Unable to connect to wireless network

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anonymous

Hi,

This is a problem concerning my wireless connection. Some time ago, I had no
problems connecting to my wireless connection using WEP encryption. However,
I tried to change the encryption to WAP on my gateway page and thereafter
failed to connect to the internet. Using a LAN cable to connect to the
internet, I reset the encryption back to WEP. However, although my other
computer which is also on connected via wireless managed to reinstate its
connection, the computer on which I changed the encryption to WAP could not
connect to the internet, showing "limited or no connectivity". This is the
results of the ipconfig /all command:

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : D-Link AirPlus Xtreme G DWL-G132
Wir
eless USB Adapter(rev.A)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-17-9A-BF-32-E5
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.203.251
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

As you can see, the IP address is not of the "192.x.x.x" suffix, although
DHCP is enabled. The router gateway page also shows that DHCP is enabled for
the computer.

I tried removing the wireless network which i used to connect to and adding
it again, but it prompted me saying that the network password had to be 5
ascii characters. I set them to an arbitrary 5 characters, clicked 'ok', then
went to reconfigure the connection again. This time, the network password
showed to correct amount of characters that my connection used to have.

I tried setting a static IP with a "192.x.x.x" suffix, but although it
showed that I could connect to the internet, I was unable to view any
webpages. This was because the DHCP was "off" as revealed by the "ipconfig
/all" command.

Powercycling the router and the computer has no effect. The computer can
connect if it uses a lan cable. DHCP works while using a lan cable.

Thanks for your help
 
Hi
It could be that your hardware is Not WPA compatible.
First log to the Support site of the Hardware and make sure that you have
the most updated drivers.
Then make sure that you have a viable connection with No security.
Then switch On the maximum security that your hardware allows.
From the weakest to the strongest, Wireless security capacity is.
No Security
MAC______(Band Aid if nothing else is available).
WEP64____(Easy, to "Break" by knowledgeable people).
WEP128___(A little Harder, but "Hackable" too).
-------------------
The three above are Not considered safe.
Safe Starts here at WPA.
-------------------
WPA-PSK__(Very Hard to Break).
WPA-AES__(Not functionally Breakable)
WPA2____ (Not functionally Breakable).
Note 1: WPA-AES the the current entry level rendition of WPA2.
Note 2: If you use WinXP and did not updated it you would have to download
the WPA2 patch from Microsoft. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/893357
The documentation of your Wireless devices (Wireless Router, and Wireless
Computer's Card) should state the type of security that is available with
your Wireless hardware.
All devices MUST be set to the same security level using the same pass
phrase.
Therefore the security must be set according what ever is the best possible
of one of the Wireless devices.
I.e. even if most of your system might be capable to be configured to the
max. with WPA2, but one device is only capable to be configured to max . of
WEP, to whole system must be configured to WEP.
If you need more good security and one device (like a Wireless card that can
do WEP only) is holding better security for the whole Network, replace the
device with a better one.
Setting Wireless Security - http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html
The Core differences between WEP, WPA, and WPA2 -
http://www.ezlan.net/wpa_wep.html
Jack (MVP-Networking).
 
This is a problem concerning my wireless connection. Some time
ago, I had no problems connecting to my wireless connection using
WEP encryption. However, I tried to change the encryption to WAP
on my gateway page and thereafter failed to connect to the
internet. Using a LAN cable to connect to the internet, I reset
the encryption back to WEP. However, although my other computer
which is also on connected via wireless managed to reinstate its
connection, the computer on which I changed the encryption to WAP
could not connect to the internet, showing "limited or no
connectivity". This is the results of the ipconfig /all command:
[snip]
Click to expand...

It would help to know what OS you are using. There is a patch for
Windows XP SP2 for WPA. I believe this patch was incorporated into SP3.

See:
"Update for Windows XP (KB893357)"

Brief Description
This update to Windows XP provides support for Wi-Fi Protected
Access 2 (WPA2), which is the latest standards-based wireless
security solution derived from the IEEE 802.11i standard.

<http://www.microsoft.com/DOWNLOADS/...4D-E7C1-48D6-95EE-1459234F4483&displaylang=en>

HTH,
John
 
OP here.

I'm already using WinXP with SP3. I don't want WPA, I just want WEP running
on this one computer so that I can connect wirelessly. The main problem is
that I'm connecting internally instead of through the internet.
 
anonymous said:
OP here.

I'm already using WinXP with SP3. I don't want WPA, I just want WEP running
on this one computer so that I can connect wirelessly. The main problem is
that I'm connecting internally instead of through the internet.
Click to expand...

You certainly have communication problems, not the least of which is
your imprecise usage of terminology.

It seems as if you have a wireless router that initially was configured
to use WEP encryption. Both computer 1 and computer 2 could successfully
connect to the router (and thus to the Internet) wirelessly.

You then reconfigured the router to use WPA encryption and attempted to
connect to it with computer 1. This didn't work (what happened?). You
didn't mess with computer 2.

You then reconfigured the router to use WEP encryption (presumably using
the same key that you had used at first). Computer 2 can now
successfully connect but computer 1 can't.

Is that where you are?

Please explain the following paragraph a bit more clearly:
I tried removing the wireless network which i used to connect to and adding
it again, but it prompted me saying that the network password had to be 5
ascii characters. I set them to an arbitrary 5 characters, clicked 'ok', then
went to reconfigure the connection again. This time, the network password
showed to correct amount of characters that my connection used to have.
Click to expand...

How did you remove it?
Where did you set the "arbitrary 5 characters"?
Where did you reconfigure the connection again, and how?

What do you mean by "connecting internally instead of through the
internet"? This makes no sense to me.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
 
Is that where you are?
Yes.


Please explain the following paragraph a bit more clearly:


How did you remove it?
Where did you set the "arbitrary 5 characters"?
Where did you reconfigure the connection again, and how?
Diagrammatically:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v600/oonml29/Untitled-1-8.jpg

What do you mean by "connecting internally instead of through the
internet"? This makes no sense to me.
Click to expand...

Windows APIPA. Sorry if I used the wrong terms.

Thanks.
 
anonymous said:
Windows APIPA. Sorry if I used the wrong terms.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Thanks. That makes it much easier to understand what's happened.

One of the several issues with using WEP is that the algorithm used to
convert an ASCII string (the 5 or 13 characters) to the actual
hexadecimal key used in the encryption/decryption process may not be the
same in Windows as it is in your router. Thus, do not use the character
string that you entered in your router's configuration utility to create
the key, but use the resulting hexadecimal key. For example, instead of
using "obamamcain" use "6f62616d616d6361696e".

But, and this is a big but, you really shouldn't be using WEP anyway.
Even 128-bit WEP can be cracked in minutes using tools readily available
on the Internet. You started the thread by saying that you tried to set
up WPA encryption but couldn't connect. What happened? Which encryption
mode did you select on your router (sometimes the acronyms used by the
router mfr are less than clear)? Perhaps you should focus on getting WPA
working rather than getting WEP back.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm
 
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