LinkSys adapters fail to find signal

P II Homebuilt, Asus P2B mobo, 500mb RAM
Windows XP SP1
Linksys WRT54GX, WMP54GS, WMP54GX

Wi-Fi network has been up and running without problems for more than a
year. One Dell laptop and one HP laptop have communicated with the
router in that time without protest. The HP laptop crashed and while
it is being repaired I needed to press a retired PII into limited
service including an Internet connection. Previously it had been
successfully connected directly to the modem via a USB cable and
installed drivers. That connection was removed per our request to the
cable company when the machine was retired. Since I am building a new
desktop machine that will need a wi-fi card, I purchased a WMP54GS
v1.1 on e-Bay thinking it could serve the old PII now and the new box
later. I installed the drivers, then the card as instructed. DEVICE
MANAGER SEES THE CARD AND REPORTS NO CONFLICTS. The Linksys config
software caused repeated crashes, I switched to the Windows setup. The
Linksys Netclient app can not find the signal. I opened the Wireless
Network Connection Properties > Wireless Networks > Preferred networks
> Properties and fill in the boxes per the LinkSys config text file
and click OK. The Preferred networks windows shows the SSID with a red
X. I click the Available networks > Refresh button and the red X goes
away however the SSID does not appear in Available networks. Close the
window and the red X remains over the Network Connections LAN entry. I
have disabled all firewall and other filtering/monitoring software
with no change. I updated the driver and switched antennae also with
no change. I spent two hour by phone with LinkSys Tech Support with no
success. They did not walk me through any test or configs and just
said the antenna or the card was defective and that they would not
replace it because it was obtained through a third-party vendor.

I ordered the WMP54GX from newegg expecting to finally get a
connection and it does not even show up in Device Manager. There is
not even a Network adapters header so there is no where to go with
that one.

At this point I don't know if either or both of these cards is
defective. I have no other box in which to install them to see. I am
less experienced with this aspect of computers than others and may
well have overlooked some part of the process that is obvious to more
experienced users.

Suggestions are welcome and gratefully appreciated.
Thank you.

I have never been able to psyche out LinkSys software. Have about 6
LS cards from over the years. Recently was trying to connect to a very
popular RV site with wi-fi and my USB Linksys refused. My best guess
was that it was an IP/DHCP problem. BUT!!, I decided to use the "Let
Windows Configure" and lo and behold starting seeing and connectng
to that site and others.. Might try that one..Wireless Zero handles mine
with no problems..Regards


<> Suggestions are welcome and gratefully appreciated.
> Thank you.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> P II Homebuilt, Asus P2B mobo, 500mb RAM
> Windows XP SP1
> Linksys WRT54GX, WMP54GS, WMP54GX
>
> Wi-Fi network has been up and running without problems for more than a
> year. One Dell laptop and one HP laptop have communicated with the
> router in that time without protest. The HP laptop crashed and while
> it is being repaired I needed to press a retired PII into limited
> service including an Internet connection. Previously it had been
> successfully connected directly to the modem via a USB cable and
> installed drivers. That connection was removed per our request to the
> cable company when the machine was retired. Since I am building a new
> desktop machine that will need a wi-fi card, I purchased a WMP54GS
> v1.1 on e-Bay thinking it could serve the old PII now and the new box
> later. I installed the drivers, then the card as instructed. DEVICE
> MANAGER SEES THE CARD AND REPORTS NO CONFLICTS. The Linksys config
> software caused repeated crashes, I switched to the Windows setup. The
> Linksys Netclient app can not find the signal. I opened the Wireless
> Network Connection Properties > Wireless Networks > Preferred networks
>> Properties and fill in the boxes per the LinkSys config text file
> and click OK. The Preferred networks windows shows the SSID with a red
> X. I click the Available networks > Refresh button and the red X goes
> away however the SSID does not appear in Available networks. Close the
> window and the red X remains over the Network Connections LAN entry. I
> have disabled all firewall and other filtering/monitoring software
> with no change. I updated the driver and switched antennae also with
> no change. I spent two hour by phone with LinkSys Tech Support with no
> success. They did not walk me through any test or configs and just
> said the antenna or the card was defective and that they would not
> replace it because it was obtained through a third-party vendor.
>
> I ordered the WMP54GX from newegg expecting to finally get a
> connection and it does not even show up in Device Manager. There is
> not even a Network adapters header so there is no where to go with
> that one.
>
> At this point I don't know if either or both of these cards is
> defective. I have no other box in which to install them to see. I am
> less experienced with this aspect of computers than others and may
> well have overlooked some part of the process that is obvious to more
> experienced users.
>
> Suggestions are welcome and gratefully appreciated.
> Thank you.

You should check your router setup pages for any MAC address filtering,
etc, that might be confusing the issue. Check the router DHCP client
table for the new NIC also to see if in fact the router "sees" it.
Disable WEP/WPA for the duration of troubleshooting.

Make sure that if using Linksys to manage, that you Stop the WZC service
or if using WZC there is no Linksys app lurking in the background. Check
that the wireless card is fully inserted in the slot, and you have
disabled any power saving mode in Device Manager settings. The internet
connection sharing service should be disabled on the PII.

From a command prompt type: ipconfig /all and post back the report.

Q

On Sun, 16 Jul 2006 21:20:29 -0600, Quaoar <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>> P II Homebuilt, Asus P2B mobo, 500mb RAM
>> Windows XP SP1
>> Linksys WRT54GX, WMP54GS, WMP54GX
>>
>> Wi-Fi network has been up and running without problems for more than a
>> year. One Dell laptop and one HP laptop have communicated with the
>> router in that time without protest. The HP laptop crashed and while
>> it is being repaired I needed to press a retired PII into limited
>> [snip]
>
>You should check your router setup pages for any MAC address filtering,
>etc, that might be confusing the issue. Check the router DHCP client
>table for the new NIC also to see if in fact the router "sees" it.
>Disable WEP/WPA for the duration of troubleshooting.
>
>Make sure that if using Linksys to manage, that you Stop the WZC service
>or if using WZC there is no Linksys app lurking in the background. Check
>that the wireless card is fully inserted in the slot, and you have
>disabled any power saving mode in Device Manager settings. The internet
>connection sharing service should be disabled on the PII.
>
> From a command prompt type: ipconfig /all and post back the report.
>
>Q

Quaoar
BIG thanks for the check list to follow. It is what I need in my
relative newbie state.

ipconfig /all (P II)

Windows IP config
Host Name:[listed]
Primary DNS Suffix [blank]
Node Type: Broadcast
( MS Knowledge Base suggests this should be set to Infrastructure
but the one box I found to make the change did not alter it here)
IP Routing Enabled: No
WINS Proxy Enabled: No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection
Media State: Media disconnected
(I was concerned about this until I saw that it is the same on the
computer that is connected.)
Descripton: [correct description]
Physical Address:[listed]


Other test
ping: 127.0.0.1: Reply from 127.0.0.1
ping: [my IP address]: Destination host unreachable - which is known

BTW What is Microsoft TCP/IP version 6? Listed as a protocol under
Wireless Network Connection Properties, the description says it is the
next-generation version of the internet protocol that provides
communication across diverse interconnected networks. This would seem
to be the better protocol and I have not seen it mentioned in all of
my searches for answers.

I look forward to your feedback.

Sincere thanks.

On 17 Jul 2006 12:03:01 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed)>:

>ipconfig /all (P II)
>
> Windows IP config
> Host Name:[listed]
> Primary DNS Suffix [blank]
> Node Type: Broadcast
> ( MS Knowledge Base suggests this should be set to Infrastructure
>but the one box I found to make the change did not alter it here)
> IP Routing Enabled: No
> WINS Proxy Enabled: No
>
> Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection
> Media State: Media disconnected
> (I was concerned about this until I saw that it is the same on the
>computer that is connected.)
> Descripton: [correct description]
> Physical Address:[listed]

It would better for you to copy and paste the exact output. Run:
IPCONFIG /ALL >IPOUTPUT.TXT
Then open IPOUTPUT.TXT, select and copy all the output, and paste it in
a post here.

>BTW What is Microsoft TCP/IP version 6? Listed as a protocol under
>Wireless Network Connection Properties, the description says it is the
>next-generation version of the internet protocol that provides
>communication across diverse interconnected networks. This would seem
>to be the better protocol and I have not seen it mentioned in all of
>my searches for answers.

IPv6 (which wasn't created by Microsoft) is the answer to eventually
running out of address space with IPv4, and is still currently of little
real value to most Internet users. For more info, see
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPv6>.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

On Thu, 20 Jul 2006 15:38:22 GMT, John Navas
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>On 17 Jul 2006 12:03:01 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
><(E-Mail Removed)>:
>
>It would better for you to copy and paste the exact output. Run:
> IPCONFIG /ALL >IPOUTPUT.TXT
>Then open IPOUTPUT.TXT, select and copy all the output, and paste it in
>a post here.
>
Good evening, Mr. Navas
Thank you for replying to my post. In all of my reading and Googling
my problem between the time Quaoar offered some guidelines last week
and yours today, I learned about the text output for ipconfig. At this
point however it is a moot point because I had the feeling this thread
was dead and every approach I attempted on my own, guided by one
source or another, failed to bring me any closer to getting on-line
using the old P II. While I remain unconvinced that the card was
defective as LinkSys suggested, it was returned to the vendor this
morning.

I am now left with the (supposedly) superior WMP54GX which my mobo /
O/S fails to see at all. It is properly seated in the PCI slot. In
point of fact, I have tried three different slots with the same
result. It seems to me that if the card won't play at all, there is
nothing to be done except return it also.

I certainly welcome any suggestions you or the other members of this
forum care to offer. They will be gratefully received and dutifully
followed. Failing that, I have the feeling I will again be asking
questions when the above referenced NIC is replaced.

On 20 Jul 2006 21:25:03 -0500, (E-Mail Removed) wrote in
<(E-Mail Removed)>:

>I am now left with the (supposedly) superior WMP54GX which my mobo /
>O/S fails to see at all. It is properly seated in the PCI slot. In
>point of fact, I have tried three different slots with the same
>result. It seems to me that if the card won't play at all, there is
>nothing to be done except return it also.
>
>I certainly welcome any suggestions you or the other members of this
>forum care to offer. They will be gratefully received and dutifully
>followed. Failing that, I have the feeling I will again be asking
>questions when the above referenced NIC is replaced.

I would try it in a different computer, if possible.

If you do replace it, I'd suggest a USB adapter, which will give you
more placement flexibility, and not require opening up your computer.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>