I just got an MN-700 and and MN-730. The MN-700 is connected to a cable
modem and by Ethernet cable to my Windows XP Pro. The MN-730 is in an old,
old computer running Windows 2000 Pro with SP4.
With a bit of fuss, I got the wireless stuff to work with WEB 128 bit
encryption. MS Networking (file and print sharing) on my home LAN and
Internet access works correctly for both the wired and wireless connected
computers, but I had/have some frustrations.
1. I "saved" the network configuration on a floppy from my wired XP Pro
computer. This created an XML file with the SSID and encryption key, both
of which are correct. However, on the Windows 2000 SP4 computer, when I
"imported" these settings from the floppy using the MS Wireless wizard, the
configuration was not correct and the adapter could not connect. I
discovered that the SSID had an extra character at the end (right side) that
showed up in the Wireless utility as a square box (like you see sometimes
when a font doesn't have a graphic for a particular bit pattern). On the
W2K computer, I opened the XML file from the floppy in IE, selected the
SSID, copied, selected the SSID field in the utility and "Pasted". Did the
same thing with the encryption key. Then it all worked. So, the XML file
was correct, but the "import" didn't do it right. What's the point of
having a settings import function that doesn't work correctly? The SSID is
32 characters long, which is the maximum number of characters I could key in
the base station configuration's SSID field.
2. When I restarted the W2K computer, the wireless adapter would not connect
to the base station. Discovered that the SSID was "MSHOME" - hello! It was
correct before I shutdown, so why is different now? Anyway, went to the
Wireless Utility, selected Tools, Configure and found that the correct
settings were already there, so clicked OK and all was well again. I found
what appears to be the registry entries for the wireless adapter
(HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11
CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0005\Ndi\params\SSID). The "default" value for the
registry key (the "(Default)" value) was set to the correct SSID, but the
value called "Default" was MSHOME. Changed this to the "correct" value.
Now I see the correct SSID instead of MSHOME when I restart the computer.
3. Restarted W2K again. Wireless doesn't work again. Found that every time
the computer is restarted, an administrator has to do the "join the network"
thing - I don't have to key anything, but I have to open the Wireless
Network Utility, click Tools, Adapater Settings, Configure, OK. A "User"
can't do this process (Adapter Settings is greyed out), so now, I have to
make every user an administrator, which I really don't want to do. The
registry value
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contro l\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11C
E-BFC1-08002BE10318}\0005\EnableAutoConnect is set to 1, if that means
anything. Is there a way around this?
4. When I use the Base Station Managment Tool, I get the IE warning pop up
that says msn.com wants to save a cookie on my computer (I have IE set to
prompt me when web sites try to save a cookie and I don't usually use
msn.com for anything!). Not sure if it happens every time I open the
utility, but it has happened on at least three occasions. This is really
annoying - why is this thing communicating with msn.com without being asked?
What is this cookie for? It doesn't happen right away when I open the tool,
but it does pop up later.
5. The Wireless Network Utility panel is far larger than it needs to be.
Why can't we just have a nice little dialog box with the settings on it
instead of this "fancy" stuff that really doesn't do very much? The panel
is constantly repainting which, on a slow computer such as my W2K computer
is really annoying. What I'd like to have is a nice little dialog box that
shows the important information, including the signal strength and
connection speed that I can have displayed all the time and doesn't take
much screen real estate and doesn't flash at me.
6. As "recommended", I have a long SSID. When I hover the mouse over the
Wireless Networking Utility icon in the Notification Area, it shows only
part of the SSID (it extends over the right edge of the display and is cut
off) so I don't see the "speed" as the manual says I should.
7. This is my first experience with wireless, so I don't know if this is
"normal" or not. I have a "computer room" in the basement where the cable
comes in, the MN-700 and the XP Pro computer are. The W2K computer with the
MN-730 is upstairs at the other end of the house. Horizontally, the
distance can't be more than about 35 feet. I have the base station and
adapter configured for "g" only. The "signal strength" on the W2K computer
typically shows between 2 and 3 of the 5 blocks filled in, but sometimes it
goes down to one. The "speed" is typically around 36 mps, but sometimes
goes as low as 10. This is a pretty normal, wood frame house with forced
air heating. I've played a bit with the antenna orientation, but don't seem
to be able to make any improvement (but I can make it worse!). Is this
"normal" performance for this type of equipment with this kind of distance?
If anyone has any insights into any of this stuff, please let me know.
--
Bruce Sanderson MVP
It is perfectly useless to know the right answer to the wrong question.
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