One user on wireless network can't connect...

gneville16 · #1 April 13th, 2005, 10:24 PM

Hi, I'm not genius on networks so please go easy with the technical terms, but at the same time I'm not a novice either so you shouldn't need to write a novel to explain the solution (I hope).

I'm at uni living with 3 other people - total 4 computers including me, 2 laptops and 2 pc's. I bought a linksys wireless router/gateway which came with a free laptop wireless card - I use that. The other 3 have belkin cards, so 1 belkin laptop card and 2 belkin pc cards. All computers can connect to the network except for one of the pc's, although having said that it can connect when it connects by itself with no security on the network. As soon as one of the other computers tries to surf the internet the whole network dies and nobody can get on - the router then disappears from the available wireless networks list until it is restarted.

Since we're all paying for the internet it is a big problem, i don't want to be lending my laptop everytime the other person needs it!

Everyone is now on windows xp pro although the computer tha doesnt work was on Home till I upgraded it thinking that was the problem. His computer also won't allow SP2 to be installed, when I double click it it just won't open, works on everyone elses computers though. Is it a problem that SP1 users can't be on the network with SP2 users? I have no idea personally, his computer is off ebay and although it's spec is good it appears to be a little dodgy - beeps a lot and he just had to buy a new keyboard for it as the one he got was bodge.

Anyway, I'll leave that with you, if there is any more information that you need then I should be able to reply pretty quickly as I'll be refreshing this page regularly waiting for a reply.

Summary - 4 Computers on wireless network, 1 won't connect but can connect by itself when the network is insecure (although not entirely sure it can't connect to a secure network). As soon as one of the other computers starts surfing the net the network seems to break although if they all just sit there connected with no action then they seem to be ok.

Thanks.

gneville16 · #2 April 13th, 2005, 10:26 PM

In case I didn't make it clear in my first post - all the other computers work fine together, it is only when the 4th one tries to get involved that things start getting messy.

bAdWaYz · #3 April 13th, 2005, 11:38 PM

There should not be a problem with having some SP2 computers on a network with some SP1 computers at all. The fact that you can't get SP2 to install on his computers tells me that something isn't good there. Alot of spyware/viruses can cause you not to be able to install SP2 or break it shortly after install. Also if its not a legal copy of Windows then SP2 won't install alot of times. I would first make sure his computer is spyware and virus free then make sure to use a legal install of Windows if not already. Then try and update the dirver/firmware for his network adaptor.

gneville16 · #4 April 14th, 2005, 12:01 AM

Unfortunately I've tried all those. As far as spyware goes his computer is relatively new and this is his first attempt at getting it connected to the internet and so its almost impossible for anything unauthorised to be on there. As for legit copy, he used to have XP home on which came with it, i thought this was the problem as we all had XP Pro so I installed my copy of Pro on his computer which works fine on mine and I have SP2 installed. The network card is the same as one of the other users and that works without any need for updates so I think I can rule that out.

It's a tricky one, if I can guarantee him that formatting his hard drive and reinstalling XP will definitely fix the problem then I should think he'll do it, he'll just have to burn a hell of a lot of cd's to get his music off. If theres no guarantee it will fix the problem then I'll be in for a beating when it all goes wrong. When trying to run SP2 on his computer the scan completes itself and then when it comes to the actual installation the program just ends itself with no warning and no reason. Dont' know why as it works with everyone elses.

Archangel122184 · #5 April 14th, 2005, 11:06 PM

A few things you should check for:

Wireless operating mode: if you are using G, make sure all cards are G compatible and have the hardware settings to operate in G mode. Yes, I know G is backwards compatible, but some APs cannot communicate both at the same time.

Hardware firmware versions: Make sure your router has the latest firmware, it sounds like its having problems handling multiple connections, which is likely a problem in an initial firmware release.

AP settings: make sure you do not have any differing RTS or segment setting in any of the network configurations including the AP. If the AP is set to auto discover along with the network cards, as soon as one with differing settins connects to the network, all will be lost (sounds dramatic, but its true). A safe way to do this, is to look at the routers wireless page, write down the values, and make sure in the hardware properties that they match on each of the wireless cards changing only the values that differ from the router.