Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Wireless and resolved

My Brother wireless printer doesn't work after resetting my laptop.

The Card Cheat — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:13:09 -0800

I have a MacBook running OS X 10.6.8 and a Brother HL-2270DW printer. This morning I had to reset my entire system using Time Machine; everything else is up and running, but the printer doesn't work. I've tried reinstalling it with the printer setup disc, but the laptop won't detect our wireless connection when I get to that step (it suggests disabling my personal firewall, but I don't have one set up.), and the laptop won't let me add any printers in System Preferences. Any suggestions would be gratefully appreciated, because I've spent all afternoon trying to figure this out.

How can I improve the wireless network signal in my large house?

freecellwizard — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 20:05:34 -0800

I just moved into a large house where my Netgear router does not provide a strong wireless signal to the whole house. I tried buying a repeater but despite being a programmer, I am lousy with hardware and am not really grasping how to set it up, or whether it's even the right answer. Help! I've Googled this and there is a wide range of conflicting info out there. Current setup:

- Netgear RangeMax Dual Band N Wireless Router WNDR3700 - two networks active at 2.4 Ghz and 5 Ghz ( I tend to connect to the 5G one)
- Time Warner cable modem and "turbo" service
- (new) Winstars WS-WN518N2 Wireless Repeater/Access Point

This whole thing started because the router is downstairs in a front office but we have a Mac upstairs as well as an iPad, phones, and a DVD player with dongle that streams Netflix. Network speeds using speedtest.net are like:

- wired connection to router through 5G network - 24-27 Mbps
- wireless connection through 5G (iPad in same room) - 18 Mbps
- iPad test on back stairway landing - 2 Mbps, sometimes fails test

The PC store guy said the extender was easy to set up, but not for me. It has two modes (Repeater and Access Point). I didn't expect Access Point to require ethernet running through the house, but it seems to so I picked Repeater. However then I got a different network name; also in the initial setup while attached to my Vista PC I've got it showing multiple connections somehow. On top of that the speed tests go way down for all the wireless tests while the repeater is plugged in.

Obviously I don't know what I'm doing :-) Mainly I just want to know if I'm even on the right path. I've heard of using a second router as an extender but am unclear if that solves the "two network names" problem. Or maybe there's a way I can just tweak the original router (or buy a better one) so it covers the house better.

Thanks in advance ... I wish setup of this stuff was like my Sonos system ... 2 buttons and good to go.

Where are the outlets???

one4themoment — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 14:09:13 -0800

Company wants to group skype, and everything is working great Except the main conference room, which is about 8x bigger than the others. Now they want a wireless webcam for video and a wireless mic for the middle of the room. Best suggestions? I find great stuff for small areas... but we're talking about a 2800 sqft (at least) area and they want to see and hear everyone. Limitations beyond wireless are... lack of power outlets, lack of hdmi (audio/vga ports available... in certain places only). In my head... it's not possible without serious equipment. Linking two rooms the size of my kitchen to a room the size of 4 of my apartments... I'm not saying it's not doable but I'm thinking money... and more than skype. So... best wireless skype compatible cams and mics... humor me or prove me wrong...

In search of a lasting wireless network solution

Rhaomi — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 07:12:09 -0800

After wasting two different off-days trying to get my damnable modem+router working, I want to return them both and get something entirely new. Any good recommendations for a solid, reliable DSL modem and wireless router set-up with decent NAS support? THE STORY SO FAR:

- had an ISP-supplied hybrid modem/router for a few years that worked fine
- bought a new laptop last year and swapped the hard drive for an SSD
- decided to use the spare hard drive as an external drive for storing large media files and performing automatic backups
- bought an Apricorn USB hard drive enclosure designed to support NAS stuff
- bought a Western Digital My Net N600 router with a USB port designed to support NAS stuff (the old modem had no USB ports)
- ran into endless bizarre problems trying to get the N600 maintaining a connection to the old modem in bridge mode
- discovered plugging in and using the external drive was crashing the router firmware
- exchanged N600 for a better-spec'd N750
- more bizarre problems; dropped connections; router web interface sluggish
- tried installing a firmware upgrade from the official website
- now the router won't even boot up, *not even after a paperclip factory reset*

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

There are just too many potential glitches and conflicts here for me to deal with any more -- the fact that the modem is old (and in bridge mode), the general bugginess of Western Digital's routers, the fact that I'm using a laptop hard drive instead of one purpose-built for NAS work.

So I want to start from scratch. New DSL modem. New router. Maybe even a new hard drive and/or hard drive enclosure if that might help.

What I need to know:

- What's the best option for a reliable dedicated DSL modem? No-frills is fine as long as it's reasonably fast and can support a PPPoE connection type.

- What's the best option for a reliable wireless router with support for an external USB hard drive? I'm willing to spend more if it can buy me quality, dependability, and a no-hassle set-up with a decent web interface. I'm seriously tired of troubleshooting unaccountable wifi problems via unhelpful router settings pages that crash often and don't tell me anything useful.

- What's the best option for a reliable external hard drive set-up? I'm not doing enterprise-level stuff here -- I just want it to store my iTunes, my movies, and have some space left over to automatically back up a ~256GB SSD. I already have a laptop hard drive in the Apricorn enclosure I mentioned, and it did allow me to (temporarily) access my files wirelessly. But I'm not sure if the crashes I mentioned were due to the Western Digital router being shoddy or the hard drive/enclosure set-up being inappropriate for that purpose. Should I maybe reformat the hard drive for use as a NAS? Or would it be better to just get a purpose-built USB NAS drive?

I'd also be interested in a decent combination DSL modem/router with NAS support if that would be easier to set up. My current, years-old modem/router hybrid works flawlessly, but just doesn't have any USB ports to plug a drive into (only a USB B port, which apparently can't support that kind of thing).

Any recommendations -- especially based on personal experience with the device -- very much appreciated!

Help fix my hotel wireless

Zosia Blue — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:28:40 -0800

Can't get my hotel wireless to work on my MPB running Mountain Lion. Help! At a hotel in Duluth, MN. Trying to get the wireless to work on my MPB, Mountain Lion. Wireless is working for everyone else and on my phone -- just not my laptop.

The facts:

-Wireless doesn't require a password, but does first require a connection to the hotel's site (like when you sign into Starbuck's Internet).
-In Chrome, I get an Error 107 SSL protocol error.
-In Safari, the site trying to get to the welcome page just endlessly loops and never connects.
-The page trying to connect says: 192.168.100.1/login?username=username&password=password (note that I don't need a username or password -- the router is bypassing this step by filling it in for me)

What I've tried:

-Firewall on and off
-Renewing my DHCP lease
-Restarting the browsers, computer and wireless connection

The internets say to check my Proxy settings, but nothing is checked or notable about the settings.

Help me so I don't lose my mind on this work trip? The front desk wasn't helpful (and it's an issue on my end, so not their fault). Thanks.

Stream music from my pc to my android phone over local wireless.

cthuljew — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:30:43 -0800

I want an app that I install on my Droid 3 phone that'll find my computer on my home wireless network and which I can point to my music folder and stream. I've found a couple services that involve setting up local servers, web apps, and what have you. But ES File Explorer can find my Windows PC on my wireless network and transfer files without any hassle, and I want a music player that can do the same basic thing, but present my music as a tagged library, like the default Android music player. The idea here is that I can have my phone in my pocket, and walk around my apartment doing chores or whatever, but still have my entire music library available through my headphones.

I realize this is an absurdly specific request, but I vaguely suspect something like this exists, but is gonna be basically impossible to find via Google. Even a suggestion for a slightly more involved app (as in, one that requires a desktop application or something) is fine if it's elegant and fairly trivial to set up. Thanks, hivemind!

Can't figure out wireless connection issue

camylanded — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:22:13 -0800

I can't connect to the wireless network-- have connected with other laptops and my smart phone just fine to this connection. Is there something I can change on my computer? I need to figure this out ASAP or I may have problems with applying for jobs and doing my schoolwork! I share a connection with 2 other people—none of them have had any problems connecting to the network through phones/laptops/game consoles. I have an HP dv6-7122he laptop that runs Windows 7 Home Premium edition. I’m not sure the exact model of wireless modem, but it’s a newer model rented from Comcast/Xfinity/Whatever they call themselves now. Last year, I had an HP netbook that did not have this issue. My android phone also has not had this issue with the wireless connection. This has been going on with this wireless connection since I purchased this laptop in July. I’ve never been able to use this connection with this computer. I was lucky enough to have a neighbor who has been letting me use her connection, but she is moving out of her apartment and once that happens, obviously her wireless is going to go with her. I need wireless for school and would not be able to purchase direct internet for my home until January. I can connect to other wireless connections fine (although I will admit that I’ve had problems with two other connections but the public connection at school fixed itself when I changed it from a public connection to a "home connection")….

When I try to log-in to the wireless network, it says it’s ‘identifying’ for longer than usual, and then it will come up with small exclamation point logo and tell me that it’s an unidentified public network. I cannot change it to a home network. I have also reset the router hoping that would solve the problem, but it does not. Sometimes it will connect randomly to Google for me, but then it stops working. When I try to diagnose the problem using Windows Network Diagnostics, it just tells me to reset the router. I’ve done this several times and it does not work. I know this is a relatively common problem, but I don’t know how to fix it. Please help?

Bridging a Cisco router thru a Verizon FiOS Actiontec router to improve WiFi speed: worth the trouble and, if so, how?

Jamesonian — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 12:54:27 -0800

My FiOS speed is a blazing 75Mb/s thru a wire but only about 30-35Mb/s wireless. Verizon tells me that this is all I can expect through their Actiontec modem/router. Can I improve this WiFi speed by bridging my Cisco EA4500 thru the FiOS router? If so, can anyone provide me with a step-by-step way to re-configure the FiOS router to allow for the bridge? All of the resources I can find on-line are confusing and don't cover my specific situation. All help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I have a bridged router acting as a modem, and a non-wireless vpn router. I need two add one or two wireless routers...how?

Unhyper — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 23:50:32 -0800

I have a bridged router acting as a modem, and a non-wireless vpn router. I need two add one or two wireless routers...how? I am talking about my brother's home network setup. He has a router (Zyxel) which is in bridge mode, and connected to a Cisco non-wireless vpn router which was bought specifically for its terrific vpn features. The Cisco doesn't have built-in ADSL modem so that's why he needs the bridged Zyxel.

He would like to add wireless capability by adding one or two wireless routers (to cover the whole house) to his network, but we're not sure whether these should be connected to the bridged Zyxel or to the Cisco. I assume they would work connected to the Cisco so long as each router had separate dhcp ranges, gateway IPs, and subnet masks.

Am I missing something, or is there a better way to do this?

How to get internet working with Motorola 3360 and WRT160N V2

qsysopr — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:54:54 -0800

Internet connection stops when connecting wireless router (WRT160N) to DSL modem (Motorola 3360). Used to work but no more. Internet through the DSL modem fails when router is connected although router seems to work fine at that point (active as an access point).

Internet works fine when modem is connected to PC.

I've done all the simple troubleshooting, updating firmware, rebooting in the proper sequence (many, many times), etc.

It appears the solution might be for me to change the modem to bridge mode but the config page for the 3360 doesn't seem to have one under protocol, only PPPoE and PPPoA.

Clearly too dumb to be doing this, Ubuntu wireless no worky

fiercecupcake — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:55:37 -0800

Wireless no longer working after upgrade to Ubuntu's Precise Pangolin. I've got just enough knowledge to be confused. Please explain what to do like I'm 5 years old. So this seems to explain the problem and what to do (wireless suddenly stopped working and tries and tries to connect, would ask over and over for my password).

I did manage to download and install Wicd as a network manager. Now I guess I am supposed to disable NetworkManager and enable Wicd, but I don't know how to do that.

(I did finally find a terminal window and typed this into it, on the advice of some page I can't find again now, but I'm pretty sure I was in the wrong directory, because even though I restarted it didn't do anything.)



# settings NetworkManager disable

# settings wicd enable

Help. I don't really care to learn a whole bunch about the inner workings here, I just want my wireless to work. I only put Ubuntu on this netbook because it was so slow as to be unusable with Windows. And now that the whole interface has changed with this update, I had a hard time even figuring out how to get to Terminal.

Wireless internet up, PC internet down

ormondsacker — Sat, 25 Aug 2012 18:08:41 -0800

My wireless internet works fine. My PC, with ethernet line to same router, has no internet connectivity. What could be happening? A week ago, my Windows PC, connected via ethernet cable to my router, started intermittently failing to connect to the internet. Refreshing the IP settings via the diagnostic tool fixed the issue each time... up until Thursday. Since then, I've rebooted, rebooted the modem, checked the plugs, reset the adapter, changed ethernet ports, and nothing's worked. This while my wireless internet hums along just fine on the same router. Virus scans on the PC come up clean. Any thoughts on what it could be? I'm not much of a networking expert, so small words, please :\

I could use smoke signals. Those are wireless.

Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 08:16:18 -0800

My Internet connection is terrible. All efforts at tech support have failed. Could switching companies fix the problem? Details inside. My home connection uses Verizon's FiOS fiber-optic service. It's great when it's working, but whenever I do anything that requires a constant stream of data – downloading large files, playing a game online, uploading my music to Google - the connection is likely to drop out, and nothing other than rebooting or power-cycling the model (which is also my wireless router) will get it back. The weird thing is that neither the modem nor my computer “knows” the connection is gone – the PC reports that it has Internet access, and the “Internet” light on the modem remains green.

Verizon has sent me two new modems, one of which was a completely different model. They've sent a tech out to examine the lines and on-site hardware; he replaced the box that connects the house to the network. Nothing makes a difference. At this point, the company is blaming the fact that I and my upstairs neighbor (I live downstairs in a split-level home) each have a separate Internet connection and wireless network; they think the two are interfering with each other somehow. Both of us connect through FiOS; the house has two separate lines going into it. But that doesn't make sense to me: If this setup, where people living on different floors of the same structure each have their own Internet connections and modems, disrupted service so dramatically, then it would be impossible to get a personal Interweb connection in an apartment building. And yet that is possible. Maybe it's something specific to FiOS?

(And it's not just the wireless; my desktop is connected to the modem by Ethernet cable, and it's equally affected)

At this point I've pretty much given up on Verizon fixing the problem and would like to switch carriers. It doesn't help that they charge me sixty bucks a month to not be able to play Diablo or upload my music anymore. My question is: if there really is some disruption coming from my neighbor's connection, is switching to cable Internet likely to avoid that disruption? I'd gladly go back to DSL if I could, but that's not an option in my area.

Confused about Internet access

trillian — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:17:05 -0800

In two weeks, I start a new telecommuting job, and I need to set up my home office. I'm totally confused about Internet access, though, and I have some questions... So, my new employer told me I need to get a work landline and Internet access. We currently have a personal landline and DSL (Frontier) and a wireless router. I have no idea what to get for my work stuff. (They're sending me a laptop, if it matters.) I want to have some better idea of my options before I call the phone company or whoever I'm going to call.

Here are my questions: (please bear with me -- I am kind of clueless with this stuff)

1. With DSL, we often lose Internet access during rainstorms... which is pretty sad for 2012. That would be really annoying if I'm depending on Internet access to do my job. Does that mean I should get cable?

2. And what if I get cable Internet (Time Warner in our area) -- I don't know if anyone in this house (1940s house) has ever had cable. How can I tell? If no one ever has, what does cable installation entail? Lots of drilling and wires? And does it mean that we have to get cable TV? We don't really need cable TV -- we're pretty set with Netflix...

3. If we stick with DSL, is it even possible to get a separate bill for my DSL work usage, since I could potentially just connect to our WiFi with my new work computer? I think that for tax purposes (or something), my new employer wants me to have a tangible "home office," and separate bills/accounts would probably support this. Is it even possible to get an additional DSL account if you already have one?

4. I should probably try to get some bundled service with phone/Internet, right? What does "digital home phone" from the cable company mean?

5. How do I fend off pushy salespeople if I don't really know what I'm talking about with this stuff?

laptop instead of an airport?

Theta States — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 12:02:28 -0800

Can I setup my PC laptop to receive audio like an AirPort Express? I have an older PC laptop that we use as media server in our living room: we listen to music, stream radio, and have it attached to our TV for watching videos and MAME.

I would like it to also act as an airport express: Is there a program I can run on it so that other laptops can connect and stream their audio to it so it all comes out that same speaker system?

If the search fails, the main backup option is to get an airport express to connect to, and have that running in to a mixer that the media server laptop is also connected to, and have that run in to the stereo. Of course, I'd prefer to not have to buy an airport express.

Marsh monitoring for dummies.

sciencemandan — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 12:05:13 -0800

I'm working on setting up an outdoor webcam that can pan, tilt, and zoom with web (and possibly iPad/smartphone) access, and I'm having a heck of a time finding a good solution to do all of the above. Help? Long story short, I've got a colleague who owns a cabin overlooking a marsh out in the country. He and several other guys pay a share of the costs to keep the place running and head out there on occasion to hunt ducks, pheasants, etc.

He'd like to have a webcam feed that he can access with pan/tilt/zoom controls with a decent resolution and optical zoom capability to be able to scan the marsh to see what sort of animals are around at any given time. I don't think any sort of night vision is really necessary.

He has high speed internet at the cabin, and it wouldn't be too hard to mount the camera at the cabin itself (i.e., we won't be mounting this from a tree or anything). There isn't currently any permanent computer at the place currently, but setting something up to be a server if necessary would be possible. They're on a dynamic IP right now.

This was my first inclination, but I'm not entirely sure what else he'd need to set up to make this accessible from the web.

So, I guess I'm just picking your collective brains, technophiles of MeFi. What would be the best (and preferably simplest) way to do this? Bonus points for iPad/Android access and control.

Wireless vs wired video streaming to my TV - Help.

alchemist — Sun, 20 May 2012 13:50:21 -0800

Why does Windows 7 "play to" work on wireless but not wired? I have a Netgear WNDR3700v2 router and a cable to a Panasonic Viera P55VT30 and a 802.11n wireless connection to my laptop running Windows 7 with Windows Media Player 12. The tv has a DNLA connection which allows me to use the "play to" function on the Windows Media Player video library and stream video from the laptop to the tv. So far, so good. Only situation is - this only works when i'm on wireless. The viera as a "media device" (and by extension the "play to" function) disappears as soon as I disconnect the wireless and use a regular network cable. With the cable I still have an internet connection, and a local network connection, just no "play to" option. Everything comes back as soon as I take the cable out and turn the wireless back on. Is DNLA inherently wireless? What can I check in my network settings? All permissions are "on" with regards to sharing and streaming.

iPad + ? = music

libraryhead — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:31:31 -0800

With all this tech, surely there's a way to listen to music in my living room? I have more than 100gb of music sitting on a hard drive connected to an iMac in the upstairs office and a wireless network. I also have an iPad and an iphone, a ~8-year-old AirPortExpress, and a fairly high-end, but old, stereo receiver and wired speakers.

What I want to be able to listen to music in the downstairs living room, preferably through the nice speakers we already own, controlling via the iPad. Ideally I'd like to be able to access the entire music libary on the computer upstairs, but could live with just streaming whatever I happen to have loaded on he iPad.

Last time we tried this, the airport express was involved and the result was terrible: frequent dropouts and crashes, plus I had to run upstairs to cue each album.

Is there a way to make this happen with the tech we already have? Or a simple, inexpensive enabling piece? I don't want to invest in Sonos or go back to Roku (we tried that once, too). An AppleTV seems like an obvious choice, but I've been burned by performance issues.

It kind of hurts my head to read about this stuff. I just want it to 1) sound good, 2) be simple to operate, 3) be inexpensive (under $200), and 4) not be complete fugly. Should I suck it up and just buy Bluetooth speakers? Or is there a better way?

Make my laptop and router get along!

afx237vi — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 06:19:27 -0800

My laptop (and only my laptop) intermittently fails to see my wi-fi network. Please help me solve the problem. I have an Asus laptop running Windows 7 (64-bit) and a Netgear wireless router (branded Virginmedia). Until a couple of weeks ago, I'd never had a problem connecting to the internet, but since then my computer randomly fails to see my network.

If I click on the wireless icon next to the clock, I can see several of my neighbours' network, but not my own. Other computers in my house can connect without a problem, so it seems to be an issue with my computer rather than the router.

Things I've tried:

- Turning the router off, waiting a minute, then turning it back on again.
- Disabling the wireless adapter, then enabling.
- Updating the drivers for my wireless adapter (it was up to date already).

I'm not sure what else to do. Google leads me around in circles. Please help!

I can't print black and white.

By The Grace of God — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 06:35:50 -0800

Odd printing issue for a HP Officejet 4500 Wireless; using old or new cartridges, black won't print and colour is distorted. Pictures of diagnostic pages inside along with what I've done so far. We changed cartridges; both with new and old cartridges no black will print, and colour prints in a distorted fashion, as seen here in this test page I printed.

I followed the instructions here, aligned cartridges, cleaned print heads, turned off and on again, unplugged from mains power, swapped out old and new cartridges, etc.. Not sure what to do to fix this.

Here is an album of the various test pages the printer printed.

Why is my computer refusing to connect to the internet?

fight or flight — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:40:30 -0800

AskMefi, my computer is suddenly refusing to connect to the internet. I'm starting to go a little bit nuts. So my new-as-of-last-year computer can't connect to the internet. I'm running Windows 7 64 bit with a Linksys Wireless-G PCI Adapter (all drivers up to date), connecting to a wireless Linksys WAG160N router. I share the network my 4 housemates, who aren't (as far as I know) reporting any problems.

Over the last few weeks my connection has been dropping randomly every couple of days for a few minutes at a time - completely losing contact with the wireless network. Turning the router off and on usually solved this problem. Lately it has started to drop just the internet connection. I can find and connect to the router, but it either says it has no internet access or refuses to load any browser pages/chat clients. If I run a troubleshooter, it tells me: "Your computer appears to be correctly configured, but the device or resource (DNS server) is not responding."

I have tried:

- flushing the DNS server
- releasing/renewing the IP address
- resetting the router
- disabling/enabling the wireless adapter

I can connect to the internet just fine with my PS3 and if I use my iPhone as a hotspot connected to the wireless network, so I think the problem is (unfortunately) with my machine.

Here is my ipconfig when I'm trying to connect to the wireless network:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : MOYA
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Linksys Wireless-G PCI Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1E-E5-A5-A2-6B
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::d41e:47a2:46e2:e029%18(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.7(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 19:58:35
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 20:58:35
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 469769957
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-15-60-8C-4D-BC-AE-C5-DE-7E-EC
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : BC-AE-C5-DE-7E-EC
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Hamachi:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Hamachi Network Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 7A-79-05-F7-49-FB
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2620:9b::5f7:49fb(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::298c:4dba:2554:1bec%12(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 5.247.73.251(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.0.0.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 19:30:35
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 23 March 2012 20:02:42
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 5.0.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 5.0.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 427456862
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-15-60-8C-4D-BC-AE-C5-DE-7E-EC
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{5967EEC2-571F-451D-822B-1E8B83CCE26C}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{20B7AC2E-17E2-4177-9842-9C6F0567C5AD}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:5ef5:79fb:1cda:2ab2:a9e1:cada(Preferred)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::1cda:2ab2:a9e1:cada%11(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

This is really, really frustrating. Is this a hardware issue? Some weird bug in the gears? Please, AskMe, you're my only hope!

Wireless router with QoS for home use?

middleclasstool — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:53:10 -0800

Recommendations on routers with QoS, please? Pretty straightforward, but I'm not a hardware guy and don't exactly trust the CNet reviews that Google is coughing up.

I have a D-Link DIR-655, and it's had a good run, but it's starting to give up the ghost. I'll happily replace it with the same thing, but before I do, I want to be sure there isn't anything better out there. Needs are pretty straightforward: fast, reliable, decent range, and must have QoS. Is the DIR-655 as good as it gets, or is there something better? Is coughing up the dough for a commercial-grade router worth it?

Yes, it's a nice Gothic black, but why else does my router need to avoid sunlight?

limeonaire — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:31:49 -0800

Why does my router need to be placed out of direct sunlight? So today I bought the beautiful new ASUS RT-N56U router I'd been lusting after for some time, got it hooked up and running in about 10 minutes, and have been very pleased with its performance thus far. But as I was setting it up, I read through the included "Quick Start Guide" and saw this line, which worried me.

"Keep the device away from metal obstructions and away from direct sunlight."

I get the metal obstructions part, I think—it probably interferes with the signal, especially the 5 GHz band. But I'm worried about the direct sunlight part—right now, my router lives where the old one did, up on a corner of my mantel that gets some indirect (pretty much never direct) sunlight. The old router (a 10-year-old white Netgear WGR614) appears to have yellowed a bit on the side facing the window, though structurally, it's fine. (We replaced it due to its poor performance, but it was always pretty poor—I received it as a gift six years ago because its previous owner finally got fed up, just like I did today.)

Anyway, long story short, I'm wondering if anyone can shed some, er, light on why it might be bad for my new ASUS router to get direct sunlight. Is it made of a plastic (like ABS or PEX) that can degrade in the sun? Or is it more likely an optimal operating temperature range kind of thing, since it's made of black plastic that could overheat? Or could it be an interference thing, too?

How do I install a wireless antenna on a HP ZV5000 laptop?

brownrd — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:46:15 -0800

How do I install a wireless antenna on a HP ZV5000 laptop? I have Googled until my fingers bled, and I can find no diagram to show me where the antenna is supposed to go. I have already installed the wireless card, and I can see where the antenna wires plug into the card... I just don't know what to do with the ends of the antenna, which terminates at two small, metal objects which look like they are supposed to screw into something.

why is my internet so slow

southern_sky — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:57:31 -0800

Why does my wireless internet work perfectly until I open my MacBook, and then grind to a near-total halt? Last weekend my partner and I got rid of our AT&T broadband internet, which was hooked up to a Linksys wireless router, because it was too slow. We replaced it with a Motorola SURFboard Cable Modem Gateway. I called Linksys technical support and they helped me reconfigure the router's settings for the new modem. We set up the new wireless network and everything appeared to be great.

Except here's the problem: When my partner is using his Dell laptop and my MacBook is turned off or asleep, everything works fine (he gets 17.5Mbps). But as soon as I open up my Mac, the speed goes way, way down, to the point where it takes several minutes for a page to load, and forget about watching video. If his Dell is off and I just try to use my Mac by itself, same problem -- it's slow as molasses.

We called Comcast tech support, who told us to clear our cookies and browsing history. This did not solve the problem. Comcast sent out a technician, who saw the problem, said he didn't know how to fix it, and left.

Does anyone have any thoughts about what could be causing this problem and what I can do to fix it?