Linksys WPC54G Issue

I have a BEFSR41 router that I have just connected a WAP54G access point
to. Installed on a dual boot (98SE/2000) laptop is the Linksys WPC54G card.
Installation under 2000 went fine, and once I got the WEP sorted, I had the
laptop connecting without issue. I went out for a stroll to test the
wireless range, and then shut down the computer. When I booted back up into
2000, I could associate with the Access Point, but could not get "internet
connection" as displayed by the Wireless-G Monitor. After several reboots
and reinstalls of the drivers, I have gotten it to connect on two other
occasions, but as soon as I reboot, it is lost.

To test things, I booted into my rarely used 98SE partition, and
installed the card. Connected right away, and connects every time after
reboot or standby. So, no issues under 98SE, only 2000 (when's the last
time you heard that?). Other things I have tested under 2000 (most of these
I correspondingly tested under 98, and they worked fine):

1) Assigned DNS servers per Linksys support site,
2) assigned static IP [still no DNS listed in ipconfig],
3) installing TI cardbus beta drivers [older than current, and card wouldn't
work],
4) changed the AP to 11b mode in attempt to eliminate potential 11g
flakiness,
5) turned on/off combinations of MAC filtering and WEP 64/128 bit, and
6) changed the Network ID of the 2000 partition [it was the same in both
OSes].

None of the above worked. Linksys phone support attempted to tell me
that the card would not work on a dual boot computer, which I feel is
rubbish ... since it works under 98 every time, and that was the second
installation on that computer. I sent an email to support, and they
recommended the static IP (which I'd already tried), and to update the
drivers. But, my WPC54G shipped with the latest drivers.

Things of note: There is a service under 2000 called NICSer_WPC54G
which is set to automatic. I have never seen it actually in the "Started"
state. I can start it manually, but it will later quit again. Also, there
is a service called "Wireless Configuration" which is set to manual.

Any thoughts or tips would be greatly appreciated at this point. TIA

On Sun, 07 Mar 2004 18:10:37 GMT, mhicaoidh spoketh

> I have a BEFSR41 router that I have just connected a WAP54G access point
>to. Installed on a dual boot (98SE/2000) laptop is the Linksys WPC54G card.
>Installation under 2000 went fine, and once I got the WEP sorted, I had the
>laptop connecting without issue. I went out for a stroll to test the
>wireless range, and then shut down the computer. When I booted back up into
>2000, I could associate with the Access Point, but could not get "internet
>connection" as displayed by the Wireless-G Monitor. After several reboots
>and reinstalls of the drivers, I have gotten it to connect on two other
>occasions, but as soon as I reboot, it is lost.
>
> To test things, I booted into my rarely used 98SE partition, and
>installed the card. Connected right away, and connects every time after
>reboot or standby. So, no issues under 98SE, only 2000 (when's the last
>time you heard that?). Other things I have tested under 2000 (most of these
>I correspondingly tested under 98, and they worked fine):
>
>1) Assigned DNS servers per Linksys support site,
>2) assigned static IP [still no DNS listed in ipconfig],
>3) installing TI cardbus beta drivers [older than current, and card wouldn't
>work],
>4) changed the AP to 11b mode in attempt to eliminate potential 11g
>flakiness,
>5) turned on/off combinations of MAC filtering and WEP 64/128 bit, and
>6) changed the Network ID of the 2000 partition [it was the same in both
>OSes].
>

I have the same AP and the same card, and it works fine on Windows 2000.
If you're going to use WEP, make sure you got the 1.06 firmware for the
WAP along with the 1.21 drivers for the WPC card. However, I would
recommend upgrading to 2.06 for the WAP and 1.30 for the card, that'll
give you WPA instead of WEP encryption.

After installing the WPC drivers, reboot and then plug in the card.
Launch the "Wireless notebook adapter utility", select the profile you
are using (should be the default one), and click edit.

The first page is SSID and network types, make sure you got it all
correct.

Second page is IP info. Select "specify" info, enter your IP address and
subnet mask, and use the same IP address for the Gateway and DNS server
(your BEFSR41 router acts as a DNS server). The other pages deals with
encryption settings, and will be different depending on which version of
the drivers you are doing.

One note: If you use the 1.30 drivers, you may not be able to get WEP
working. Either choose WPA, or downgrade to 1.21 (also, downgrade the FW
on your AP to 1.06 (or 1.08, if you can get that working)).

Lars M. Hansen
www.hansenonline.net
Remove "bad" from my e-mail address to contact me.
"If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?"