WPA vs WEP problems...

I was using WEP on my WAP and notebook pc and always got atleast 4-5 bars no
matter where i went in my house. I recently changed it to WPA pre shared key
and now unless I am within almost arms reach of my WAP i get 2-3 (mostly 2)
bars and sometimes none at all but when i change back to WEP i get the 4-5
bars again. Is this normal? What could be done to rectify this? I have a
Linksys WAP54G with the optional 7dbi high-gain antennas installed
(http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=38&prid=643) and
my notebook is a Sony Vaio PCG-K45
(http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...uctSKU=PCGK45).
Thanks for any info.

"Another Anonymous" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cvNUd.770$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I was using WEP on my WAP and notebook pc and always got atleast 4-5
bars no
> matter where i went in my house. I recently changed it to WPA pre
shared key
> and now unless I am within almost arms reach of my WAP i get 2-3
(mostly 2)
> bars and sometimes none at all but when i change back to WEP i get
the 4-5
> bars again. Is this normal? What could be done to rectify this? I
have a
> Linksys WAP54G with the optional 7dbi high-gain antennas installed
>
(http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=38&prid=643)
and
> my notebook is a Sony Vaio PCG-K45
>
(http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...Store/en/-/USD
/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=PCGK45).
> Thanks for any info.

I assume the bars are your signal strength and the encryption method
should not
affect signal strength so I wouldnt rely on the bars as a test as it
may just be a
driver/software issue thats causing the bar difference. Have you tried
downloading a file and comparing the times with each encryption
method,
does your wireless utility show a connect speed, besides bars?

"Airhead" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:4223b920$0$22514$(E-Mail Removed) m...
> I assume the bars are your signal strength and the encryption method
> should not
> affect signal strength so I wouldnt rely on the bars as a test as it
> may just be a
> driver/software issue thats causing the bar difference. Have you tried
> downloading a file and comparing the times with each encryption
> method,
> does your wireless utility show a connect speed, besides bars?
>
>

Yes, sorry bars = signal and it fluxuates between 1.0 mbps and 36.0 mbps
then 48.0 up to the 54 mark the closer i get to the WAP. when I'm in the
single digit connection speed, it takes approx 2 mins to transfer a 1 meg
file over my lan and web pages load at dialup speeds. Using WEP it takes 2
secs, and I stay at a consistant 54.0mbps connection. I've contacted Sony
about drivers for specific hardware in this system already and they post no
drivers on their site other than the mem stick, mouse drivers. The wireless
lan in this notebook seems to be pretty speedy when signal is good but it
seems like they may have taken the cheaper route when they chose the
hardware.

Taking a moment's reflection, Another Anonymous mused:
|
| Yes, sorry bars = signal and it fluxuates between 1.0 mbps and 36.0 mbps
| then 48.0 up to the 54 mark the closer i get to the WAP. when I'm in the
| single digit connection speed, it takes approx 2 mins to transfer a 1 meg
| file over my lan and web pages load at dialup speeds. Using WEP it takes 2
| secs, and I stay at a consistant 54.0mbps connection. I've contacted Sony
| about drivers for specific hardware in this system already and they post
| no drivers on their site other than the mem stick, mouse drivers. The
| wireless lan in this notebook seems to be pretty speedy when signal is
| good but it seems like they may have taken the cheaper route when they
| chose the hardware.

It probably is a poor implementation of WPA in the drivers for the card.
If you can identify the card and chipset manufacturer, you may be able to
find updated drivers without the assistance of Sony. I would recomment
downloading Belarc Advisor to see if it can detect the card type:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

"Another Anonymous" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cvNUd.770$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I was using WEP on my WAP and notebook pc and always got atleast 4-5
bars no
> matter where i went in my house. I recently changed it to WPA pre
shared key
> and now unless I am within almost arms reach of my WAP i get 2-3
(mostly 2)
> bars and sometimes none at all but when i change back to WEP i get
the 4-5
> bars again. Is this normal? What could be done to rectify this? I
have a
> Linksys WAP54G with the optional 7dbi high-gain antennas installed
>
(http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=38&prid=643)
and
> my notebook is a Sony Vaio PCG-K45
>
(http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...Store/en/-/USD
/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=PCGK45).
> Thanks for any info.

Just curious, are you using TKIP or AES. Does it make a difference if
the pc has just been turned on
(cool) and progressivley get worse?

"Airhead" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:42248b41$0$22513$(E-Mail Removed) m...
>
> Just curious, are you using TKIP or AES. Does it make a difference if
> the pc has just been turned on
> (cool) and progressivley get worse?
>
I'm using TKIP, haven't tried AES and its the same from the time i turn on
the pc till i turn it off. I'm gonna dig around the net a bit and see if i
cant find some newer drivers for the wireless. Windows reports it as a
LAN-Express AS IEEE 802.11g miniPCI Adapter but so far it hasnt been an easy
find.

"mhicaoidh" <®êmõvé_mhic_aoidh@hotÑîXmailSPäM.com> wrote in message
news:IOTUd.78657$4q6.759@attbi_s01...
> It probably is a poor implementation of WPA in the drivers for the
> card.
> If you can identify the card and chipset manufacturer, you may be able to
> find updated drivers without the assistance of Sony. I would recomment
> downloading Belarc Advisor to see if it can detect the card type:
>
> http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html
>
>
I'm gonna try that later tonight. Windows says its a LAN-Express AS IEEE
802.11g miniPCI Adapter and so far it hasn't been an easy find. I'll be able
to put some more time into looking tonight. thanks for your help. hope it
worx out.

Another Anonymous <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> "mhicaoidh" <.(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:IOTUd.78657$4q6.759@attbi_s01...
>> It probably is a poor implementation of WPA in the drivers for the card.
>> If you can identify the card and chipset manufacturer, you may be able
>> to find updated drivers without the assistance of Sony.

What about the latest drivers from Sony?
<http://esupport.sony.com/perl/swu-download.pl?template=EN&upd_id=1538&os_id=7&mdl=PC GK17>

> I'm gonna try that later tonight. Windows says its a LAN-Express AS IEEE
> 802.11g miniPCI Adapter and so far it hasn't been an easy find. I'll be

Have you looked at the mini-PCI card for markings?
On the bottom of the laptop, there should be an FCC ID for the internal
card. Try looking it up at the FCC site, or post it here.
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/c...ericSearch.cfm
Sometimes you can Google the FCC ID and figure out what other names the
same card appears under.

A Google for
"Express-LAN" Sony
makes it look like an Intersil card. The Linux answers don't give you a
driver per se, but they often tell what other driver works for a particular
card under Linux.

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

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:d032lp$r88$(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> What about the latest drivers from Sony?
> <http://esupport.sony.com/perl/swu-download.pl?template=EN&upd_id=1538&os_id=7&mdl=PC GK17>

Different PC, but loox like the same net card, tried to update driver and
windows wouldn't let me. said the currently installed driver is a better
match, bla bla... so I tried uninstalling it and reinstalling it with this
driver and I got a Code 10, device could not start.

> Have you looked at the mini-PCI card for markings?
> On the bottom of the laptop, there should be an FCC ID for the internal
> card. Try looking it up at the FCC site, or post it here.
> https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/c...ericSearch.cfm
> Sometimes you can Google the FCC ID and figure out what other names the
> same card appears under.

I tried the search and returned nothing. the FCC ID is PPD-AR5BMB5 and in
the search, PPD wasn't in their search criteria. I did, however find a 3rd
party firmware for my WAP which lets me turn up the power output that seems
to be working for now. this is actually kinda neat, it seems to unlock
several features in the WAP that linksys didn't provide. Its the MustDie
firmware v2.07
(http://tinyurl.com/5mfre)
This can work for now, I upped the power output from 22mW to 44mW and I get
4 signal bars all the time again. I checked net stumbler for any close by
WAPs and set the channel, etc. to something not being used in my area so
hopefully I won't interfere with anyone.

>
> A Google for
> "Express-LAN" Sony
> makes it look like an Intersil card. The Linux answers don't give you a
> driver per se, but they often tell what other driver works for a
> particular
> card under Linux.

Thanks for your help, I will keep digging around until I find something or
I'll light a fire under Sony's ass and maybe they'll post drivers on their
site for this.

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

"Another Anonymous" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:cvNUd.770$(E-Mail Removed)...
>I was using WEP on my WAP and notebook pc and always got atleast 4-5 bars
>no matter where i went in my house. I recently changed it to WPA pre shared
>key and now unless I am within almost arms reach of my WAP i get 2-3
>(mostly 2) bars and sometimes none at all but when i change back to WEP i
>get the 4-5 bars again. Is this normal? What could be done to rectify this?
>I have a Linksys WAP54G with the optional 7dbi high-gain antennas installed
>(http://www.linksys.com/products/prod...id=38&prid=643) and
>my notebook is a Sony Vaio PCG-K45
> (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTE...uctSKU=PCGK45).
> Thanks for any info.
>
Thanks for all your help. So far driver searches are coming up empty but
I'll keep lookin, eventually somethings bound to turn up.
I did, however find a 3rd party firmware for my WAP which lets me turn up
the power output that seems to be working for now. this is actually kinda
neat, it seems to unlock several features in the WAP that linksys didn't
provide. Its the MustDie firmware v2.07
(http://tinyurl.com/5mfre)
This can work for now, I upped the power output from 22mW to 44mW and I get
4 signal bars all the time again. I checked net stumbler for any close by
WAPs and set the channel, etc. to something not being used in my area so
hopefully I won't interfere with anyone. Thanks again.