Anyone here using Wi-Fi? I just upgraded my home network to Wi-Fi, in preparation for our big move to the new house in 2 weeks. I'm using the Linksys 802.11g router (with updated firmware) with the Linksys 802.11g laptop card. After some quirkiness, I got it running on 128 bit WEP, but am experiencing a little annoyance:
Every couple of minutes, XP alerts me that networks are available, and I have to reconnect to my LAN. Getting to be a pain in the rear. Is this normal for Wi-Fi, or is something amiss? Thanks.

Wayne

Check this article refrencing SSID:

http://support.microsoft.com/search/preview.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q302088

Or maybe it's your signal cutting out and causing the discconnect. Make sure you have good signal strength. Try repositioning the antenna as well.

Sorry if this is basic and or wrong. Just a couple things I noticed with mine (80211.b Linksys) and XP

Okay, I'm gonna post an update, because it may help someone else down the road:

I figured out that the disconnecting and reconnecting was only occuring while using encrypted authentication. When I changed to open (or unencrypted) authentication, I remained connected indefinitely. So, the short term fix was to encrypt only the data transmissions, and not the authentication. Not a very good long term solution, though...

Well, I had emailed Linksys tech support inquiring about how to utilize WPA, which my new firmware and drivers are supposed to support. Their response was a mixed blessing. First, they said that WPA is not supported at this time with the parts I have. In saying so, they managed to clue me in that I was using bad encryption settings for authentication. I was checking 'enable 802.1x authentication' and trying to use EAP (which is part of WPA). Well, the card doesn't actually support that. So, by unchecking that box, and leaving the authentication set to WEP - I was soon rockin and rollin. Now I am completely encrypted, and no disconnects. Sweet.

I was kind of disheartened to learn that my stuff doesn't support WPA. I certainly hope that future firmware upgrades will remedy this, or I will not be able to give this equipment a great review. The release notes for the router's firmware upgrade, and the release notes for the Wi-Fi card's newest driver both identify adding WPA support. So, either they lied in the release notes, or they didn't give us the whole story...

Oh, and one more thing. I had to go into my TCP/IP settings, and set the router's IP as a gateway. I've never had to do that before with wired routers, and I shouldn't have had to now, but I could not access the internet without doing that - only shared folders and printers. It fixed the problem, so I'm sticking with that for now.

Originally posted by B-Nez
Oh, and one more thing. I had to go into my TCP/IP settings, and set the router's IP as a gateway. I've never had to do that before with wired routers, and I shouldn't have had to now, but I could not access the internet without doing that - only shared folders and printers. It fixed the problem, so I'm sticking with that for now. You probably have to fix something with the DHCP settings in your wireless router. It differs what each of these little devices can and can't do, but the DHCP service (the function that assigns IP addresses) can hand down several different options, and sometimes, you have to set that particular option up manually.

---jps

There is also a quirky flaw in the way these things work - I have found in my experiences - I'm a network engineer and have setup and configured numerous Wi-Fi networks. I have to go the the properties of the actual Wireless Adapter and under the "Advanced" tab, I have to set the "Authentication Algorithm" there. I typically get lots of disconnects/reconnects if I don't do that. And I typically make sure the "Preamble Mode" to Long - initally. Once things are stable I'll try to set it to "Short" - slightly more efficient.

BTW....Linksys has some of the best tech support out there....just call 'em up & your be all fixed up in a half hour or so....wait times are generally very short...well worth the wait...
norats

Thanks, everyone, for your tips. I do have everything working really awesome now using manual configs and static IPs. I probably will be calling Linksys' tech support later on to get DHCP sorted out. I'm going to really enjoy being wireless - especially my laptop. :cool:

I'm getting ready to add the 802.11 standard as soon as I get my laptop. I should be getting my Dell 600m Centrino notebook very soon. I hear Dell is getting GF FX GPUs anytime now so I am going to wait until it does. Can't wait.

I managed to get DHCP working by myself. I was sitting here bored, and getting steamed that such a silly thing had me outsmarted. So, I decided to try and fix it.

What I had noted, was that when using automatic IP configuration, the Wi-Fi cards were not obtaining a lease from the DHCP server. Instead they were using WinXP Pro's Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA), which indicates that the card was unable to find the DHCP server. I had hoped that after manually configuring the settings, and getting one good connection, the card would then be able to "acquire" the DHCP server (weirdness, I know). I changed the TCP/IP settings to automatic, and just in case, I copied the manual settings over into the alternate configuration settings. Wouldn't ya know it - both computers immediately found the DHCP server, and obtained correct settings. So, I am still officially smarter than the computer. :p :D :D