Losing internet connection with BEFSR41 and BEFW11S4

[oberstca]

I have had a BEFSR41 in place for several months with no problems (sharing cable modem on 1 XP and 1 Win98 computer). I recently added a BEFW11S4 to add another win98 machine that was too far away to get wired. The problem I am having (after several hour long calls to linksys) is the internet will disconnect when the XP computer is not being used. All other computers only connect when this computer connects. It requires shutting down the XP, unplugging the modem in order to get it to reconnect - very annoying. I originally thought it was the wireless, but now even with that disconnected completely I am still losing my connection. Any suggestions??

 

[netfool]

Hey folks,

I am working on a similar problem and I have found a possible a culprit in an article on the Windows XP SP1 update.

I have a XP WLAN connection that times out every three to five minute. It is a laptop using a Linksys wpc11 v3 pcmcia card connecting to a Linksys BEFW11S4 AP router. I can reconnect right away by clicking on the network connection icon and hitting the WEP "connect" button.


Here is the article on Microsofts Web Site:

"...Windows XP SP1 also changes the default behavior of the 802.1x authentication setting when used on wireless networks. When this setting was enabled before applying SP1, if no authentication server was found, the setting was ignored and a persistent connection could be obtained. Stricter enforcement under SP1 prevents attaching to a rogue access point.

If 802.1x authentication (which must be used with WEP) is enabled under SP1, [and] if no authentication packet is received after three minutes, the connection will be dropped. During the installation of SP1, any settings enabling 802.1x authentication for wireless connections will be removed. If you find that you lose your connection every three minutes, authentication may be enabled on a network that does not have authentication servers. Verify that 802.1x authentication is turned off if your network has no authentication server by following these steps:

Right-click the wireless connection, and then click Properties.
Click the Wireless Networks tab.
Select the network name in the Preferred networks window, and then click Properties.
Select the Authentication tab.
Make sure that the check box for authentication is not selected."

I will try and uninstall the SP1 update and if it is this problem then I will let you know of my results.

Here is the entire article if your interested.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/columns/bowman/02september09.asp

 

[bcastner]

netfool,

You have hit the nail on the head as far as I am concerned with wireless dropouts as described by many earlier in this thread.

802.1x authentication should be DISABLED on the client. In all likeliehood it is not supported by the router, and it causes exactly the authentication issues here. This setting of disabled is not unique to Linksys, it should be disabled on all the wireless adapter I have seen.

The only exception is if your router does support this form of authentication. Products from IBM, 3-Com, Cisco, and Zyxel, to name a few do support this feature. In that case it is a play-it-by-ear setting. If the signal strength for a client is on the weaker side, I recommend disabling the feature.

Very soon now WPA will replace 802.1x authentication anyway, with new firmware for the routers available in the next two months from most router manufacturers. Linksys intends to provide WPA support by the end of May, 2003 for most of its wireless routers, with the remainder provided support by end of June. Microsoft has already released the WPA add-in software for WPA support and it is available for download from the Microsoft Update site.

Go to WPA as a standard when the router support appears, and by all means disable 802.1x on your clients now.