Wireless question

[StanleySpadowski]

I'm setting up my children's new computer. I installed a wireless card.

I have a cable modem and then a linksys router on another computer. The new computer recognizes the "linksys" unsecured network but won't connect to it. It keeps "acquiring network" when I hit connect after viewing the wireless networks.

Any help at all would be appreciated as I'm not tech savvy at all.

 

[CowboyJeff]

Linksys wireless routers suck. I prefer a Linksys router with a Netgear access point. Nonetheless, first thing is to make sure you download the most current wireless drivers from the manufacturer's website - the CD the card comes with usually contains outdated drivers. There is a chance your Linksys wireless router could be getting interference from other Linksys wireless routers nearby. I've seen nothing but problems with people using Linksys Wireless products I'm sorry to say.

 

[iceberg]

I'm setting up my children's new computer. I installed a wireless card.

I have a cable modem and then a linksys router on another computer. The new computer recognizes the "linksys" unsecured network but won't connect to it. It keeps "acquiring network" when I hit connect after viewing the wireless networks.

Any help at all would be appreciated as I'm not tech savvy at all.

i'm not a fan of linksys, but netgear lasted less than 2 hours on my network before i unhooked it and put hte motorola back on. there are some routers out there that are just hellbent on being reset on a regular basis and i can't have that. linksys and asus are (2) routers that i paid over $120 for each and they needed to be reset on at least a weekly basis to start working again. netgear needed to be reset within hours, so they're perma-junk to me.

now - you'll need to log into your linksys router and check to make sure *all wireless security* is off. personally i set it to 64bit because 1) my neighbors are not really anxious to break into my network cause they got one of their own. if they can guess my 10 digit code, yahoo - surf on me. the rest of my network is secure and under a domain so they won't hit it anyway.

sometimes if you have a type of security on the card doesn't either have or have enabled, you'll see what you're seeing.

now, less likely but to check - DHCP server - make sure it's on and has at least 10+ addresses to hand out. you may only need 2-3, but just give yourself room.

keep in touch - we can get you through this. i'll be glad to help out this xmas day to get ya'll up and going!

fyi - dlink is what i swear by. my MIMO router has been flawless for a week now with rock solid connections and a breeze to setup. pretty antenna's also.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Are the router and wireless card the same standard...ie A, B, G? Also how far is the pc from the router?

btw I hate wireless

 

[iceberg]

Are the router and wireless card the same standard...ie A, B, G? Also how far is the pc from the router?

btw I hate wireless

wireless can be a bit tricky. B and G are typical types, not sure about A, but all they're really saying is how fast the connection is between access point and router. G is like 54mbps. MIMO and some other technologies can double that if the WAP (wireless access point) understands it also.

but good point - make sure the router will accept all connection points (A, B, G and so forth) and then make sure security is either OFF or you use WEP and then go through the trouble of writing down the key (which is why i use 64bit, 128 is too damn much trouble)

keep us posted.

 

[locked&loaded]

Linksys wireless routers suck. I prefer a Linksys router with a Netgear access point. Nonetheless, first thing is to make sure you download the most current wireless drivers from the manufacturer's website - the CD the card comes with usually contains outdated drivers. There is a chance your Linksys wireless router could be getting interference from other Linksys wireless routers nearby. I've seen nothing but problems with people using Linksys Wireless products I'm sorry to say.

i heard linskys were the best....which ones are the best wireless routers?

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I have a lynksis G and the only time I ever have to reset it is when the ISP goes down for a time.

If the cable ISP is up than I never have to reset it.

However with that being said, the other computer that uses it with the card is a little slower but it is a distance away and behind a few walls.

 

[iceberg]

I have a lynksis G and the only time I ever have to reset it is when the ISP goes down for a time.

If the cable ISP is up than I never have to reset it.

However with that being said, the other computer that uses it with the card is a little slower but it is a distance away and behind a few walls.

this is part of my frustration bp - i know a LOT of people who haver flawless luck with linksys, but i've had (3) i bought and 1 for vonage and *every single one of them* had reset issues.

i've had a motorola standard one and it *never* has had to be reset. i wanted a faster, nicer router for doing my streaming from home, so i got a very nicely rated ASUS - within 1 week i had to reset it 3 times.

i'll be in the living room surfing away and it will just drop and lock me out. i'll go into the router room/home office and even the wired connections are offline. hit reset, and all is fine.

DLINK is my favorite router but i do understand that many just prefer linksys and have great luck with it. but personally i'll *never* buy another linksys router again simply because 3-4 of them in a row with the same issue (differnet models also) was just too much for me.

maybe it's on my end, but a router shouldn't give a damn how my computer is configured. i've called my cable company and they tell me the connection has never been lost.

maybe it *does* make a difference. i got a dlink cable modem to replace the one they gave me years ago and i'll try that one day if i need to but if they're that sensitive to the ISP having a bad few seconds, i just don't want it - but yea, that could be part of the issue. "cheaper" routers may just not care as much what it's routing to.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Have you tried updating the firmware in the linksys router?


I use linksys routers at home and at work and don't have any problems with them.

 

[iceberg]

Have you tried updating the firmware in the linksys router?

I use linksys routers at home and at work and don't have any problems with them.

i updated the firmware, i flattened the computer it was hooked to, i've swapped out cables - nothing mattered to linksys and my home network - it would just want to be reset before it would work again far too often for my tastes.

but i do realize few share my experiences, and that just makes it more frustrating to me.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

Have you considered it may be your ISP?

As I said the only time I have had to reset mine is when my ISP has went down.

If your ISP is having hiccups or goes down, overloaded or something of that nature maybe that is your problem.

One other thing to consider is if there are other people in your general area that use wireless routers. I know that nobody in my general area is using one.

Just seems like you have went through too many different routers with problems for it to just be a linksys issue.

Maybe your motorola is using a different freq and nobody else in your area uses it...I don't know but it just seems odd you have went through so many different models and had trouble.

I guess in the end if you find something that works for you, you stick with it.

 

[iceberg]

Have you considered it may be your ISP?

As I said the only time I have had to reset mine is when my ISP has went down.

If your ISP is having hiccups or goes down, overloaded or something of that nature maybe that is your problem.

One other thing to consider is if there are other people in your general area that use wireless routers. I know that nobody in my general area is using one.

Just seems like you have went through too many different routers with problems for it to just be a linksys issue.

Maybe your motorola is using a different freq and nobody else in your area uses it...I don't know but it just seems odd you have went through so many different models and had trouble.

I guess in the end if you find something that works for you, you stick with it.

there's like 10-12 wireless routers within "seeing" distance around me.

normally i'd agree - but then i don't understand why motorola or d-link would *never* have an issue on the same network? it was cox cable and now it's time warner - but it's either them or DSL and i don't wanna mess w/dsl on streaming my network.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

there's like 10-12 wireless routers within "seeing" distance around me.

normally i'd agree - but then i don't understand why motorola or d-link would *never* have an issue on the same network? it was cox cable and now it's time warner - but it's either them or DSL and i don't wanna mess w/dsl on streaming my network.

Well maybe the motorola using a different freq setting or something, only thing I could figure.

 

[iceberg]

Well maybe the motorola using a different freq setting or something, only thing I could figure.

i'd have to agree that the only things that make sense are:

1) cable modem. flakes out, throws off router and it's own connection to the internet.
2) flakey cable connection. doing the same.

the dlink and motorola are just maybe not as sensitive to the short possible "outages" and hence, don't need to be reset near as much, if at all.

like i said, i know a LOT of people who consider linksys "da bomb" and the best out there - it just doesn't work for me and my own configuration.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

You guys lost me. Should I get a new router or have someone come in and set up a secure network.

When I "view wireless networks", I have 2-3 that show up including my own.

My wife has some sort of wireless phone deal with her laptop but said that she can't connect to our wireless network either when she tried.

This is pretty important because I'm not sure if I can handle one more "Dad, can I go to webkinz?" question when I'm online.

 

[iceberg]

You guys lost me. Should I get a new router or have someone come in and set up a secure network.

When I "view wireless networks", I have 2-3 that show up including my own.

My wife has some sort of wireless phone deal with her laptop but said that she can't connect to our wireless network either when she tried.

This is pretty important because I'm not sure if I can handle one more "Dad, can I go to webkinz?" question when I'm online.

linksys should be fine - don't assume you have my problem, so few do. : )

for your client - are you using the Windows Wireless Configuration or the one that comes with the wireless adapter? helps to know what i'm seeing and i just turn off what comes with the adapter and and use the Windows System.

if the windows system - when you scan for networks and see your SSID (whatever you named your wireless network that you now see) - does it have a yellow lock by it, or something to show it's a secure connection?

that would mean some form of security is on. if WEP (64 or 128) you'll get a long box to type something into and a grayed out one that opens up as soon as you start typing in the top one.

this is where you set your security on the client end.

if you don't see this, then when you try to connect, does it ask for anything? log into your linksys wireless router (usually 192.168.0.1 - i think that's the default linksys router ID, but look up your model # online and look for the users manual and it will tell you the IP address it replies to (by default) and the user/pass to get into it)

anyway - log into your router and see what security is setup for your wireless config. if *anything* is on turn of off as a test.

hope some of that makes sense.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

I ran PC doctor 5 and it passed all the tests until

TCP/IP network connections test error code NC315-1W.

Do you know what that means and how I can fix it.

 

[BrAinPaiNt]

I ran PC doctor 5 and it passed all the tests until

TCP/IP network connections test error code NC315-1W.

Do you know what that means and how I can fix it.

I think that is generally a Music Driver issue but I doubt that is your problem.

I will hark back to Yeagers question....

Are the router and wireless card the same standard...ie A, B, G?

You probably missed it earlier as most of us went on about stuff that has nothing to do with your problem.

However you need to make sure that both your Lynksis router and your wireless card both are compatible with the A B or G standards.

If one only supports A and the other only supports B chances are you will have problems.

Also do an update (windows update) and see if they have a HARDWARE update for the network card.


If you are still having troubles, contact the maker of the card or the lynksis people and see if they have support that can help.

If worse comes to worse you can always get a regular ethernet card, buy a length of network cable and just connect straight from the network card to the router instead of going wireless. This is not a bad idea for a desktop PC (not best for notebook).

 

[StanleySpadowski]

I think that is generally a Music Driver issue but I doubt that is your problem.

I will hark back to Yeagers question....

Are the router and wireless card the same standard...ie A, B, G?

You probably missed it earlier as most of us went on about stuff that has nothing to do with your problem.

However you need to make sure that both your Lynksis router and your wireless card both are compatible with the A B or G standards.

If one only supports A and the other only supports B chances are you will have problems.

Also do an update (windows update) and see if they have a HARDWARE update for the network card.


If you are still having troubles, contact the maker of the card or the lynksis people and see if they have support that can help.

If worse comes to worse you can always get a regular ethernet card, buy a length of network cable and just connect straight from the network card to the router instead of going wireless. This is not a bad idea for a desktop PC (not best for notebook).

How do I see if they are the same "standard"?



The reason I'm wireless is I have DirectTV throughout the house but cable to one point for a cable modem.

 

[Yeagermeister]

How do I see if they are the same "standard"?



The reason I'm wireless is I have DirectTV throughout the house but cable to one point for a cable modem.

If you look on the router it should say it's a wirless a b or g router and the same with the wireless card. If you have a wireless g card it can connect to a a or b router but not the other way unless you go in to the router setup and can the settings.

Also are you using windows xp? Windows 2000 can handle wireless up XP is much better at it.

I don't know if any of this helps.