Wireless Connection 'Timing Out' with XP SP2

[AnotherHiggins]

I tried searching posts to no avail....

First some background: I'm running XP Home ed. on a Dell 8200 desktop. I upgraded to SP2 a couple of months ago - while running with an ethernet cable from my cable modem - and everything went smoothly. The only reason I went wireless is because my cable outlet is across the room from my computer and I got tired of having a 20-foot blue cable snaking around the baseboards. I'm not networking any other computers. My job doesn't entail any networking, so please dumb-down your answers for me.

OK, my scenario:

I recently bought a wireless router (D-Link DI-514) and PCI adapter (D-Link DWL-520) and followed the steps on their "Quick Installation Guide". At first everything seemed fine. But the problem I'm having is that if I walk away from the computer for an hour or so and then come back, I can no longer connect to the internet. No messages pop up, I just get "The page cannot be displayed" in IE no matter what URL I type in. If I reboot, the problem repeats: I can connect with no problem until the computer is left alone for a period of time - then the connection seems to have 'timed out'.

I tried calling D-Link's Tech Support and was greeted by an unfriendly man who told me I can't connect wirelessly with SP2. He said I should roll back to SP1 and everything would be fine. He struck me as an idiot, so I don't trust his advice.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[kiddpete]

I wouldn't 'roll back' to SP1 unless you have a way to completely back up your sytem before you do. Otherwise, you're probably flirting with a complete reinstall of Win XP to clean up the debris after the roll back doesn't work.

I wish I got a quarter for everytime a tech said 'uninstall' and I did so only to find that it didn't help. Could your radio be turning off after some period of time to conserve power?

 

[AnotherHiggins]

I always keep my power options turned off.

While poking around last night I did find something that looked promising, but it didn't work....

I went to the device manager to make sure that only one adapter was listed (Start, right click on My Computer>Propterties, go to the Hardware tab, click on Device Manager, open Network Adapters.)

When I right clicked on the D-link AIR DWL-520 and went to properties, on the Advanced tab there are several options listed. I clicked on PowerSave and it was set to Not Present. I changed this to Disable and clicked ok. I continued online activity for the rest of the night, but this morning it had lost connectivity again.

I rebooted and still couldn't connect? I went back and changed the option back to 'Not Present' then rebooted again: Still no go. When I left for work, I still couldn't connect to the internet at all.

Does anyone have any ideas why this could be happening?

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[AnotherHiggins]

I'm still having the problem as described in my first post. I'm just wondering if anyone has any other ideas I could check?

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[shelby55]

Hi

I think I had the same problem as you did and I also searched the net. I finally got an answer from someone on this site (but I don't know how to link you to that thread!).

What I did (because I was told to) was go into Network Connections/Advanced and disable the "802.1x authorization for this network".

Like you, I kept seeing the "page cannot be displayed" when trying to access the Internet yet the connection was fine. I even bought a new wireless router thinking there was something wrong with my other one!! It turned out the problem was Windows XP and not my router.

Anyway, I did that last Thursday and it's been working like a charm!

Hope this helps!

Shelby

 

[wybnormal]

Well.. I just got a new Dell 700m and the native Windows XP driver suck on the Intel Pro wireless card. This was a factory install and it kept timing out. I finally rolled it to the Intel drivers/interface and it's been rock solid. My older Compaq with 2K was the same way with both Cisco 340, 350 cards. My clone hated to have Windows manage the wireless Sonicwall card but is happy with the native Sonicwall drivers handling the WEP.

Note to self, Windows still can not write decent wireless handling software. Use the vendor's utilties to manage the card.

MikeS

Find me at

http://www.packetattack.com

"Take advantage of the enemy's unreadiness, make your way by unexpected routes, and attack unguarded spots."
Sun Tzu

 

[AnotherHiggins]

Thank you both for the info.

shelby55,

I’m trying your suggestion first. I went into the Control Panel > Network Connections then right clicked on Wireless Network Connection 3 and went to the Wireless Networks tab and then clicked on Properties under Preferred Networks, but "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" wasn’t even an option because I didn’t yet have data encryption enabled (duh). I went through DLink’s startup again and enabled data encryption, then ensured that the box beside "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" was not checked. We’ll see how it goes….

Just an FYI: To link to another thread, all you have to do is copy the thread number found at the top of the page (example: this thread is thread730-955148) and paste that into a post. Just paste it exactly as it appears and it will show as a link! I *think* this is the thread you are talking about: thread730-955636.

wybnormal,
That SUCKS. I can't believe a Dell-installed wireless card didn't work out of the box! Thanks for your reply, but unfortunately I don't know where to find Intel drivers - I'll jump off of that bridge when I get to it (If what I’ve done doesn’t fix it).

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[AnotherHiggins]

I was really hoping to give a star today, but still no luck. I've confirmed that "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network" is not checked.

Any suggestions on where I can go from here?

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[RobIII]

Hi,

Any luck with this yet? I have been having a similar problem also with DLink hardward (well the card anyway.)

Not sure if this will help but I agree with wybnormal: use the vendor's tools for configuring your card. Uncheck the "Use Windows to configure my wireless..." but I'd also suggest disabling the Wireless Zero Configuration service which "Provides automatic configuration for the 802.11 adapters."

I this this thread (Thread730-582449) is also relevant.

Rob

 

[AnotherHiggins]

RobIII,

No luck yet. I have to reboot every afternoon when I get home from work, and again in the morning if I want to use get online before going to work - basically any time the computer has been idle for more than 4 or 5 hours. Quite maddening.

Thanks for the tip and the link. I look forward to trying this when I get home. I'll post back with an update either way.

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[draconispurpureus]

Hi,

anotherhiggins, been having the same problem as you, I'm using a router (DI-614+) and wireless card (DWL-G650+) found a Dlink support page that helped me. Hope it might help you to:

http://support.dlink.com/faq/view.asp?prod_id=1398

Good luck.
/Chatri

 

[CorruptedLogic]

Does anyone else see theme running here with D-Link products?..we have a similar problem using all D-Link kit to provide wireless access to our guests. It's extremley hit and miss and we're just about to throw out all the D-Link kit and replace it with some Cisco stuff...I used to love D-Link, but have recently fallen out with them in a big way due to unfriendly tech support and conflicting answers from the same people!..anwyay, i guess this was just a vent..goo dluck finding a solution, i'll keep my eyes peeled for something for you!

 

[AnotherHiggins]

I really appreciate the continuing input. I am still unable to stay connected when going wireless.

draconispurpureus: I found that page a few weeks ago and tried it, but here's my question.... It just tells you to disable Windows from handling the wireless card - but I don't have any other software to handle it! I read something about using a D-Link utility to manage the card rather than letting Windows do it, but I can't find any such utility on D-Link's web site! If anyone knows where I can find it, please post a link.

RobIII: Sorry I never posted back - got sidetracked with Christmas, but I'm back on the case now.

I really hate to leave a thread unfinished, and there *has* to be an answer to this problem. Maybe I'll call their tech support back and see if someone useful answers...

[tt]-John[/tt]
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[KenWright]

Hi John, I'm just wondering if it is indeed the WZC that is doing you in. Given that you have tried umpteen other things, take a look at this article and see if it is any help.

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1759,1568517,00.asp

Regards
Ken..........

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[Qualtar]

I have 2 similar Compaq machines running XP-SP2 both have the DLINK DWL-G650 Rev B. One works fine but the other suffers the kind of problems you are describing. Insert the card and it works for a few minutes but then dies and cannot see the WAP. Pretty sure its an update from SP2 or a subsequent patch but I cannot find anything that helps. Going MAD since one works and the other does not.

 

[MOHN]

Hi

Maybe one of these articles at MS Technet can help you.
821442
826942

Best of luck
Marie

 

[bcastner]

Timing out" issues suggest:

. A bad WEP key entry. Do not use the passphrase to enter WEP keys; manually enter the values in all keys;

. WPA enabled on router, but wireless adapter does not support WPA;

. The use of 802.1x authentication is enabled. Unless you really have a RADIUS server on your network (unlikely) disable this. Under SP2 it is found under the property sheet of the found wireless connection and not under the wireless adapter property sheet.

Troubleshooting Wireless connections in XP SP2:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;870702

 

[JoeDonFan]

I was having the same probs. My gf just got a new CPU (a Gateway media center w/ a BTX system board--I gotta admit I'm impressed) running XP Home XP2. I took the D-Link DWL-520+ Xtreme G card out of her old machine (XP Home SP1), installed it in the new one, and no go.

I just contacted D-Link and I got a tech who knew his stuff. We disabled "Use Windows to Configure my wireless network settings" (START/CONTROL PANEL/NETWORK AND INTERNET CONNECTIONS/NETWORK CONNECTIONS, properties for you wireless connection, WIRELESS NETWORKS tab, uncheck the box and OK, OK to exit). We then used the D-Link utility to configure WEP and it seems to be working.

I'm curious about how stable it is. Initially, it seemed to have trouble finding some Internet sites (like ford.com and whitehouse.gov) but it's been stable for the last twenty minutes or so.

Good luck!

 

[JoeDonFan]

Forgot to mention I'm running all D-Link stuff. The router is a DI-614+ 802.11b router. Next step is to install SP2 on my machine and see if the fix continues to work...