Linksys WRT54GS, PC with USB G adapter WUSB54G, and no IP.

Hello;

I recently upgraded my setup to a new WRT54GS Linksys wireless router,
with one machine wired to it. This machine works fine.

Another machine, upstairs, is using the USB Wireless G adapter,
Linksys WUSB54G. This machine previously had a Wireless 802.11b USB
adapter (Linksys), mated with a BEFW11S4 v2 wireless router (now
decomissioned). This machine runs Windows 2000 (with SP4).

After disconnecting the old adapter, and uninstalling it's
software/drivers, I ran the setup for the new adapter.

It all installed fine, and when I connected the Wireless G adapter, it
found and linked up with the router. It was given a proper IP and all
that, and could access the internet.

Windows Auto Update detected there were some new updates, and offered
to retrieve them. I let it do so, and left the machine to download the
updates.

When I returned about an hour later, the machine was at the "Updates
installed, Restart now?" screen.

I clicked no, and intended to check something over the internet first.
Unfortunately, I could not bring up any sites. Checking the Linksys
tray applet, it indicated the connection with the router was ok, but
the internet could not be found.

I let the machine do it's restart, when it came back up it said the
same thing. Running an IPconfig showed the machine did not see the
DHCP info from the router, and had assigned itself the defunct IP in
the 169.x.x.x range.

So in short, the machine can associate with the router ok, but cannot
obtain any DHCP config from the router. The router's settings all
appear correct. DHCP is enabled on the router.

I'm not quite sure how to proceed. Any suggestions would be most
helpful.

Thanks.

--
Mike
(E-Mail Removed)

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 11:33:35 GMT, Mike M <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

<snip my previous posting>

Turns out my issue is no more involved than a simple signal strength
issue. The SS hovers around 60%, but suffers sharp drops every several
seconds which probably explains this.

The router is on the bottom floor of the house, with the PC on the top
floor (i.e. there is one floor between the two). This is probably not
the optimal configuration.

Does anyone of know of simple solutions for increasing SS within one
structure? I know Linksys has repeaters available, would that be
suitable? Would that run the risk of being detrimental to my
neighbors' own network (which is also hovering around 50%-60%
according to the linksys applet)?

Thanks again.

--

Mike
(E-Mail Removed)

Mike M <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Another machine, upstairs, is using the USB Wireless G adapter,
> Linksys WUSB54G.
....
> This machine runs Windows 2000 (with SP4).
....
> Windows Auto Update detected there were some new updates, and offered
> to retrieve them. I let it do so, and left the machine to download the
> updates.

I had a problem once with automatic updates. The "802.1x authentication"
had magically been turned on. I would expect this to work okay with your
new router, but maybe not. It was a problem with most routers when it
first came out. You can turn it off.

1. Open Network Connections by clicking Start, pointing to Settings,
clicking Control Panel, and then double-clicking Network Connections.
2. Right-click the wireless connection for which you want to disable 802.1x
authentication, and then click Properties.
3. On the Authentication tab, click to clear the Enable network access
control using IEEE 802.1x check box.
By default, this check box is selected.

On WinXP-SP2, this box is disabled and grayed out if there is no encryption
on the link.

Also, because you have an upstairs/downstairs mix, your antenna radiation
pattern might be an issue. The pattern looks like a donut, so you don't
want them both upright, or you'll have a stack of donuts that don't overlap
very well. You want them broadside to each other and parallel. Since you
cleverly chose a USB client that has a movable antenna, that's simple
enough to adjust. You can also add a reflector to either or both antennas
to improve the signal coverage in the direction that you want it.

http://www.freeantennas.com EZ-12, printed on photo paper for thick stock,
with aluminum foil glued to the sail, provides a substantial boost in
signal.
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/EZ12-windsurfer.jpg
http://www.rahul.net/dold/clarence/w...fer-dining.JPG The signal with
the reflector is not only 13dB stronger, it's more stable.

With 54g connections, I find that watching the "current bandwidth" in the
Windows perfmon.msc is a pretty good signal indicator.
start-run-perfmon.msc
+ Performance Object = Network
Numbers agree with dslreports.
+ Performance Object = TCP
"current bandwidth"

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley (Lake County) CA USA 38.8,-122.5

On Tue, 28 Jun 2005 16:08:27 +0000 (UTC),
(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

<Excellent info snipped for article length>

Thank you very much for your post. I will give this all a try. Your
doughnut explanation also helps greatly.

--
Mike
(E-Mail Removed)