New Home Network - one wireless, one wired - lots of problems

[Heidi Watters]

Hi

This is complex - perhaps it's been talked about before - but I've searched
through the 20,000 posts and can't find what I'm looking for. Help please.

I recently bought a new laptop, with an internal wireless adapter. I have a
broadband connection to the internet, and my provider supplies an Efficient
combo router/modem. So, anyway, I've hooked everything up as instructed.
Of course, they tout that you can set up a home network with this ...

The internet connection with the wireless laptop is fine, when I can
actually get a connection, although I've had to disable encryption because
it wouldn't work that way at all. Many times it says the wireless network
is unavailable, even when I'm in the same room.??

I've contacted my ISP and they were completely useless, because they can get
into the modem from their end and they say everything is fine with it. I've
also contacted Dell, from whom I just got the laptop. They were equally
useless because at the moment when I called them suddenly I got a
connection -- of course it dropped the connection within 10 minutes. It's
very unpredictable. Sometimes it will stay up for hours at a time and
others I can't even connect!!

Next -- I can't seem to get the computers to see each other. I've followed
all the instructions for setting up a workgroup, and they can see themselves
in the group, just not each other. I've tried pinging each one, and of
course I can't. I am running third party firewall software (Norton Internet
Security) -- I've tried tweeking that and used it's Network Wizard with no
success either. I just don't know what to do anymore, and I'm really really
frustrated.

I thought I would try this board to see if anyone might be able to steer me
in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for any help at all.

Heidi Watters

 

[Chuck]

Hi

This is complex - perhaps it's been talked about before - but I've searched
through the 20,000 posts and can't find what I'm looking for. Help please.

I recently bought a new laptop, with an internal wireless adapter. I have a
broadband connection to the internet, and my provider supplies an Efficient
combo router/modem. So, anyway, I've hooked everything up as instructed.
Of course, they tout that you can set up a home network with this ...

The internet connection with the wireless laptop is fine, when I can
actually get a connection, although I've had to disable encryption because
it wouldn't work that way at all. Many times it says the wireless network
is unavailable, even when I'm in the same room.??

I've contacted my ISP and they were completely useless, because they can get
into the modem from their end and they say everything is fine with it. I've
also contacted Dell, from whom I just got the laptop. They were equally
useless because at the moment when I called them suddenly I got a
connection -- of course it dropped the connection within 10 minutes. It's
very unpredictable. Sometimes it will stay up for hours at a time and
others I can't even connect!!

Next -- I can't seem to get the computers to see each other. I've followed
all the instructions for setting up a workgroup, and they can see themselves
in the group, just not each other. I've tried pinging each one, and of
course I can't. I am running third party firewall software (Norton Internet
Security) -- I've tried tweeking that and used it's Network Wizard with no
success either. I just don't know what to do anymore, and I'm really really
frustrated.

I thought I would try this board to see if anyone might be able to steer me
in the right direction.

Thanks in advance for any help at all.

Heidi Watters

Heidi,

You appear to have described several problems, some of which may be side effects
of others.
- Wireless connectivity.
- Ability of each computer to ping each other.
- Ability of each computer to see each other.

The ability of any computer to ping and to see another computer involves many
requirements, starting with a reliable low level network. You may have to
resolve the wireless networking issues, before you get to the ping and
visibility issues.

Which encryption option were you trying - WEP or WPA? WPA is more desirable
from a security perspective, but it is admittedly harder to get working.

Do you get "the wireless network is unavailable" even with WEP and WPA disabled?

Even with two hosts (a router and a computer, or 2 computers) connected
wirelessly in the same room, you could have problems. Other electronic devices
can cause interference, and some "signal" meters included with wireless software
may be useless, when you really need "signal to noise" meters. Interference can
come from:
- Cordless and cellular telephones.
- Halogen lamps.
- Microwave ovens.
- Neighbors with WiFi networks.
- Television sets.

Did you try another channel on the router? Switch between channels 1, 6, and 11
and see if any improvement.

Are all of the computers involved using wireless connectivity? When you lose
connectivity, you won't be able to ping one computer from another. And even if
pinging ability returns (when one computer mysteriously regains wireless
connectivity), the ability to see one computer from another may not return
immediately, if at all. The browser, which gives you the ability to see a
computer from another, is a very tricky subsystem to get working.

Try a graphical repetitive pinging tool like PingPlotter (free) from
<http://www.pingplotter.com>, which should help you look for a pattern to the
network disconnects. Set PingPlotter up to continuously ping the router from
each computer. PP measures ping latency and dropped packets, so it can show
both low bandwidth, and broken connectivity.

--
Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck sonic net.

 

[Heidi Watters]

OK,
I took your suggestion to change the channel, but of course then I couldn't
get into the modem configuration. I call my ISP and spent an hour
troubleshooting. I apparently was connecting through the broadband
connection and bypassing the network completely, hence the networking
problems.

We've rectified all that. Now I'm just trying to configure a little home
network.

I'm paying attention to the thread received after mine regarding Norton's
firewall, as I suspect that's where my problem lies. I've added each
computer to the other's "Trusted Zone", but still no luck -- they are each
invisible to one another.

Thanks
Heidi

 

[Jack \(MVP\)]

Hi
May be this can Help.
Read first the whole page (I.e. resist the urge to click on any of the links).
Once you understand the general scope start to investigate the links that concern your
specific setting.
Link to: http://www.ezlan.net/sharing.html
Jack (MVP-Networking).