Wireless networking fault (resolved by microsoft at last)

[MixMaster]

Hi, sorry if this is a little off topic but I have the following wireless networking fault.

I have an ethernet line providing internet and other services that comes into a network switch. There are several machines wired into the switch as well as a wireless access point. The switch is configured as DHCP server and the wireless access point as DHCP client.

I have a laptop with a wireless card and it connects to the wireless access point. However the wireless connection between laptop and access point never seems to last more than a few minutres before giving up. It will connect fine, then detect that there is an internet connection, it will let me surf the web and then it stops and just dies on me. The longest connection time I have ever had is about three minutes even when the laptop and access point were within inches of each other so im fairly certain its not a signal fault. Someone suggested to me that WEP encryption can have a detrimental effect on the performance of wireless devices so i disabled WEP but I still get the same problem. It also occoured to me that there just might be other wireless networks in the area, i have tried a range of channels but it didnt help. I have even scanned for other wireless networks and there dont seem to be any. I have completely run out of ideas, any suggestions to how i could get this to work properly?

The switch is a linksys 8-port switch, the access point is a Sitecom 105b (11/54 support) and the card in the laptop is a linksys 11mbps card

[Allen Schoessler]

Have you tried plugging a corded computer into the switch? That would tell you if the problem is before or after the access point...

[darjay]

Are you running XP?

If so try stopping the Wireless Zero Configuration service after the network has connected and see if this helps....mine did a similar thing and this was the cause.

[MixMaster]

Ok, the fault is definietly with either the access point, the wireless card or my laptop, the machines that are wired into the switch are fine.

As with regards to stopping services, one of the svchost processes always seemed to get a larger than usualy share of cpu time before the connection gave up. if i kill it off before hand then the connection works fine. i'll have a look for the wireless zero configuration service, any idea what name it runs as?

[MixMaster]

Originally posted by darjay
Are you running XP?

If so try stopping the Wireless Zero Configuration service after the network has connected and see if this helps....mine did a similar thing and this was the cause.

I am running XP, I did what you said and it seemed to fix it. Its annoying to have to do this everytime I want to use the wireless (which will be fairly often now that it actually works) - Did you ever find a more permenant fix? I wonder if Microsoft ever realeased a patch for it, i'll have a look.

Thanks for the tip anyway

Tim

[darjay]

If you are running XP, the service is listed in the Services control panel as

'Wireless Zero Configuration service'

so just stop it manually.

Not sure what it runs under in processes/tasks though...

[darjay]

Sorry, didn't see your second reply before writing my first!

I got around the problem by buying a wireless bridge, plugging it into a switch then plugging my PC into the switch...expensive but less hassle.

There are apparently other applications that replace the Wireless configuration service so you can disable the windows service completely but I haven't found any myself.

Check with the manufacturer of your network card and see if they have something available....I know my old Netgear was supposed to come with a utility but I couldn't find it anywhere.

All the best
Darren

[MixMaster]

Since I upgraded to service pack two I havent noticed this problem appearing anymore. Maybe they fixed it