Can't add another computer

I have had a small Wireless network with two computers and a
wireless-capable printer plus a Gateway Linksys ADSL Modem. After it crashed
for some reason, I had great difficulty starting again but with a great deal
of patient help from Lem and Jack finally got the Network going, connecting
the Home Computer (Otto) with the Internet via the gateway.

I am now trying to connect the second computer (Dolly) to the network. (It
was previously connected.) It is also a Dell Dimension, this time with a
Netgear Wireless PCI Adapter WG311 v.3. Both computers have WindowsXP with
SP2.

Using the Wizard I say that I want to add a computer to the WIHOME network,
get the screen telling me to plug in a Flash drive. Do this and it appears
to transfer the settings. I cannot do the next step of plugging it into the
Access Point, since the Linksys does not have a USB port, but this appears
hardly necessary since the Access point has all the settings and is working
fine, signal strength excellent.

I go to the other computer, plug in the Flash drive. It asks if I want to
use the Wizard and in a very short time reports that Dolly has been added to
the WIHOME network. But when the list of available networks pops up, WIHOME
is not on it. If I refresh the list, WIHOME appears, but when I try to
connect, it first asks for the security password (WPA-2P). I put that in
manually and it tries to connect but finally gives up - cannot connect. I
return to Otto, plug in the Flash drive and click NEXT. It reports that
there are now two computers on WIHOME - Otto and Dolly. But I find I have
lost Otto's network connection (red cross). I go to Properties Wireless
Connections and find two WIHOME AND WIHOME-2. I delete WIHOME-2 and try the
authentication for WIHOME, only to find it has gone back to Open instead of
WPA-2P. Correct this and try again to connect. Does not work. I right
click on WIHOME and select repair. After a while - Bingo - I am connected
again.

I am sorry to be so long-winded but there are often complaints of
insufficient information. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong ?

Stuart

Hi
All Network setting and configuration can easily set manually.
Assigning the Network and computer name can be done here,
http://www.ezlan.net/network/net-name.jpg
If one time attempt to use the wizard does not yield positive result it is
better to leave it alone and configure manually.
This page describe how to debug the Network the same places can be used for
setup. http://www.ezlan.net/debug.html
This serious of pages describe how to set WinXP Home same principle applies
to WinXP Pro
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"Stuart Grant" <sagranatbluewin.ch> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have had a small Wireless network with two computers and a
>wireless-capable printer plus a Gateway Linksys ADSL Modem. After it
>crashed for some reason, I had great difficulty starting again but with a
>great deal of patient help from Lem and Jack finally got the Network going,
>connecting the Home Computer (Otto) with the Internet via the gateway.
>
> I am now trying to connect the second computer (Dolly) to the network.
> (It was previously connected.) It is also a Dell Dimension, this time
> with a Netgear Wireless PCI Adapter WG311 v.3. Both computers have
> WindowsXP with SP2.
>
> Using the Wizard I say that I want to add a computer to the WIHOME
> network, get the screen telling me to plug in a Flash drive. Do this and
> it appears to transfer the settings. I cannot do the next step of
> plugging it into the Access Point, since the Linksys does not have a USB
> port, but this appears hardly necessary since the Access point has all the
> settings and is working fine, signal strength excellent.
>
> I go to the other computer, plug in the Flash drive. It asks if I want to
> use the Wizard and in a very short time reports that Dolly has been added
> to the WIHOME network. But when the list of available networks pops up,
> WIHOME is not on it. If I refresh the list, WIHOME appears, but when I
> try to connect, it first asks for the security password (WPA-2P). I put
> that in manually and it tries to connect but finally gives up - cannot
> connect. I return to Otto, plug in the Flash drive and click NEXT. It
> reports that there are now two computers on WIHOME - Otto and Dolly. But
> I find I have lost Otto's network connection (red cross). I go to
> Properties Wireless Connections and find two WIHOME AND WIHOME-2. I
> delete WIHOME-2 and try the authentication for WIHOME, only to find it has
> gone back to Open instead of WPA-2P. Correct this and try again to
> connect. Does not work. I right click on WIHOME and select repair.
> After a while - Bingo - I am connected again.
>
> I am sorry to be so long-winded but there are often complaints of
> insufficient information. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong ?
>
> Stuart
>
>

Jack
Thank you for jumping in again.
I checked the Computer Name and Network Name on both computers. Both are
correct.
I went to http://www.ezlan.net/debug.html and tried to follow the steps.

1. http://www.ezlan.net/faq#ghost gives error http 404 - page not available
2. http://www.ezlan.net/example/dm_ok.jpg seems OK. It shows the Netgear
card (no red cross)
3. http://www.ezlan.net/example/nets.jpg looks as expected BUT "not
connected" instead of "connected".
4. http://www.ezlan.net/example/tcp.jpg looks fine. Set to obtain an IP
Address and DNS automatically
5. http://www.ezlan.net/clean#refresh.net gives again error http 404 page
not available.

I just can't get connected although both computers say dolly has joined the
WIHOME network

Stuart


"Jack (MVP-Networking)." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%23$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi
> All Network setting and configuration can easily set manually.
> Assigning the Network and computer name can be done here,
> http://www.ezlan.net/network/net-name.jpg
> If one time attempt to use the wizard does not yield positive result it is
> better to leave it alone and configure manually.
> This page describe how to debug the Network the same places can be used
> for setup. http://www.ezlan.net/debug.html
> This serious of pages describe how to set WinXP Home same principle
> applies to WinXP Pro
> Jack (MVP-Networking).
>

Hi
Sorry for the none-functional links, my web hosting moved my server and I am
in a process of recovering.
It Should be, http://www.ezlan.net/faq.html#ghost and
http://www.ezlan.net/clean.html#refresh.net
In any case it seems that the computer is on the Network and you need to
configure the Sharing.
May be this can Help.
Successful Sharing involves some general consideration in Network
settings,http://www.ezlan.net/sharing.html
As well as specific adjustment of each computer according to what it is
allowed to be shared.
Vista File and Printer Sharing-
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/net.../vista_fp.mspx
Basic XP -
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...lesharing.mspx
Advanced XP - http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
Printer Sharing XP -
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...utt_july2.mspx
Windows Native Firewall setting for Sharing XP -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357
Windows XP patch for Sharing with Vista -
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120
Jack (MVP-Networking).

"Stuart Grant" <sagranatbluewin.ch> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have had a small Wireless network with two computers and a
>wireless-capable printer plus a Gateway Linksys ADSL Modem. After it
>crashed for some reason, I had great difficulty starting again but with a
>great deal of patient help from Lem and Jack finally got the Network going,
>connecting the Home Computer (Otto) with the Internet via the gateway.
>
> I am now trying to connect the second computer (Dolly) to the network.
> (It was previously connected.) It is also a Dell Dimension, this time
> with a Netgear Wireless PCI Adapter WG311 v.3. Both computers have
> WindowsXP with SP2.
>
> Using the Wizard I say that I want to add a computer to the WIHOME
> network, get the screen telling me to plug in a Flash drive. Do this and
> it appears to transfer the settings. I cannot do the next step of
> plugging it into the Access Point, since the Linksys does not have a USB
> port, but this appears hardly necessary since the Access point has all the
> settings and is working fine, signal strength excellent.
>
> I go to the other computer, plug in the Flash drive. It asks if I want to
> use the Wizard and in a very short time reports that Dolly has been added
> to the WIHOME network. But when the list of available networks pops up,
> WIHOME is not on it. If I refresh the list, WIHOME appears, but when I
> try to connect, it first asks for the security password (WPA-2P). I put
> that in manually and it tries to connect but finally gives up - cannot
> connect. I return to Otto, plug in the Flash drive and click NEXT. It
> reports that there are now two computers on WIHOME - Otto and Dolly. But
> I find I have lost Otto's network connection (red cross). I go to
> Properties Wireless Connections and find two WIHOME AND WIHOME-2. I
> delete WIHOME-2 and try the authentication for WIHOME, only to find it has
> gone back to Open instead of WPA-2P. Correct this and try again to
> connect. Does not work. I right click on WIHOME and select repair.
> After a while - Bingo - I am connected again.
>
> I am sorry to be so long-winded but there are often complaints of
> insufficient information. Can anyone tell me what I am doing wrong ?
>
> Stuart
>
>

Jack
Thanks for your further help.
I have been through all of the links in your message and all of the links in
the links which seemed applicable but have not got any further.
I am not sure that sharing can be the problem but I had already made all of
the drives on Dolly shared since there is little or no confidential
information on this computer.
I think the problem is that Dolly is NOT on the Network, despite the
Installation Wizard saying that it had been added to the WIHOME Network and
despite Otto reporting that the computers on the Network are Otto and
Dolly. The Drives on Dolly do not show on My Network Places on Otto and on
Dolly, My Network places is blank.
Dolly keeps trying to connect and the Netgear card shows continually
scanning but cannot connect.

From your earlier message I saw a mention of possible Winsock problems. I
know nothing about Winsock but came across a link in one of the documents
linked to your latest message regarding Winsock and found a file
WinsockfixXP.exe, which I downloaded. Before you press "Fix", it asks if
you want to back up the Registry. I thought this might be safer , but when
I tried to back it up to E:\RegBackup, I got an error message " Cannot back
up to E:\regbackup\Security!".

Do you think there is something wrong with the Registry which could be
causing my problems ? I have recently uninstalled and deleted quite a lot
of programs on this machine, which are no longer required.

Would appreciate any further advice.

Stuart

"Jack (MVP-Networking)." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi
> Sorry for the none-functional links, my web hosting moved my server and I
> am in a process of recovering.
> It Should be, http://www.ezlan.net/faq.html#ghost and
> http://www.ezlan.net/clean.html#refresh.net
> In any case it seems that the computer is on the Network and you need to
> configure the Sharing.
> May be this can Help.
> Successful Sharing involves some general consideration in Network
> settings,http://www.ezlan.net/sharing.html
> As well as specific adjustment of each computer according to what it is
> allowed to be shared.
> Vista File and Printer Sharing-
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/net.../vista_fp.mspx
> Basic XP -
> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...lesharing.mspx
> Advanced XP -
> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
> Printer Sharing XP -
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...utt_july2.mspx
> Windows Native Firewall setting for Sharing XP -
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357
> Windows XP patch for Sharing with Vista -
> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120
> Jack (MVP-Networking).
>

Stuart,
I haven't been following your most recent posts, but with respect to
backing up the registry (always a good idea before you start messing
around with it), use ERUNT. It's better than the MS utilities.
http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/

Stuart Grant wrote:
> Jack
> Thanks for your further help.
> I have been through all of the links in your message and all of the links in
> the links which seemed applicable but have not got any further.
> I am not sure that sharing can be the problem but I had already made all of
> the drives on Dolly shared since there is little or no confidential
> information on this computer.
> I think the problem is that Dolly is NOT on the Network, despite the
> Installation Wizard saying that it had been added to the WIHOME Network and
> despite Otto reporting that the computers on the Network are Otto and
> Dolly. The Drives on Dolly do not show on My Network Places on Otto and on
> Dolly, My Network places is blank.
> Dolly keeps trying to connect and the Netgear card shows continually
> scanning but cannot connect.
>
> From your earlier message I saw a mention of possible Winsock problems. I
> know nothing about Winsock but came across a link in one of the documents
> linked to your latest message regarding Winsock and found a file
> WinsockfixXP.exe, which I downloaded. Before you press "Fix", it asks if
> you want to back up the Registry. I thought this might be safer , but when
> I tried to back it up to E:\RegBackup, I got an error message " Cannot back
> up to E:\regbackup\Security!".
>
> Do you think there is something wrong with the Registry which could be
> causing my problems ? I have recently uninstalled and deleted quite a lot
> of programs on this machine, which are no longer required.
>
> Would appreciate any further advice.
>
> Stuart
>
> "Jack (MVP-Networking)." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hi
>> Sorry for the none-functional links, my web hosting moved my server and I
>> am in a process of recovering.
>> It Should be, http://www.ezlan.net/faq.html#ghost and
>> http://www.ezlan.net/clean.html#refresh.net
>> In any case it seems that the computer is on the Network and you need to
>> configure the Sharing.
>> May be this can Help.
>> Successful Sharing involves some general consideration in Network
>> settings,http://www.ezlan.net/sharing.html
>> As well as specific adjustment of each computer according to what it is
>> allowed to be shared.
>> Vista File and Printer Sharing-
>> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/net.../vista_fp.mspx
>> Basic XP -
>> http://www.microsoft.com/technet/pro...lesharing.mspx
>> Advanced XP -
>> http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;304040
>> Printer Sharing XP -
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...utt_july2.mspx
>> Windows Native Firewall setting for Sharing XP -
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875357
>> Windows XP patch for Sharing with Vista -
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922120
>> Jack (MVP-Networking).
>>
>
>


--
Lem MS MVP -- Networking

To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer

Lem
Thank you Will do.
Stuart
"Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:O$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Stuart,
> I haven't been following your most recent posts, but with respect to
> backing up the registry (always a good idea before you start messing
> around with it), use ERUNT. It's better than the MS utilities.
> http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
>

Thanks again for the tip about ERUNT. It is a super program and very, very
well documented. I downloaded it and have used it on both computers.

The bad news is that it did not help to solve my problem. I found a program
winsockxpfix.exe on one of the links Jack gave me and thought that might be
the problem, but I did not want to use it until I had backed up the registry
because it does make changes there. Alas winsockxpfix.exe did not help.

I still do not understand. When I boot up the second computer, Dolly, It
reports "Wireless networks within range", but when I click to see them -
WIHOME does not show up, only four others in the neighbourhood ! WIHOME
shows in My Network Connections. The authentication is correct but I cannot
repair it. "Cannot connect to the network" And it used to work !

Stuart

"Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:O$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Stuart,
> I haven't been following your most recent posts, but with respect to
> backing up the registry (always a good idea before you start messing
> around with it), use ERUNT. It's better than the MS utilities.
> http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
>

Stuart Grant wrote:
> Thanks again for the tip about ERUNT. It is a super program and very, very
> well documented. I downloaded it and have used it on both computers.
>
> The bad news is that it did not help to solve my problem. I found a program
> winsockxpfix.exe on one of the links Jack gave me and thought that might be
> the problem, but I did not want to use it until I had backed up the registry
> because it does make changes there. Alas winsockxpfix.exe did not help.
>
> I still do not understand. When I boot up the second computer, Dolly, It
> reports "Wireless networks within range", but when I click to see them -
> WIHOME does not show up, only four others in the neighbourhood ! WIHOME
> shows in My Network Connections. The authentication is correct but I cannot
> repair it. "Cannot connect to the network" And it used to work !
>
> Stuart
>
> "Lem" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:O$(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Stuart,
>> I haven't been following your most recent posts, but with respect to
>> backing up the registry (always a good idea before you start messing
>> around with it), use ERUNT. It's better than the MS utilities.
>> http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/
>>
>
>

Stuart,

As I wrote yesterday, I wasn't following your saga closely, and so I'm
not sure why you wanted to try winsockxpfix. If there is a reason to
suspect corruption in the LSP/Winsock layer of your network software,
there are a number of fixes to try. See this page from MS-MVP Chuck:
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/search?q=lspfix

On the other hand, your issue seems different. If you have a true
networking problem, then this interactive troubleshooter from MS-MVP
Hans Georg Michna may help: http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm

I apologize if I'm repeating things you may have already tried; I
haven't been keeping track.

Have you made sure that you are using only Windows to configure your
wireless network connection, and not also a utility provided by Netgear
or Dell? Jack has info re this at http://www.ezlan.net/wzc.html

Assuming that there is no Netgear or Dell wireless configuration utility
running, go to the Properties of your wireless adapter and REMOVE all of
the "Preferred networks"
http://www.screenshots.modemhelp.net...ks/Index.shtml

Click the "View wireless networks" button. You should see:
http://www.screenshots.modemhelp.net...ks/Index.shtml
Does WIHOME appear on the list? After you "refresh"? Does it indicate
secured or unsecured? What else does it say?

If WIHOME did appear, what happens when you try to connect (step by step)?

If WIHOME did not appear, make certain that you enabled SSID broadcast
in your router. Connect to the router using an Ethernet cable (from
either computer) and access its configuration utility. Get to the basic
wireless setup page (where you set WIHOME as the SSID). Is the button
to enable SSID broadcast selected?

I forget. Is your other computer (OTTO) connected to the router wired
or wireless?

--
Lem MS MVP -- Networking

To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer

Lem
Appreciate your jumping in again and your patient help.
To go through your points in order.
1. I had no particular reason to suspect corruption in the LSP/Winsock
layer, just saw the possibility in one of Jack's links. Tried the fix and
have gone through Chuck's page as you suggested. It did not bring any clues
2. .I tried Hans Georg michna's troubleshooter but that did not lead to any
solution either, although you could spend weeks following the many, many
links to possible causes.
3. I had ticked the box to use Windows to configure the wireless network
connection and I am pretty sure that I ticked the box in the Netgear
installation instructions to use Windows. To make quite sure, I just
uninstalled the Netgear card and reinstalled it picking the Use Windows
option (not recommended !). Still no joy.
4. I went to the properties of the wireless connection and removed the only
preferred Network WIHOME, clicked the "View Wireless Networks" button.
WIHOME was not on the list, only three or four neighbouring networks I have
seen before. After I refreshed with F5, WIHOME appeared on the list at the
top. The indication was "Secured", nothing else in particular. I clicked
Connect and the window appeared "Trying to connect to WIHOME finally said it
couldn't connect, The list of available Wireless Networks refreshed itself
and appeared without WIHOME.
5. "Enable SSID Broadcast" is enabled on the router and this computer and my
printer are connected wirelessly. Have checked it again.
6. Otto was connected with an Ethernet cable but is now connected
wirelessly - no problems.
7. When I first had trouble I e-mailed Linksys Support for help. There was
no response for 13 days ! In the meantime I had asked for help in this
group and you and Jack straightened me out and got Otto working and able to
connect to the Internet wirelessly. I told Linksys support that you had
helped me solve the problem but I was still having trouble connecting Dolly
and they came back and said I should upgrade the Firmware. I did this
yesterday, with some difficulty, and they asked me not to do a final Reset
without telling them first how the update had gone. I did this yesterday
but no reply 24 hours later. Since I wanted to get on, make the necessary
trials and answer YOUR questions, I reset the router today. Had to reinsert
all the settings but in the end the network is working again satisfactorily
for Otto with the updated firmware.

It is a long story and I appreciate your help and patience. I am wondering
if the problem is with the Netgear card in Dolly but as mentioned above, I
have uninstalled it and reinstalled it. It still shows IP Address 0.0.0.0
and doesn't connect.

If you have any other suggestions I would be extremely grateful.

Stuart.


>
> Stuart,
>
> As I wrote yesterday, I wasn't following your saga closely, and so I'm not
> sure why you wanted to try winsockxpfix. If there is a reason to suspect
> corruption in the LSP/Winsock layer of your network software, there are a
> number of fixes to try. See this page from MS-MVP Chuck:
> http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/search?q=lspfix
>
> On the other hand, your issue seems different. If you have a true
> networking problem, then this interactive troubleshooter from MS-MVP Hans
> Georg Michna may help: http://winhlp.com/wxnet.htm
>
> I apologize if I'm repeating things you may have already tried; I haven't
> been keeping track.
>
> Have you made sure that you are using only Windows to configure your
> wireless network connection, and not also a utility provided by Netgear or
> Dell? Jack has info re this at http://www.ezlan.net/wzc.html
>
> Assuming that there is no Netgear or Dell wireless configuration utility
> running, go to the Properties of your wireless adapter and REMOVE all of
> the "Preferred networks"
> http://www.screenshots.modemhelp.net...ks/Index.shtml
>
> Click the "View wireless networks" button. You should see:
> http://www.screenshots.modemhelp.net...ks/Index.shtml
> Does WIHOME appear on the list? After you "refresh"? Does it indicate
> secured or unsecured? What else does it say?
>
> If WIHOME did appear, what happens when you try to connect (step by step)?
>
> If WIHOME did not appear, make certain that you enabled SSID broadcast in
> your router. Connect to the router using an Ethernet cable (from either
> computer) and access its configuration utility. Get to the basic wireless
> setup page (where you set WIHOME as the SSID). Is the button to enable
> SSID broadcast selected?
>
> I forget. Is your other computer (OTTO) connected to the router wired or
> wireless?
>
> --
> Lem MS MVP -- Networking
>
> To the moon and back with 64 Kbits of RAM and 512 Kbits of ROM.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer