Loss of access, Disable/Repair NIC fails. 802.11g / b compatibility?

I have a problem similar to the one reported in "Repeated Loss of Internet
access" (28 Dec 2005) , with a twist.

I just got a new whitebox PC, installed WinXP SP2 on it. Also installed a
TrendNet TEW-423PI card, a wireless PCI card, 802.11g, following all
instructions.

For an access point, I have a Buffalo Airstation, model WLAR-L11-L , it is
802.11b. It has 128-bit WEP enabled.

The computer can contact the access point, and can obtain an IP address, no
problem. I can browse the internet, send and receive email, everything
works. Then, *at some later point* the wireless access just goes away.
The interval varies, could be 2 -3 hours. Never more than about 4 hours,
I'd say. The IP address is still the same, the radio signal strength
looks to be good, but all internet connectivity is gone. Unlike some of
the others on this thread, my access does not get "slow", it goes away
completely.

Other machines on the LAN can still get to the internet. Other machines
that connect through that AP have no problems.

Here's the twist.
After having this problem, if I try to Repair or Disable the wireless
network adapter, it does not work. It just waits forever and ever. No
error message, no timeout, nothing. If I try to shut down the machine,
same thing, it never shuts down. I have to physically power off the
machine to restart it. After restarting the computer, it again can reach
the internet.

If I try to repair or disable the network adapter BEFORE this problem
happens, it works. If I try to shutdown or restart the pc BEFORE the loss
of the wireless network, it works.

1. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this? I am guessing the radio
communication between the computer and the AP is getting into a odd
situation, but ... how can I check this? how can I fix it?

2. any suggestions on how to forcibly bounce the NIC? I tried devcon.exe
and it also hangs. netsh also hangs.


The computer that is being replaced has an older 802.11b network card, by
the same manufacturer. It worked fine, for years, using the 128-bit WEP.
It still works. I am going to try the old card in the new computer, and
will report back.

But I am hoping someone will be able to steer me right.

Isn't 802.11g gear was supposed to be compatible with 802.11b gear?
I am also considering replacing the PCI NIC with a USB-wireless NIC. Anyone
used any of these? Any recommendations?

Could it be something to do with the latest XP update?

I am exploring a possibility that it has to do with the latest version of
Firefox 1.5. Are you using Firefox?

Jeff

DC wrote:
> I have a problem similar to the one reported in "Repeated Loss of
> Internet access" (28 Dec 2005) , with a twist.
>
> I just got a new whitebox PC, installed WinXP SP2 on it. Also
> installed a TrendNet TEW-423PI card, a wireless PCI card, 802.11g,
> following all instructions.
>
> For an access point, I have a Buffalo Airstation, model WLAR-L11-L ,
> it is 802.11b. It has 128-bit WEP enabled.
>
> The computer can contact the access point, and can obtain an IP
> address, no problem. I can browse the internet, send and receive
> email, everything works. Then, *at some later point* the wireless
> access just goes away. The interval varies, could be 2 -3 hours. Never
> more than about 4 hours, I'd say. The IP address is still
> the same, the radio signal strength looks to be good, but all
> internet connectivity is gone. Unlike some of the others on this
> thread, my access does not get "slow", it goes away completely.
>
> Other machines on the LAN can still get to the internet. Other
> machines that connect through that AP have no problems.
>
> Here's the twist.
> After having this problem, if I try to Repair or Disable the wireless
> network adapter, it does not work. It just waits forever and ever. No
> error message, no timeout, nothing. If I try to shut down the
> machine, same thing, it never shuts down. I have to physically
> power off the machine to restart it. After restarting the computer,
> it again can reach the internet.
>
> If I try to repair or disable the network adapter BEFORE this problem
> happens, it works. If I try to shutdown or restart the pc BEFORE
> the loss of the wireless network, it works.
>
> 1. Any suggestions on how to troubleshoot this? I am guessing the
> radio communication between the computer and the AP is getting into a
> odd situation, but ... how can I check this? how can I fix it?
>
> 2. any suggestions on how to forcibly bounce the NIC? I tried
> devcon.exe and it also hangs. netsh also hangs.
>
>
> The computer that is being replaced has an older 802.11b network
> card, by the same manufacturer. It worked fine, for years, using the
> 128-bit WEP. It still works. I am going to try the old card in the
> new computer, and will report back.
>
> But I am hoping someone will be able to steer me right.
>
> Isn't 802.11g gear was supposed to be compatible with 802.11b gear?
> I am also considering replacing the PCI NIC with a USB-wireless NIC.
> Anyone used any of these? Any recommendations?

Yes, this does sound like pretty much the same problem we have been
discussing in "repeated loss of Internet access". Though admittedly with a
couple of new twist. Actually, in our case Internet access does it
effectively "stop". It gets slower until it is essentially stopped. The
main difference seems to be the amount of time it takes to get to the point
where it won't work. In our case, it's only a few minutes. It appears to be
taking you several hours. Otherwise the problems sound very similar. And
after the Internet access goes away, in both cases signal strength remains
strong, IP addresses appear okay, but ability to bring up web pages is simply
gone. Shutting down and rebooting will enable the ability to bring up web
pages once again, for a very brief period of time. Also, if we try to
"repair" the connection, after several minutes of trying, it will fail to do
so. But whereas in your case you're not getting an error message, we get the
message "unable to repair -- because unable to connect to network", or
something very similar to that.

Jeff, I don't see how it could have anything to do with the latest XP
update, though I'm probably a wrong. The reason I say that is because all of
the computers that I have which are working perfectly, all have XP service
pack two with the most current update.

I'm starting to think this is a fairly common problem. Surely there is a
computer guru who knows the answer to this weird problem? Cause I sure don't
know the answer.

Mine also goes off after 2-3 minutes, not hours.

Jeff

BillyBob wrote:
> Yes, this does sound like pretty much the same problem we have been
> discussing in "repeated loss of Internet access". Though admittedly
> with a couple of new twist. Actually, in our case Internet access
> does it effectively "stop". It gets slower until it is essentially
> stopped. The main difference seems to be the amount of time it takes
> to get to the point where it won't work. In our case, it's only a
> few minutes. It appears to be taking you several hours. Otherwise
> the problems sound very similar. And after the Internet access goes
> away, in both cases signal strength remains strong, IP addresses
> appear okay, but ability to bring up web pages is simply gone.
> Shutting down and rebooting will enable the ability to bring up web
> pages once again, for a very brief period of time. Also, if we try to
> "repair" the connection, after several minutes of trying, it will
> fail to do so. But whereas in your case you're not getting an error
> message, we get the message "unable to repair -- because unable to
> connect to network", or something very similar to that.
>
> Jeff, I don't see how it could have anything to do with the latest XP
> update, though I'm probably a wrong. The reason I say that is
> because all of the computers that I have which are working perfectly,
> all have XP service pack two with the most current update.
>
> I'm starting to think this is a fairly common problem. Surely there
> is a computer guru who knows the answer to this weird problem? Cause
> I sure don't know the answer.

> Yes, this does sound like pretty much the same problem we have been
> discussing in "repeated loss of Internet access".

Yep, I knew it sounded similar but didn't want to highjack your thread.

> I'm starting to think this is a fairly common problem. Surely there is a
> computer guru who knows the answer to this weird problem?

a further update.
I did not try the older Wireless NIC in this computer, as I said I would in
my previous post. Instead I cranked the AP down to 64bit WEP and so far so
good. No dropped connections that I am aware of, after 10 hours of mnixed
use. previously, the connection would drop whether the PC was in use or
not. I say "that I am aware of" because other family members have been on
the PC and I don't know if they had troubles.

I am thinking the cause might be a weird race condition that happens in the
protocol when you mix equipment of different manufacture or different
standards (g vs b). In the bad old days wireless NICs that were compliant
to the 802.11b standard didn't necessarily interoperate with wireless APs
that supposedly conformed to the same standard. Maybe we have a twist on
that idea. If so upgrading all your equipment would solve it, but who wants
to do that?

I'll post another update tomorrow.

-DC


"BillyBob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:2FA30CBC-ECC9-403D-8D6F-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Yes, this does sound like pretty much the same problem we have been
> discussing in "repeated loss of Internet access". Though admittedly with
> a
> couple of new twist. Actually, in our case Internet access does it
> effectively "stop". It gets slower until it is essentially stopped. The
> main difference seems to be the amount of time it takes to get to the
> point
> where it won't work. In our case, it's only a few minutes. It appears to
> be
> taking you several hours. Otherwise the problems sound very similar. And
> after the Internet access goes away, in both cases signal strength remains
> strong, IP addresses appear okay, but ability to bring up web pages is
> simply
> gone. Shutting down and rebooting will enable the ability to bring up web
> pages once again, for a very brief period of time. Also, if we try to
> "repair" the connection, after several minutes of trying, it will fail to
> do
> so. But whereas in your case you're not getting an error message, we get
> the
> message "unable to repair -- because unable to connect to network", or
> something very similar to that.
>
> Jeff, I don't see how it could have anything to do with the latest XP
> update, though I'm probably a wrong. The reason I say that is because all
> of
> the computers that I have which are working perfectly, all have XP service
> pack two with the most current update.
>
> I'm starting to think this is a fairly common problem. Surely there is a
> computer guru who knows the answer to this weird problem? Cause I sure
> don't
> know the answer.
>
>

Mmm,

sorry, I take it back.
Shifting down to 64-bit WEP did not affect the problem.
My wife had been rebooting the machine.

False alarm.

I'm gonna try a different NIC.



"DC" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Yes, this does sound like pretty much the same problem we have been
>> discussing in "repeated loss of Internet access".
>
> Yep, I knew it sounded similar but didn't want to highjack your thread.
>
>> I'm starting to think this is a fairly common problem. Surely there is
>> a
>> computer guru who knows the answer to this weird problem?
>
> a further update.
> I did not try the older Wireless NIC in this computer, as I said I would
> in my previous post. Instead I cranked the AP down to 64bit WEP and so
> far so good. No dropped connections that I am aware of, after 10 hours of
> mnixed use. previously, the connection would drop whether the PC was in
> use or not. I say "that I am aware of" because other family members have
> been on the PC and I don't know if they had troubles.
>
> I am thinking the cause might be a weird race condition that happens in
> the protocol when you mix equipment of different manufacture or different
> standards (g vs b). In the bad old days wireless NICs that were
> compliant to the 802.11b standard didn't necessarily interoperate with
> wireless APs that supposedly conformed to the same standard. Maybe we
> have a twist on that idea. If so upgrading all your equipment would solve
> it, but who wants to do that?
>
> I'll post another update tomorrow.
>
> -DC
>
>
> "BillyBob" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:2FA30CBC-ECC9-403D-8D6F-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Yes, this does sound like pretty much the same problem we have been
>> discussing in "repeated loss of Internet access". Though admittedly with
>> a
>> couple of new twist. Actually, in our case Internet access does it
>> effectively "stop". It gets slower until it is essentially stopped. The
>> main difference seems to be the amount of time it takes to get to the
>> point
>> where it won't work. In our case, it's only a few minutes. It appears
>> to be
>> taking you several hours. Otherwise the problems sound very similar. And
>> after the Internet access goes away, in both cases signal strength
>> remains
>> strong, IP addresses appear okay, but ability to bring up web pages is
>> simply
>> gone. Shutting down and rebooting will enable the ability to bring up
>> web
>> pages once again, for a very brief period of time. Also, if we try to
>> "repair" the connection, after several minutes of trying, it will fail to
>> do
>> so. But whereas in your case you're not getting an error message, we get
>> the
>> message "unable to repair -- because unable to connect to network", or
>> something very similar to that.
>>
>> Jeff, I don't see how it could have anything to do with the latest XP
>> update, though I'm probably a wrong. The reason I say that is because
>> all of
>> the computers that I have which are working perfectly, all have XP
>> service
>> pack two with the most current update.
>>
>> I'm starting to think this is a fairly common problem. Surely there is
>> a
>> computer guru who knows the answer to this weird problem? Cause I sure
>> don't
>> know the answer.
>>
>>
>
>

This sounds like it has some possibilities, though it is a little
complicated. I can't try any of it since the troublesome computer is not at
the house. If you guys try any of it and it works, please let me know! Good
luck!

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/12948
Q: Why does my wireless connection repeatedly disconnect shortly after
connecting? (#12948)
A: You may be disconnected if either side of the connection is expecting an
authentication exchange that fails to occur. This can occasionally happen
even when the connection is not currently using any form of wireless security.

Depending on your configuration, you may notice:
the wireless client software indicates it is connected, but it repeatedly
stops communicating within 5 minutes of the initial connection

your client's DHCP request fails, either resulting in no IP address or an
OS-assigned APIPA 169.254 address

you can see the Access Point in a site survey or listing of available
wireless networks, but your client cannot connect to it

in the client's or AP's system log, DHCP, TCPIP, or WLAN Association entries
repeatedly appear, and rebooting has not solved the problem


The latest and most effective forms of wireless security expect
authentication messages to be exchanged within a certain time and order. If
this does not happen, the process ends by interrupting communications. Both
the client and AP perform this checking on one another, so either one (or
both) may be the side with the problem.

These problems sometimes affect wireless products that currently are not
configured to use wireless security. A connection may be configured under one
security model, but then the AP is reconfigured and the client's
configuration is not reset to match. Some wireless products may not tolerate
unexpected issues like an AP changing security methods, frequently rebooting,
or storing multiple configuration profiles for a single access point.
Sometimes, the reason a configuration becomes corrupted remains unknown.

Note: For specific instructions on how to complete any of the following
steps using your particular hardware, software, or operating system, please
consult your manuals or help files.

STEPS TO TRY FIRST:
Turn off any options to hide your SSID from beacon broadcasts.

Turn off any proprietary speed-enhancing technologies.

Remove all saved profiles for that AP from your wireless computers.

Reboot your wireless computers and power-cycle your AP.

Find your AP in a site survey and associate with it.


Now test to see if the problem is resolved. If it is, no further action is
necessary. However, if the problem persists, the below steps contain
additional methods to overcome the problem:

STEPS TO TRY NEXT:
On your wireless AP, change your SSID to something that you have never used
before.

Unplug power to your AP, take note of the time.

Remove all saved profiles for that AP from your wireless computers.

Reboot your wireless computers.

After 65+ minutes from step 2, plug in your router.

Using your wireless computers, associate with the new SSID.

Leave the client connected for 65+ minutes. There may or may not be
indications of up to two brief reconnections during this time. Do not reboot
the AP during this time.

Shut down or reboot your wireless client computer normally (do not sleep,
hibernate, or abruptly power-cycle).


TIP: The 65+ minute wait before plugging in the router may not be necessary
for your hardware or software. If you only have one or two clients, you may
wish to first try these steps without that wait. If they are not successful,
then try all of the steps again with the wait.

EXPLANATION OF WHY THESE STEPS MIGHT HELP: Setting up a new SSID causes the
clients to create a new, clean, and correct profile for the access point.
Rebooting the hardware is one attempt at clearing authentication failure
lockouts. Waiting 65 minutes with the router off is another (in case lockouts
are remembered between reboots). Leaving the client online for 65 minutes is
to ensure at least one successful key exchange after the initial successful
authentication. Shutting down normally allows the software or OS to correctly
save configuration information.
by funchords edited by No_Strings
(login to leave feedback on this)




"Jeff" wrote:

> Mine also goes off after 2-3 minutes, not hours.