Problem with neighbors wireless connection

System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
I would think is pretty strange.

I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)

I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
"One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
mine just isn't working until I reboot.

My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
determine that yet.

I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
try is to change channels.

I'm checking here to see if anyone has any bright ideas or
pointers about how to trouble-shoot this kind of thing. Any
advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Stephen Porter
Los Angeles, CA

P.S. Since we are now "neighbors" wirelessly, I'd like to
encrypt our network also--it's completely exposed now. I know
WEP isn't great, but it would be a good starting point, but I'm
not sure how to set it up on the computer that is running
Windows 98. Can that be done? TIA on that also.

If you can configure your wireless card without Windows XP (it comes with
its own configuration card), use it. Disable the allow windows to manage
wireless settings in the wireless networks tab. Also, disable the wireless
zero configuration service. It seems that when XP notices a new connection,
it will drop your current connection. Different channels are a good thing
regarding the access points. Use either 1, 6, or 11 as those do not
overlap. Alos, you might consider upgrading to SP2 as it generally does a
better job with wireless.

BTW, I friend of mine had a similar problem. He was using the Linksys
WUSB11 wireless adapter. Because there was no way NOT to use Windows XP for
configuration, he bought a Netgear WG111 (?) USB adapater. It had its own
configuration and solved his disconnect problems.

Jeff


"Stephen Porter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
> point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
> computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
> WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
> Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
> computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
> I would think is pretty strange.
>
> I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
> networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
> problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
> a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
> network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
> USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
> a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
>
> I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
> couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
> you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
> immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
> pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
> "One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
> properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
> but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
> unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
> mine just isn't working until I reboot.
>
> My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
> event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
> determine that yet.
>
> I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
> try is to change channels.
>
> I'm checking here to see if anyone has any bright ideas or
> pointers about how to trouble-shoot this kind of thing. Any
> advice appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Stephen Porter
> Los Angeles, CA
>
> P.S. Since we are now "neighbors" wirelessly, I'd like to
> encrypt our network also--it's completely exposed now. I know
> WEP isn't great, but it would be a good starting point, but I'm
> not sure how to set it up on the computer that is running
> Windows 98. Can that be done? TIA on that also.

You are probably having this problem because your network is not using
WEP or WPA encryption. It would be good to know if the USB *is*
disconnecting and reconnecting.

-Makw sure you change the SSID name from "Linksys" to something else
-Are you running the latest firmware in the router?
-Are you using the latest driver for the XP machine?
-Linksys should have supplied a utility with the WUSB11 for the non XP
machine to let you specify encryption, if not, you can download from
their website.



On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 18:24:17 -0700, Stephen Porter <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
>point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
>computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
>WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
>Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
>computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
>I would think is pretty strange.
>
>I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
>networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
>problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
>a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
>network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
>USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
>a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
>
>I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
>couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
>you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
>immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
>pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
>"One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
>properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
>but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
>unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
>mine just isn't working until I reboot.
>
>My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
>event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
>determine that yet.
>
>I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
>try is to change channels.
>
>I'm checking here to see if anyone has any bright ideas or
>pointers about how to trouble-shoot this kind of thing. Any
>advice appreciated.
>
>Thanks.
>
>Stephen Porter
>Los Angeles, CA
>
>P.S. Since we are now "neighbors" wirelessly, I'd like to
>encrypt our network also--it's completely exposed now. I know
>WEP isn't great, but it would be a good starting point, but I'm
>not sure how to set it up on the computer that is running
>Windows 98. Can that be done? TIA on that also.

--
Barb Bowman
Expert Zone Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
MS-MVP (Windows)

Actually, he got the Netgear WG121 USB model so it could sit on the desk
since it was connected to a desktop machine. If your SSID happens to be set
the same as your neighbors, you need to change it. What might happen is
that your wireless card will attempt to roam. Roaming is a useful feature
if you have multiple access points.

Jeff


"Jeff Durham" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> If you can configure your wireless card without Windows XP (it comes with
> its own configuration card), use it. Disable the allow windows to manage
> wireless settings in the wireless networks tab. Also, disable the
> wireless zero configuration service. It seems that when XP notices a new
> connection, it will drop your current connection. Different channels are
> a good thing regarding the access points. Use either 1, 6, or 11 as those
> do not overlap. Alos, you might consider upgrading to SP2 as it generally
> does a better job with wireless.
>
> BTW, I friend of mine had a similar problem. He was using the Linksys
> WUSB11 wireless adapter. Because there was no way NOT to use Windows XP
> for configuration, he bought a Netgear WG111 (?) USB adapater. It had its
> own configuration and solved his disconnect problems.
>
> Jeff
>
>
> "Stephen Porter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
>> System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
>> point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
>> computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
>> WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
>> Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
>> computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
>> I would think is pretty strange.
>>
>> I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
>> networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
>> problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
>> a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
>> network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
>> USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
>> a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
>>
>> I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
>> couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
>> you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
>> immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
>> pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
>> "One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
>> properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
>> but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
>> unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
>> mine just isn't working until I reboot.
>>
>> My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
>> event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
>> determine that yet.
>>
>> I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
>> try is to change channels.
>>
>> I'm checking here to see if anyone has any bright ideas or
>> pointers about how to trouble-shoot this kind of thing. Any
>> advice appreciated.
>>
>> Thanks.
>>
>> Stephen Porter
>> Los Angeles, CA
>>
>> P.S. Since we are now "neighbors" wirelessly, I'd like to
>> encrypt our network also--it's completely exposed now. I know
>> WEP isn't great, but it would be a good starting point, but I'm
>> not sure how to set it up on the computer that is running
>> Windows 98. Can that be done? TIA on that also.
>
>

Hi Barbara,

Thanks for your response. Here are my answers.

--The SSID was changed when I installed the router. And it's
distinct from the neighbors' SSID also.

--I can check on the firmware for the router, but it's almost
brand-new as I recently upgraded from 802.11 B to G.

--I'll check on the Win98 machine... I believe it does have the
utility so I can at least set up WEP.

The problem seems to have gone away since the neighbor changed
channels, but now I definitely want to set up WEP. Is it
possible to do WPA with the older machine involved????

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

Best regards,
Stephen Porter
Los Angeles, CA





In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> You are probably having this problem because your network is not using
> WEP or WPA encryption. It would be good to know if the USB *is*
> disconnecting and reconnecting.
>
> -Makw sure you change the SSID name from "Linksys" to something else
> -Are you running the latest firmware in the router?
> -Are you using the latest driver for the XP machine?
> -Linksys should have supplied a utility with the WUSB11 for the non XP
> machine to let you specify encryption, if not, you can download from
> their website.
>
>
>
> On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 18:24:17 -0700, Stephen Porter <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
> >System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
> >point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
> >computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
> >WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
> >Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
> >computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
> >I would think is pretty strange.
> >
> >I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
> >networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
> >problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
> >a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
> >network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
> >USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
> >a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
> >
> >I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
> >couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
> >you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
> >immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
> >pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
> >"One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
> >properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
> >but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
> >unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
> >mine just isn't working until I reboot.
> >
> >My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
> >event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
> >determine that yet.
> >
> >I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
> >try is to change channels.
> >

Jeff,

Thanks for your detailed response. Your points are well-taken.
The problem seems to have been solved (knock on wood) by the
neighbor changing her channel. My machine still "sees" their
network, but it doesn't disconnect my machine. I'm still at a
lost as to why only MY machine disconnected also.

You point out an interesting Catch 22 with the Linksys adapter
(WUSB54G) in that there doesn't seem to be any way to configure
it without using Windows automatic feature.

I'm not quite clear on how to disable the Windows "Zero
configuration service." And is this separate from the tab in
the dialog that refers to letting Windows configure your card
automatically.

I guess I need to bone up on some of the wireless basics. I've
just been relying on everything kind of working automatically up
till now.

I definitely need to set up some encryption now too since our
network is obviously wide open to the neighbors--not that I
don't trust them, but it's just bad policy these days.

Thanks again and if you have thoughts, please comment on the
above issues too.

Best regards,
Stephen Porter
Los Angeles, CA





In article <#(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> If you can configure your wireless card without Windows XP (it comes with
> its own configuration card), use it. Disable the allow windows to manage
> wireless settings in the wireless networks tab. Also, disable the wireless
> zero configuration service. It seems that when XP notices a new connection,
> it will drop your current connection. Different channels are a good thing
> regarding the access points. Use either 1, 6, or 11 as those do not
> overlap. Alos, you might consider upgrading to SP2 as it generally does a
> better job with wireless.
>
> BTW, I friend of mine had a similar problem. He was using the Linksys
> WUSB11 wireless adapter. Because there was no way NOT to use Windows XP for
> configuration, he bought a Netgear WG111 (?) USB adapater. It had its own
> configuration and solved his disconnect problems.
>
> Jeff
>
>
> "Stephen Porter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> > System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
> > point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
> > computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
> > WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
> > Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
> > computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
> > I would think is pretty strange.
> >
> > I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
> > networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
> > problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
> > a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
> > network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
> > USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
> > a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
> >
> > I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
> > couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
> > you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
> > immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
> > pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
> > "One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
> > properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
> > but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
> > unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
> > mine just isn't working until I reboot.
> >
> > My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
> > event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
> > determine that yet.
> >

If it works, definitely leave it alone. :-) If you find you need to
disable the wireless zero configuration service, go to Control Panel, then
administrative tools, then services. You will see it listed. It is
probably set to automatically and will be running. To disable, stop the
service, then set to either manual or disabled.

Jeff


"Stephen Porter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> Jeff,
>
> Thanks for your detailed response. Your points are well-taken.
> The problem seems to have been solved (knock on wood) by the
> neighbor changing her channel. My machine still "sees" their
> network, but it doesn't disconnect my machine. I'm still at a
> lost as to why only MY machine disconnected also.
>
> You point out an interesting Catch 22 with the Linksys adapter
> (WUSB54G) in that there doesn't seem to be any way to configure
> it without using Windows automatic feature.
>
> I'm not quite clear on how to disable the Windows "Zero
> configuration service." And is this separate from the tab in
> the dialog that refers to letting Windows configure your card
> automatically.
>
> I guess I need to bone up on some of the wireless basics. I've
> just been relying on everything kind of working automatically up
> till now.
>
> I definitely need to set up some encryption now too since our
> network is obviously wide open to the neighbors--not that I
> don't trust them, but it's just bad policy these days.
>
> Thanks again and if you have thoughts, please comment on the
> above issues too.
>
> Best regards,
> Stephen Porter
> Los Angeles, CA
>
>
>
>
>
> In article <#(E-Mail Removed)>,
> (E-Mail Removed) says...
>> If you can configure your wireless card without Windows XP (it comes with
>> its own configuration card), use it. Disable the allow windows to manage
>> wireless settings in the wireless networks tab. Also, disable the
>> wireless
>> zero configuration service. It seems that when XP notices a new
>> connection,
>> it will drop your current connection. Different channels are a good
>> thing
>> regarding the access points. Use either 1, 6, or 11 as those do not
>> overlap. Alos, you might consider upgrading to SP2 as it generally does
>> a
>> better job with wireless.
>>
>> BTW, I friend of mine had a similar problem. He was using the Linksys
>> WUSB11 wireless adapter. Because there was no way NOT to use Windows XP
>> for
>> configuration, he bought a Netgear WG111 (?) USB adapater. It had its
>> own
>> configuration and solved his disconnect problems.
>>
>> Jeff
>>
>>
>> "Stephen Porter" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
>> > System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
>> > point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
>> > computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
>> > WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
>> > Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
>> > computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
>> > I would think is pretty strange.
>> >
>> > I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
>> > networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
>> > problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
>> > a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
>> > network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
>> > USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
>> > a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
>> >
>> > I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
>> > couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
>> > you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
>> > immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
>> > pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
>> > "One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
>> > properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
>> > but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
>> > unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
>> > mine just isn't working until I reboot.
>> >
>> > My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
>> > event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
>> > determine that yet.
>> >

If the adapter on the non XP machine supports WPA (and I don't think
the WUSB11 does, but please check the Linksys site) you'd have to buy
a third party supplicant to provide WPA for non XP machines (Meeting
House Software and Funk Software both have this and had free trials
the last time I checked)

On Sat, 18 Sep 2004 18:12:50 -0700, Stephen Porter <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>Hi Barbara,
>
>Thanks for your response. Here are my answers.
>
>--The SSID was changed when I installed the router. And it's
>distinct from the neighbors' SSID also.
>
>--I can check on the firmware for the router, but it's almost
>brand-new as I recently upgraded from 802.11 B to G.
>
>--I'll check on the Win98 machine... I believe it does have the
>utility so I can at least set up WEP.
>
>The problem seems to have gone away since the neighbor changed
>channels, but now I definitely want to set up WEP. Is it
>possible to do WPA with the older machine involved????
>
>Thanks again for taking the time to respond.
>
>Best regards,
>Stephen Porter
>Los Angeles, CA
>
>
>
>
>
>In article <(E-Mail Removed)>,
>(E-Mail Removed) says...
>> You are probably having this problem because your network is not using
>> WEP or WPA encryption. It would be good to know if the USB *is*
>> disconnecting and reconnecting.
>>
>> -Makw sure you change the SSID name from "Linksys" to something else
>> -Are you running the latest firmware in the router?
>> -Are you using the latest driver for the XP machine?
>> -Linksys should have supplied a utility with the WUSB11 for the non XP
>> machine to let you specify encryption, if not, you can download from
>> their website.
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, 17 Sep 2004 18:24:17 -0700, Stephen Porter <(E-Mail Removed)>
>> wrote:
>>
>> >System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
>> >point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
>> >computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
>> >WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
>> >Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
>> >computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
>> >I would think is pretty strange.
>> >
>> >I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
>> >networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
>> >problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
>> >a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
>> >network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
>> >USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
>> >a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
>> >
>> >I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
>> >couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
>> >you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
>> >immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
>> >pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
>> >"One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
>> >properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
>> >but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
>> >unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
>> >mine just isn't working until I reboot.
>> >
>> >My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
>> >event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
>> >determine that yet.
>> >
>> >I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
>> >try is to change channels.
>> >

--
Barb Bowman
Expert Zone Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
MS-MVP (Windows)

I have Linksys G routers at home and work. I am finding similar problems with
the proliferation of Access Points. The advice already detailed in this
thread with respect to changing channels and SSID is right on.

Linksys has a nice knowledge base and router checkup links on their site.
Here they are:

http://206.65.172.231/check/
http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/...user/entry.php

Also, the pdf on Intel is very informative for G

http://www.medicaltabletpc.com/index...iewtopic&t=218

"Stephen Porter" wrote:

> System: Windows XP Pro (SP1 only), Linksys WRT54G router/access
> point, Linksys WUSB54G wireless adapter. There are three
> computers on my network, one running XP Home with an identical
> WUSB54G adapter, and one running Windows 98 SE with another
> Linksys USB adapter, but the WUSB11 (B) model. But... my
> computer is apparently the only experiencing the problem, which
> I would think is pretty strange.
>
> I'm not a wireless guru, but I've used wireless for in-home
> networks for a few years now and haven't really run into any
> problems until a few days ago when a medical student, who rents
> a room in a house next door moved in and set up a wireless
> network. They are connecting to a VPN for medical students at
> USC, which is nearby. (I don't know whether the fact that it's
> a VPN has anything to do with anything, but that's what it is.)
>
> I first noticed the problem a couple of days ago when I heard a
> couple of Windows USB-like noises -- the soft "boing-boing" that
> you get when you plug/unplug a USB device. I would be
> immediately bounced off the Internet and then, after a slight
> pause Windows system tray balloon would appear telling me that
> "One or more wireless networks are available." The networks
> properties dialog shows my network and the neighbor's network,
> but all attempts to reconnect to mine (or theirs) are
> unsucessful. Theirs is WEP-enabled so I can't get on it and
> mine just isn't working until I reboot.
>
> My connection being broken seems to be connected to some kind of
> event--perhaps their logging on, but I haven't been able to
> determine that yet.
>
> I went over and spoke to them and the first thing we thought to
> try is to change channels.
>
> I'm checking here to see if anyone has any bright ideas or
> pointers about how to trouble-shoot this kind of thing. Any
> advice appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Stephen Porter
> Los Angeles, CA
>
> P.S. Since we are now "neighbors" wirelessly, I'd like to
> encrypt our network also--it's completely exposed now. I know
> WEP isn't great, but it would be a good starting point, but I'm
> not sure how to set it up on the computer that is running
> Windows 98. Can that be done? TIA on that also.
>