Configure Vista to connect to nearest AP

My wireless network consists of a Netgear WGR614 wireless router
upstairs where it connects to my DSL provider, and downstairs I have a
Linksys WRE54G wireless repeater to help improve the connection for my
wife's PC in the downstairs office. From what I can tell, I have to
configure the repeater with the same settings (SSID, channel and
security settings) as the Netgear so it can connect to the Netgear as a
wireless client/AP. Unfortunately, I think I may be creating a problem
with my new Vista computer.

The Vista system is in the same room as the Netgear (perhaps 20 feet
away). When I browse wireless networks to connect to, I only see one
network with my SSID name (I have both the Netgear and Linksys
broadcasting the SSID). When browsing, the signal strength is
'excellent', but when I tell Vista to connect to it, the connection
strength is 'good' at best (mostly rates at 'fair').

I couldn't figure out why the signal strength of the connection would
be so poor, given the proximity to the Netgear. But when I log into the
Netgear admin interface and view the attached devices, the MAC address
for the Vista PC is always the Linksys repeater downstairs, not that of
its wireless card. I've tried repeatedly to reconnect, but I keep
ending up with the more distant Linksys instead of the Netgear just
across the room ... that's a mystery in itself.

So the basic question is if I can configure Vista to only connect to a
specific AP? The Vista system is a desktop so I'm not going to be
mobile with it so I'm fine with "hard-wiring" it to the Netgear in the
same room. Related to that, is there a way with Vista to see the MAC
address of the AP it connected to? I know some add-on wireless tools
like Odyssey will show you, but can you do the same with Windows?

On a broader topic, am I creating a problem with the repeater since it
has to have the same channel as the Netgear (are they interfering with
each other)? It doesn't seem like I can change the settings on the
repeater because then it can't connect to the Netgear as a wireless
client.

Thanks in advance.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
View this thread: http://www.wirelessforums.org/showthread.php?t=29037
http://www.wirelessforums.org