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Thread: Wireless Networking Puzzle

  1. #21
    Agony Aunty-Online Moira's Avatar
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    Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm not sure why any firewall software would fundamentally block a wireless connection yet allow the wired network to connect? From memory I just have the XP firewall on in my laptop (it's a low spec machine). I'm pretty sure Ryan's laptop was the same. However fL4t_t1Rz, wireless networks exhibit some strange behaviour at times and it's something to consider.

    BrainStop yes, I was connecting directly to the router when I wired the computers to the network. The setup is that it's a Linksys WRT54GS wireless router with a couple of ports for wired connections. I find it hard to believe that the manufacturers would make it hard to get DHCP working for the wired and wireless parts of the network since that's the whole strength of the router and people don't necessarily know how to create subnets when they decide on this kind of setup.

    very_unhappy, the reason I was "messing with encryption" is that everything was working for a year with wireless networking (including encryption) set up and functional until Ryan decided to restore Windows back to factory settings. So the WEP keys etc were already in the router. In theory, both my laptop and his should have been able to just connect.

    I'm afraid the only web address I tried to connect to by entering the IP was the router homepage ...... I simply didn't have enough time to spend on the problem. I guess I could try getting them to do that and if it does connect, then input new DNS servers. If it didn't, they could ditch encryption altogether till we got a connection and if that still didn't work, then a router reboot. Trouble is, I know if they got it working without encryption they'd probably just not set up WEP after all this
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  2. #22
    AOs Resident Troll
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    Well it could be a number of things..

    Why did the laptop have to be restored....internet stop working??

    Maybe the router is flucked......if noone can connect through it???

    Reset to factory defaults....and\or

    try a different one

    MLF
    How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

  3. #23
    Agony Aunty-Online Moira's Avatar
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    I think that's about it morganlefay (Morgan LeFay? They're a local band here and I have their CD!). The laptop was restored just because it was about a year since Windows was previously installed and it was starting to get bloated and run more slowly.

    Maybe the router is f00ked, but it's pretty coincidental that this happened exactly at the same time as the laptop settings were interfered with. You're right, it could be a number of things. I remember what a trial it was setting her network up to begin with and I went through the "maybe it's the router that's inherently faulty" phase. Then we got it working and after a brief hiccup when several other strong networks appeared in the area, it's worked pretty well since, and I realise it's far more likely to be something I've done or not done than the router at fault.

    At least I have a few more ideas to try, basically there are a few more options I can go for by the sound of it and at the end of the day, hope that if these fail, a complete reset fixes the problem. If it hadn't been my laptop as well, I'd have said something was askew with Ryan's, but I know my own setup and there's no reason whatsoever it shouldn't have been able to connect.
    Last edited by Moira; November 15th, 2006 at 12:54 AM.
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  4. #24
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    Maybe you need a firmware update on the router...usually resolves lots of little buggy things for me.

    Maybe something new is interfering with the router???

    Does hardwired connect???

    Maybe the antenna is loose???

    When I get to that point when I cannot resolve...I reset everything and start from scratch....then I start replacing stuff

    As for the handle..... I am an Arthurian legend fan

    Good luck!!

    MLF
    How people treat you is their karma- how you react is yours-Wayne Dyer

  5. #25
    Agony Aunty-Online Moira's Avatar
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    Wired works fine. A firmware update (if there is one) is something to try, so is entering an IP address rather than just the url. I can reset the router and go through the connection setup from scratch - all of these are worth trying, the problem is I'm not confident either of the two users could do these steps on their own and I just don't think I have time to go back over to Belfast before christmas. They may just have to settle for a wired connection till I next get a chance to work on it - only one PC connects wirelessly anyway.

    Again, it's possible an antenna is loose but then I wouldn't have expected both laptops to show a strongly connected signal. Nor would I have expected this to coincide absolutely with the reformatting of Ryan's laptop. Before he restored Windows, his wireless link worked. Afterwards, it didn't. That doesn't sound like something wrong with the actual hardware, or some outside source interfering.
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  6. #26
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    Thumbs up

    I have the same router and have had a similar issue, also the web interface on the router would reveal no text when I logged in. You can try to reset the router but I would stay up to date on the firmware, it fixed my problem. My 2 cents - use the layerd approach

  7. #27
    Agony Aunty-Online Moira's Avatar
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    Thank you oz1127 - it's good to know I'm not the only person getting these weird issues. I think either I need to go back over to Belfast and reset the router, or else see if I can talk the two of them through it over the phone. Thanks for the suggestions.
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