Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with xp and wireless

Internet, you're being weird. Stop it.

Rhaomi — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 18:01:41 -0800

Trying to set up a new wireless network and running into all kinds of strange problems. Connections dropped every few hours! Some machines work, some don't! Can connect to internet, can't connect to router! DOGS AND CATS LIVING TOGETHER (literally). Please help. The set-up is a little convoluted, but does work (until it doesn't).

The original router is an ISP-provided 2wire HomePortal 1700HW, a combination DSL modem/router that plugs directly into a phone jack and broadcasts it as a WiFi network. It's a few years old but has worked decently on its own up to this point, so I don't think the problem lies there.

The newcomer is a brand-new Western Digital My Net N600 router, acquired both to improve on the range of the old one and to provide networked storage capability for shared music and such.

Configuring the two of them to work properly was a bit of a dog, but I finally did get it working. The phone jack plugs into the old 2wire, now set to bridge mode to disable its built-in wireless capability. The 2wire plugs into the N600 via Ethernet. And the N600, armed with all the correct PPPoE login information from the ISP, correctly connects to and interprets the DSL coming in from the 2wire and broadcasts it out. Even the network storage works!

Problem is, every couple of hours this connection fails, and in the weirdest way possible.

Right now, I'm typing this on an old 'n' busted laptop running Windows XP. It's currently connected to the N600's wireless network and can browse the web no problem. All the status lights on the routers are green, running an ipconfig command returns normal IP address information (including the router's IP), I can ping the router at that location fine.

But I can't connect to the router's settings page (192.168.1.1). WTF?

Also, a visiting Chromebook can connect to the network but can't load any websites... except for AOL webmail, of all things. A test email sent from a phone showed up in the inbox fine, while Google, Facebook, etc. look dead. Not even Gmail, mail.live.com, or even just plain old aol.com work -- just mail.aol.com. This Chromebook doesn't have a data connection, btw, just WiFi. I say again: WTF?

Meanwhile, a newer Windows 7 laptop can't connect to the N600 network at all ("Unable to connect..."), and even plugging directly into the N600 router via Ethernet won't work -- I can ping it fine, but neither websites nor the router settings page itself will load.

Various mobile devices are likewise denied -- various iPhones and iPads can't connect to the network at all.

Power-cycling the N600 router solves all these problems and things work alright for all devices... for a few hours. Until everything craps out again, for no apparent reason.

What could be triggering this issue, and how do I fix it? I've dealt with wonky router stuff before, but it seems totally bizarre to me that:

- the status lights on both routers are fine, including the N600's "internet connection OK" light
- ONE laptop can connect to the router's WiFi and browse the web, and can ping the router, but can't access the router itself
- the other laptop can ping the router through a wired connection, but can't access the router settings or browse the web that way
- a Chromebook can connect to the network and can load *one* website (mail.aol.com), but nothing else
- no other device (apart from that first laptop that mysteriously works fine) can connect to the WiFi network at all

Any thoughts or advice appreciated; I'd love to get this problem fixed rather than have to venture back to Best Buy and try to find a replacement (maybe an N900? who knows).

Frequently dropping wireless

moonroof — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 10:30:06 -0800

My wireless connection keeps dropping every few minutes. Eee PC, Windows XP, roommate's Macbook does not have this problem. I've got an Eee PC laptop running Windows XP. We have a Motorola Docsis 3.0 and a Belkin N300 Wireless N router.

Every few minutes, the internet stops working, and we have to "repair connection" to get it back again. We have only had this problem since moving to our new house with the new modem and router setup. In our previous apartment, our modem and wireless setup worked fine. Our roommate's Macbook does not have this problem.

This is a very frustrating problem that has been going on for months. Any advice or help would be appreciated. If you need to know more tech specifics, ask and I will let you know. Thank you guys so much in advance!

Help connect my XP virtual machine to a local network to save my back!

This_Will_Be_Good — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 12:11:00 -0800

How can I connect my Windows XP Virtual Machine (bootcamp partition) to my office network over wifi? I have a somewhat complicated networking question -- I often work on a laptop at work so I can stand up and take some pressure off my back. It is a Macbook Pro, but also running Windows XP via VMware (to the bootcamp partition) since I have a few applications that are only on the Windows machine. While I have no trouble connecting to the internet over wifi from either side, I am having trouble connecting to the local office network over wifi on the XP side.

- I can connect to the internet over wifi on both the Mac side and the Windows side.

- I currently have my settings in VMWare to "Bridged"

- I can connect to the Windows network on the mac side by entering an IP address in the finder under "Connect to Server..." and then I input "SMB://ipaddress"

- I can connect to the windows network on the XP side when I plug in to the network directly with an ethernet cable.

So, the problem is when I am just running on Wifi, and I want to connect to folders on the Windows server when I am on the XP virtual machine. I thought I could just enter an ip address somehow like I do on the Mac side, but I can't seem to figure it out.

Help save my back via networking!

Troublesome wireless connectivity...

Exchequer — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 13:55:07 -0800

I'm having a wireless connectivity issue that is proving troublesome. My Windows XP-equipped desktop won't connect wirelessly to the internet about 90% of the time. Intermittently, it will connect and browsing proceeds normally. If I connect via LAN Ethernet, all is well. I'm using a Netgear WG111 v2 wireless adapter connected via USB to my desktop. My wireless router is a Netgear WGR614 v6 I have two laptops working online through the same wireless router just fine, no issues connecting at all. I also have an Xbox successfully connected directly to my cable modem, so it seems my incoming internet connection is fine.

If I use Windows to configure my desktop wireless connection, it very rarely succeeds connecting to my network (it shows 4 out of 5 bars for signal strength) . I can sometimes connect to a rouge open weak signal (1 or 2 bars) coming from a neighbor, I presume.

If I use Netgear's "Smart Wizard Wirerless Assistant" to manage the connection, it connects to my router (58% signal strength), but then punks out at "acquiring network address" and then finally says "limited or no connectivity."

So, any ideas on what it will take to resolve this? I'm pretty stymied...

(BTW, this issue started about 2 months ago. Before that, the connection was pretty rock-solid for 3+ years with the same set-up.)

Please help me optimize my home network.

st starseed — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:35:19 -0800

Please help me optimize my home network. Since moving into my new house, I've been hard-pressed to make my home internetwork fit my needs. Here are the details:

I am running a connection from Comcast into a cable modem.

The cable modem is plugged into a D-Link DI-524, which is an 802.11g wireless router.

The router is sending a signal to three different machines:

1. A Playstation 3, about 75 feet away and through one wall.
2. A laptop (XP SP3), about 80 feet away and through one wall.
3. My main PC (XP SP3, recently formatted), a mere 20 feet away but through two walls, one of which has glass on it.

Note: There is no wired connection besides the cable modem going into the router.

The wireless signal doesn't have much of a problem getting to the PS3 or the laptop. I watch Netflix-On-Demand and MLB.TV through the PS3 without any issues, and the laptop's internet surfing is fine. The signal is admittedly not as strong as it could be: The PS3 shows 88% strength, and the PC shows 48 mbps...but this is a quibble, as everything I do with these machines works well.

The problem comes with my main PC. It has a connection ranging from 12 mbps to 18 mbps, and this is noticeable when I'm doing some heavy uploading or downloading. More importantly, it's noticeable because I use the PC as a server for movies, music, and photos streaming to the PS3, and content takes unbearably long to load.

My hunch is that the hardware in the PC - the Netgear Wireless USB WG111 - is the problem. It's old (2004), and I'm guessing it just isn't sending or receiving data as quickly as a newer piece of hardware might. Thoughts?

And the bottom line: What can I do to optimize my network, and more specifically, move this content from the PC, over the network, and into the PS3 faster?

ThinkPad T42 wireless connection problem

mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:40:00 -0800

Windows XP Home network connection issues. My son's girlfriend has an IBM ThinkPad T42. In the last couple of days its network connectivity has gone haywire. It has an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG adapter and an Intel Pro/1000MT wired connection, and the laptop is running XP Home, Service Pack 3. Here's what it does:

As soon as I enable the wireless adapter and connect to a network (either secured or unsecured) the connection bounces from disconnected to connected and back again, over and over ad infinitum.

I can't enable the wired adapter at all (it just stays disabled while the "Local Area Connection - Enabling" message shows, after which it disappears with the connection still disabled), which is what makes me think this is a software problem rather than a hardware problem. I have tried all of the following (not necessarily in this order):

1) reset the TCP/IP stack ("netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt")

2) Uninstalled and reinstalled TCP/IP

3) removed and reinstalled the network adapter drivers

4) system restore to earlier restore point

5) installed a PCMCIA wireless card (same result - connected/disconnected over and over)

6) run Malwarebytes (no malware detected)

At this point I am ready to throw in the towel and reinstall Windows unless someone has any better ideas. I don't really mind doing this, but it always irritates me to resort to a reinstall when it seems like there really should be a simpler fix.

Any ideas?

Button won't obey finger

dance — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:34:05 -0800

I am working with a laptop with one of those buttons that can enable or disable the wireless functionality. It seems that this button needs to be pressed each time that the computer is turned on, and doesn't just automatically remain on through reboots. The problem is this button will only work if it's pressed by a user with admin rights on XP and the owner is an old gentleman who needs to run Windows from within the confines of a limited user's rights. If he has admin rights the computer is filled with malware within a day. So my question is how can I temporarily elevate a limited user for 30seconds or so to allow him to press this button and for the button to have an effect, or how can I make this button obey his finger regardless of his XP user rights?

Thanks so much!

Wireless Internet Stops and Starts After SP2 Installation

ktoad — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 10:03:35 -0800

My internet is stopping and starting and it's driving me nuts. I'm running Windows XP on a slightly older (3 or 4 years) machine. We have a wireless router in the house running Roadrunner cable service. My device is an Edimax EW-7128g wireless antenna I got through NewEgg awhile back. Works like a charm. Read on for a description of the problem... Up until recently I hadn't really felt the need to update XP. The system worked, I had other virus and firewall protection. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, as they say. But then the last month or two I couldn't get an external drive to appear via the USB ports, so I decided to finally get SP2 to see if that fixed the problem. Immediately after doing all of the latest XP updates, my internet imploded.

Now, I get about 15-30 seconds of internet access as usual, followed by 30 seconds of no internet at all. I updated the wireless drivers and any other drivers I could see that seemed connected to internet devices, all to no avail. I'd really like to get my internet back, without reformatting and starting all over again if possible. Thanks for any help you can provide, my MetaBrothers and MetaSisters.

How can I connect to my university's VPN network?

jordanian2 — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 16:53:32 -0800

I'm trying to connect to my university's wireless network with VPN. I keep getting a 619 or 721 error. This is with a new laptop that has Windows XP Pro SP3 on it. How can I fix this problem?

Will someone marry my keyboard?

skylar — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:29:26 -0800

I've just bought a Microsoft Wireless Entertainment Keyboard 7000, which comes with the matching mouse (8000). It works great with my Windows XP computer, as long as the computer is on. Once I switch the computer off and attempt to restart, the Bluetooth connection is lost and the computer won't start, citing the lack of a keyboard as the reason. Only by repeatedly fiddling and resynching can I get the computer started up. Can anyone suggest how I bond these three devices in permanent holy matrimony?

Very Fickle Wireless Network

Ikazuchi — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:08:36 -0800

Does anyone have any idea as to why a Macbook Pro or a laptop running WinXP could see a wireless network broadcast from an old Netgear (802.11b network) but two different laptops running Vista would not even see that the network exists? The SSID is being broadcast and while there is basic MAC address filtering being used, the Vista laptops don't even see that a network exists. Thanks.

Help me make wireless setup easy for our end-users

genial — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:54:50 -0800

Is there any way to build an installation package that would setup a Wireless Access Point along with security key (WEP) using Windows XP? I'm looking for a way to be able to offer a download that when run would completely setup an access point as a preferred network with all security settings put in. I need to avoid having to give out the WEP key to the end user (Yes, I know WEP is unencrypted and easy as hell to figure out but I've fought that battle before and this is what I'm stuck with). Are there any files in XP that store this information that can be modified or a way to do this from a packaged msi, batch script, etc?

Printing woes on XP

sneakin — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 15:40:45 -0800

Apple Airport wireless printing problem: I am able to print wireless from my MacBook to our printer (via our Airport). My girlfriend, on the other hand, cannot. She has XP. I have read old AskMe threads and followed those instructions (like setting up printer sharing on her computer) but nothing has worked. When we try to print from her laptop, we get a dialogue box reading "the printer is offline." I am no Mac expert but I am DEFINITELY lost on how to deal with PCs. Thank you.

Please help Windows recognize a wireless receiver for keyboard and mouse.

Asef Jil — Sat, 07 Apr 2007 18:15:19 -0800

Please help Windows recognize a wireless receiver for keyboard and mouse. I'm getting a "USB device not recognized" error when plugging in the USB receiver for Microsoft's Wireless Laser Destop 6000 keyboard and mouse combo. The receiver works fine in another computer (same OS--Windows XP).

Device manager claims there is no driver installed for the USB receiver. Unfortunately Microsoft doesn't provide *.inf and *.sys files for the receiver alone--everything is bundled in the Intellipoint and Intellitouch executables--so I can't point Windows to the driver directly in device manager.

I've isolated the *.sys file for the receiver via another system but Windows won't let my install the driver without a *.inf. Can I manually edit the registry to force the receiver to use the appropriate *.sys file? I've reinstalled the drivers umpteen times. Is there something else that I'm missing?

New mouse broke screensaver

AstroGuy — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 15:33:24 -0800

My new Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 5000 broke my screensaver. Help? All the details: eMachines T6522 Media Center PC w/TV tuner card, remote, etc. This mouse replaced a wired el cheapo MS Intellimouse which did not exhibit this issue. Since installation, screen saver or power save mode will not activate (previews fine).

Googling the issue turned up a few leads. A MS KB article talked about disabling ehtray and a DVD process. An online suggestion was to plug the USB connector into a green USB-to-PS2 connector (didn't work--mouse not recognized).

Called MS support and they had me disable the stuff listed in the KB article. That made the screensaver work. It also disabled the Media Center remote control. And the ehtray.exe process restarts if Media Center is started via the Start menu, which again breaks the screensaver.

Anyone else have this problem and fix it?

What's wrong with my computer?

pullayup — Wed, 29 Mar 2006 09:52:07 -0800

Wireless networking problem with a Thinkpad t40/Cisco 350 mini-pci wireless card. Windows XP sp2, latest versions of everything, as far as I know. Every ten minutes or so, regardless of the router, authentication, etc. my laptop drops its wireless connection as if the signal/access point have disappeared. It will fail to detect any wireless signals until the card is disabled and re-enabled in the device manager, which is the only thing that seems to fix it. Disabling/enabling, repairing the network connection and attempting to reauthentcate don't. Eventually, however, I get a bluescreen with the message:

DRVR_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL (it's only visible for about 3/4 of a second before rebooting, so that may not be exactly right)

It works fine for ten minutes or so after rebooting, then craps up again. Failure may be dependent on use: if I don't make any connections over the wireless link, it doesn't seem to lose it.
Sometimes, when I'm looking at the Wireless Network Connection Status window, it suddenly displays a totally impossible number of packets sent, like 2 million and something.
All of this has been happening ever since the card was installed--that is, it was never worked.

Sometimes (depending on the security type, I think, but I don't know that much about wireless security) it will fail aquire an IP address through DHCP, resulting in the message "this wireless connection has limited or no connectivity," and behaves in the same manner as above when I assign one manually.

I'm totally stumped. Wire network works fine. Searching for similar problems on the web has led to explanations accusing sp2 of "corrupting the TCP stack," but none of the suggested fixes have made any difference--though I haven't moved back to sp1 yet.

Anyone got any notion what's going on?

Sharing a wireless connection with a wired PC

ontic — Tue, 12 Jul 2005 17:44:58 -0800

I have a laptop that can connect wirelessly to a wireless network at my parent's home. Is there any way to share that connection via ethernet with my desktop computer? So basically I don't want to buy a wireless networking card for my desktop -- this is only short term -- but I need to connect with my desktop. I want to use the vast power of my laptop to function merely as a wireless card for my desktop. I imagine that Internet Connection Sharing is involved and/or a crossover cable, but I'd love to do it with regular CAT5. Both computers running XP. Any ideas?

Why won't my WinBook connect to the wireless network?

bingo — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 18:50:09 -0800

The dreaded 'TCP/IP is not enabled for this connection. Cannot proceed.' My wireless card sees the network, but will not actually connect. The web is full of discussions on this problem that end in hopelessness. My setup: WinBook J4, WinXP Pro SP1, Pentium 4 2.4GHz, 480 MB RAM, 35 MB hard drive. McKaffee was installed, but I removed it (the problem existed before I removed it). The wireless network is not protected by a password, and other computers are connecting to it fine. ipconfig gives a blank space next to 'default gateway.'

This computer was just given to me, so I don't know it's history. When I booted it up, it claimed to be installing various windows updates...which it was apparently doing through the wireless network. I will answer any and all questions about the specifics of my system, and I will try any solution that doesn't seem batshit insane.

Bafflingly consistent wireless problems

rwhe — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:50:47 -0800

Using two different Netgear WiFi adapters under Windows XP, we can connect to our home network, but can't ping any domains or see any websites (though we can under Knoppix). My wife just bought an Averatec notebook from a friend, who never had any problems with it. It runs Windows XP Home Edition and came with a Netgear WG111v1 wireless USB dongle. We can connect from the laptop to our home network via our Linksys WAP11, but can't see the Internet. The Netgear software says we have made a strong connection and we can even see some traffic in the monitor utility, but we can't ping google.com or surf via IE. My wife's old laptop connected wirelessly via a Netgear MA401 PCMCIA card, but when I plug that card into her new laptop, we get the same problem. (I am using the latest drivers for both adapters.) I can also connect wirelessly to our LAN with my Zaurus PDA (runs Linux). Oh, AND I can surf the web using the PCMCIA card on her laptop if I run Knoppix on it! There seems to be something peculiar about the combination of Windows XP and our home network, but I'm damned if I can figure what it is. (I'm probably damned for letting "Win" XP in the front door anyway.) I've been working on this night and day, and my google-fu quails before the task. Can anyone help me? I would love to fix this for my dear wife.

Ad-hoc wireless DNS hell

ROU_Xenophobe — Wed, 01 Jun 2005 20:45:38 -0800

Why does the client machine on an ad-hoc wireless network on XP get DNS issues that the host machine doesn't? Two machines, both running XP. Just a temporary thing, so we set up a wireless network with a USB adapter at the desktop end and the internal dingus on the laptop end, running an ad-hoc network and XP's internet connection sharing. Everything seems okay, the laptop can connect and do web stuff, but it gets DNS errors on sites that return fine on the desktop. I wouldn't much care except that metafilter is one of these sites.

how do wifi and docking stations work?

alball — Tue, 19 Apr 2005 08:48:37 -0800

Is my laptop (win xp) using the wifi or ethernet cable connection when I plug it back into the docking station after having worked wirelessly? Is it smart enough to use the fastest connection? Should I disable the wireless connection when working in the dock?

WiFi connection problemon open networks

timnyc — Sat, 08 Jan 2005 10:18:47 -0800

Wi-fi woes. My XP laptop connects to the Web on my open home network, but I've had problems connecting to other open networks elsewhere. [MORE INSIDE] I'll get green bars, but no connection. This has happened in a local coffee shop w/ an open network. And a public library where I followed their directions on changing my settings. Both places had many other people happily surfing. I've also tried NetStumbler while driving in a car, finding an amazing density of open networks (this was suburban Chicago). While it's fun to see the names of the networks ("Alien Fast Food" was my favorite), I wanted to connect. (Not sure if this is legal... not that I really care.) Sadly the only time I (almost) had wifi connection outside the home was at the airport, where I connected to a Web page asking me to pay. No thanks. I'm looking for any good pointers or a good resource on connecting to open access points.

Wireless Network Setup Question (for PC)

scarabic — Wed, 24 Dec 2003 09:55:29 -0800

Twiddling my thumbs... wirelessly! I'm setting up a new Windows XP Pro laptop with built-in 802.11b. It seems to detect our Apple Airport (I) base station just fine, and connect to it. Just can't get any network services through it (ie: web pages are all 404s). Any suggestions?