Linksys disconnecting, can't disable 802.1x

I've got a system (WinXP Home SP1, Linksys WRT54G V2 router, WUSB54G
client, both at the latest firmware/driver revision) with about 10
feet distace separating them (good signal, from the basement to the
first floor room directly above it) that keeps popping up with the
dreaded "click here to see available wireless networks" balloon,
requiring almost hourly reconnections.

I thought I had fixed some similar problems before by turning off
802.1x authentication, but the option in this case is checked and
greyed out. Is this really the problem, and is there a registry edit
I can do to fix it?

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!

On Thu, 07 Oct 2004 12:07:19 -0400, William P.N. Smith wrote:

>I've got a system (WinXP Home SP1, Linksys WRT54G V2 router, WUSB54G
>client, both at the latest firmware/driver revision) with about 10
>feet distace separating them (good signal, from the basement to the
>first floor room directly above it) that keeps popping up with the
>dreaded "click here to see available wireless networks" balloon,
>requiring almost hourly reconnections.

>I thought I had fixed some similar problems before by turning off
>802.1x authentication, but the option in this case is checked and
>greyed out.

If you have WPA enabled, 802.1x is required. That's why it's checked
and cannot be un-checked. The previous problem was where you had
802.1x check and WPA disabled. That caused XP to try an authenticate
every few minutes and causing a disconnect when it failed.

No clue why you're having signal strength problems. I suggest
bringing in a borrowed laptop or radio to determine if the problem is
at the WRT54G router or the WUSB54G client. If you're shooting
vertically, through the floor, you might to try setting the WRT54G
antenna(s) to a horizontal position, to get better penetration. If
there's aluminium foil backed insulation in the floor, give up. If
you get good range (50-100ft) on the same level as the access point,
then your floor is too much for the signal. It might be time for a
2nd access point in the basement with CAT5 cable back to the WRT54G.


--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>If you have WPA enabled, 802.1x is required. That's why it's checked
>and cannot be un-checked. The previous problem was where you had
>802.1x check and WPA disabled. That caused XP to try an authenticate
>every few minutes and causing a disconnect when it failed.

Doh! Thanks, that explains it.

>No clue why you're having signal strength problems. I suggest
>bringing in a borrowed laptop or radio to determine if the problem is
>at the WRT54G router or the WUSB54G client.

Yeah, my laptop works fine next to the desktop in question, and all
the way over the other side of the house as well, so it's not a signal
strength problem. I'll try flattening the antennas out though...

Thanks!

<William P.N. Smith> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I've got a system (WinXP Home SP1, Linksys WRT54G V2 router, WUSB54G
> client, both at the latest firmware/driver revision) with about 10
> feet distace separating them (good signal, from the basement to the
> first floor room directly above it) that keeps popping up with the
> dreaded "click here to see available wireless networks" balloon,
> requiring almost hourly reconnections.
>
> I thought I had fixed some similar problems before by turning off
> 802.1x authentication, but the option in this case is checked and
> greyed out. Is this really the problem, and is there a registry edit
> I can do to fix it?
>
> Any other thoughts?
>
> Thanks!
>

If there are competing networks, make sure that in the advanced button
that you do not select "connect to non-preferred networks", set the
connection to infrastructure only, and remove all but your own network
from preferred networks. Also, broadcast SSID, there is no reason not
to, and it often helps with these disconnections.

Q