2 USB adapters fail but SMC pcmcia adpt is OK to USR router. why?

We are trying to get three PCs connected to a little home WLAN but are
struggling with #2 and #3.

We started with a USRobotics 8011 DSL router (and by the way I highly
recommend USR at least for the excellent tech support -- best so far.)

I then hooked up my laptop (Win ME) with a SMC pcmcia (802.11b 22Mpbs)
wireless adapter and after a fair bit of fiddling and replacing the
first card that appeared to be defective I have been happily
connecting wirelessly SMC-to-USR for 4 weeks.

We then tried a 2nd user. As #2 is a desktop we got a Linksys USB
adapter model WUSB11 (802.11b 2.4Ghz 11Mpbs)

Again despite much fiddling with configurations we could not get a
connection. We could not get WININCONFIG to Renew and "pickup" an IP
Address. It either showed 0.0.0.0 or Media Disconnected.

Linksys tech support (not great) concluded that the adapter was
faulty. while waiting to return it we decided to test and purchased a
no-name WLAN USB adapter. Also 802.11b and 11Mpbs.

It appears to have the same problem as the Linksys. Both USB devices
recognize the Access Point (router) and reports the signal is
"excellent".

With both we have checked that the SSID and the WEP code matches
exactly. We have also tried disabling the WEP security on the Router
and we still fail to connect.
We have checked that we are in Infrastructure mode. We have tried both
auto-assign IP addresses and manually specified address.

We have tried the two USB adaptors in 3 different machines: one
running Win XP, one running WIN 95 and this laptop running Win ME.

In the meanwhile my SMC PCMICA adaptor continues to work fine (in the
laptop.) I can pop it out, pop it in. Reconnects no problem.

So to summarize, we have one PCMCIA adpt that works fine with the
router and TWO USB adaptors that both appear to fail the same way in
three different machines.

Can anyone shed some light on what we might be doing wrong?

many thanks


peter

On 16 Jul 2003 17:44:08 -0700, peter <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> We started with a USRobotics 8011 DSL router (and by the way I highly
> recommend USR at least for the excellent tech support -- best so far.)
>
> I then hooked up my laptop (Win ME) with a SMC pcmcia (802.11b 22Mpbs)
> wireless adapter and after a fair bit of fiddling and replacing the
> first card that appeared to be defective I have been happily
> connecting wirelessly SMC-to-USR for 4 weeks.

Good... So we know the USR is at least somewhat functional.

> adapter model WUSB11 (802.11b 2.4Ghz 11Mpbs)

> connection. We could not get WININCONFIG to Renew and "pickup" an IP
> Address. It either showed 0.0.0.0 or Media Disconnected.

> no-name WLAN USB adapter. Also 802.11b and 11Mpbs.
>
> It appears to have the same problem as the Linksys. Both USB devices
> recognize the Access Point (router) and reports the signal is
> "excellent".

Hmmm...

> Can anyone shed some light on what we might be doing wrong?

In all that you checked, I did not see any mention of MAC security
or filtering.

Also, WEP can be tricky, especially with different makes of
equipment (not necessarily brands, but the underlying OEM). I'd
recommend disabling it when trying to add anything new to your WLAN.

The problem sounds like WEP or mac filtering but it may be just DHCP
/ IP address related...

Verify that DHCP on the router is seeing requests (any kind of log?)
and is permitted to issue more than one IP address.

Try manually configuring an IP address in the proper block. Can you
ping the router or the laptop?

sdb

--
| Sylvan Butler | Not speaking for Hewlett-Packard | sbutler-boi.hp.com |
| Watch out for my e-mail address. Thank UCE. >>>> change ^ to @ <<<< |
It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral
busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his
cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our
own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval
of their consciences. -- C. S. Lewis

attention all dogs with bones.
not great news but just a (boring)update. After paying $15 to return
original 8011 router to USR after 10days I received a replacement
router, an upgraded model even - the 8022 22Mbps.
unfortunately they didn't include an AC adapter and the AC adapter
they told me to NOT return with the old router doesn't seem to work.
the NEW router doesn't power up at all, not a flicker and it appears
to need a different AC adapter (needs a 5Vdc 2A and the old adapter is
12Vdc 1500mA.) sooooo, we are back to the drawing board.
a call to USR nad they are apparently sending ANOTHER router AND the
correct AC adapter.
don't touch that dial. the saga continues.
Peter



Sylvan Butler <Zsbutler+(E-Mail Removed) > wrote in message news:<slrnbhgcot.8m5.Zsbutler+noZs_0307@hpb13799Z. Zboi.hpZ.com.invalid>...
> On 17 Jul 2003 21:23:40 -0700, peter <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > Sylvan Butler <Znospam+(E-Mail Removed) d> wrote in message news:<slrnbhdlor.vdm.Znospam+(E-Mail Removed) boi.hpZ.com.invalid>...
> >> Also, WEP can be tricky, especially with different makes of
> >> equipment (not necessarily brands, but the underlying OEM). I'd
> >> recommend disabling it when trying to add anything new to your WLAN.
> >>
> >> The problem sounds like WEP or mac filtering but it may be just DHCP
> >> / IP address related...
>
> > I am not sure how vefify that DHCP on the router is seeing requests.
> > here is the only form of a Log that I could find (but I don't really
> > know what it means):
>
> Nothing helpful.
>
>
> > WAN Type: PPP over Ethernet (V2.0)
> > Display time: Friday, July 18, 2003 12:14:09 AM
> >
> > * Restarted by 192.168.123.114
>
> That is probably the IP address of the system you used to clear the
> log or restart the router.
>
> > * DOD:TCP trigger from 192.168.123.114:1829 to 69.20.5.22:80
> > Friday, July 18, 2003 12:04:12 AM PPPoE start to dial-up
>
> Dial-On-Demand (DOD) is triggered, so PPP-over-Ethernet (PPPoE) is
> starting.
>
> > * PADT sent
> > * PADI sent
> > * PADO recv 0006 62031020044491-sms8-toronto63
> > * PADR sent
> > * PADS recv 8002 DE83
> > * PAP3: OK
>
> Those are PPP phases.
>
> > * IPCP3: IP is 216.221.57.36
> > * IPCP3: DNS0 is 206.123.6.11
> > * IPCP3: DNS1 is 206.123.6.10
>
> And those are the results of the connection -- your assigned IP
> address on your provider's network, and the two DNS servers
> configured by your provider.
>
>
> > So, I can conclude that none of the adapters are completely defective.
>
> Yup.
>
> > I'll keep you posted though. Have you ever heard of such wacky
> > incompatibility issues between adapters and routers?
>
> Not in general, no. And if both are "802.11b" there is little
> chance of it, and if both are "WiFi" (Wireless Fidelity) certified
> then that chance is supposed to be eliminated.
>
> The only thing left for compatibility problems is the WEP (or other
> authentication or privacy) settings I alluded to before.
>
> Sounds to me like the USR rep knows of something and they don't want
> to admit to it so they offer a replacement. If they admit then
> everybody, even customers who are not having problems, will demand a
> replacment. $$$. So they treat the complaints one at a time...
> (Very typical customer support model.)
>
> Networking has a level of complexity that adds to the chance of
> problems. Wireless adds a bit more. Often it just works (as
> witnessed by all the access points left operating at their factory
> default configuration) but sometimes it doesn't.
>
> sdb