

Yes thanks. I'm begginging to regret agreeing to this now.

[VCDHunter]

2 of the main wireless broadcasting formats are 802.11g and 802.11b. 802.11g is newer and runs at 54 Mbps; 802.11b is older than G and runs at 11Mbps. All G cards can read both a G and a B signal. B cards can only read a B signal. Some B/G routers default to broadcasting G only. Depending on the router, the this might be because it can't broadcast as fast when it's broadcasting both G and B. So, if your router is broadcasting a G signal, but your PC has a B card in it, your PC may be able to see the G signal, but it won't be able to connect to it. If that's the case, you'll need to see if you can set the router to broadcast G and B at the same time.

I hope that all made sense

The router is G and I seem to recall the Belkin USB Wireless thingy is broadcasting at 54Mbps - which makes them both G. Shit I thought I had it then. I'm going to pop down tonight and try resetting the router. The only other option I have is to uninstall the lot and setup from scratch.