Wireless Zero Configuration still not fixed in SP1

[Annoyed-Gamer]

This message is in regards to the Wireless Zero Configuration not being fixed
in SP1.

This is a serious issue for multiplayer gaming enthusiasts who play
wirelessly. This system causes a lag spike in games that lasts between 1-3
seconds and reoccurs EVERY 60 SECONDS. This is unacceptable! This makes
playing games over a wireless connection completely unbearable!

The problem goes like this. Every 60 seconds, via Wlan autoconfig (WZC), my
computer (and ANY computer using Vista and wireless connection) attempts to
find the best connection. During this time period, if you're doing something
intensive with your connection such as playing a game, the connection spikes
and causes an intermission between your game and the server you're playing on
because your connection is being temporarily interrupted. There are no
options to stop WZC from doing this. Manually disabling Wlan autoconfig
causes you to be shut out from connecting to the internet at all.

3rd party programs have been made to alleviate this issue, many complain
they don't work, or only help a little. Some have offered help in the form
of commands for use in the command prompt; these too fail to alleviate the
problem. Microsoft seems to be the only ones who can fix this, and we want a
fix ASAP. There should be an option to disable this scan from occurring. An
option that allows us to maintain a connection to a specific connection
without our system scanning for a new one every 60 seconds. Please let us
know you are working on a solution.

If you parse the internet for 60 second lag on vista, or vista wireless
gaming time outs, or anything of the like, you will find there is an
outstanding number of people experiencing this problem with no solution to
it. I have no doubts in my mind, given how word-of-mouth the gaming
community is, that this is just one of the many reasons so few have adopted
Vista yet and prefer XP. Gamers are heralded by their peers as "tech gurus"
due to their misconceptions. But, because of this, if a gamer says Vista is
bad, the flock listens, after all, this person spends a lot of time with
computers so they must know what they're talking about, right? While they
may not in actuality, their opinion is still regarded as truth. This is
where word-of-mouth takes on a life of its own and holds back sales! I can
guarantee you if this issue is fixed swiftly and properly, with no trace of
the problem existing after the "fix" many gamers will rejoice, and word will
spread.

Please take this issue seriously! I know that you will consider Wlan
autoconfig to be "working as intended" but we are people, not numbers, and we
want a real answer! No corporate responses, please! We deserve a solution!

Thank you.

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http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/co...osoft.public.windows.vista.networking_sharing

 

[Jack \(MVP-Networking\).]

Hi
It is Not an OS issue, Wireless by the the virtue of its technology insert a
lag into its traffic.
If some one gaming is so important to him that he can not enjoy it with
slight lag he should Not play over Wireless.
You do not use a MiniCooper when you need to transport a tone of sand to a
construction site.
Jack (MVP-Networking).

 

[Bob F.]

Jack,

Can you explain "Wireless by the the virtue of its technology insert a

 

[Vraedac]

This is in response to Jack's comment.

There is nothing about the construction of wireless networking technology
that "inserts lag into it's traffic". It is absurd to ask someone to use
different technology because the technology he is using is not working as
intended.

That being said, I think you have misinterpreted the gravity of this
situation. I have been experiencing the same problem, and it cannot simply
be addressed as a gamer experiencing "slight lag". This lag applies to the
entire system: games, music, video, anything running on it. It completely
interrupts all system processes for 1-2 seconds EVERY MINUTE, which is enough
to prevent a music enthusiast from enjoying his music, and it is enough to
not only cause "slight lag" for a gamer, but 1-2 seconds of system lag is
enough to completely disconnect him from his server. The fact that WLAN
AutoConfig cannot be disabled without causing a disconnect from the network
is an inexcusable fault in Vista and must be addressed by Microsoft

 

[Bob F.]

"Vraedac" and "Annoyed-Gamer"
Did you unbind IPv6? Do you know how to do that? What else have you tried?
What wireless components are you using. Some of them have not kept up with
the standards and if a feature was missed by them and Vista uses it, then
they will fail in different ways.

 

[Barb Bowman]

if you are using mixed mode b/g/n or b/g g and g/n must "stop and
wait" for b traffic. it is a protection mechanism. see
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/networking/expert/bowman_80211gspec.mspx

better results are obtained by running in g only, g/n only or n only
modes if the router supports it.

There is nothing about the construction of wireless networking technology
that "inserts lag into it's traffic". It is absurd to ask someone to use
different technology because the technology he is using is not working as
intended.

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

[Vraedac]

I installed Vista Anti-Lag and it worked like a charm.

I do know how to unbind IPv6, and no I hadn't tried that yet, but I'm not
going to bother now because VAL has cured this problem, at least for the time
being.

 

[Barb Bowman]

thanks for the update

I installed Vista Anti-Lag and it worked like a charm.

I do know how to unbind IPv6, and no I hadn't tried that yet, but I'm not
going to bother now because VAL has cured this problem, at least for the time
being.

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

[JohnDavid]

Another solution (workaround) is the use of Gibson's (www.grc.com) Wizmo
multi-utility. It's "Wanlock" feature is used to disable the Wireless Zero
Configuration service after a satisfactory wireless connection has been
established.

 

[Barb Bowman]

have you set your router to g only mode as opposed to mixed b/g?

Im having those "60 seconds" lag spikes since i had this brand new
computer and i can believe i bough a gaming computer with vista on it. I
hoped months and months that it would be solved in an update, then i
hoped Sp1 would be the ultimate solution. I then read that the sp1 would
be fixing network bugs. I was so happy. Sp1 finally finished
downloading. I open my games with a big smile. 10-15-25-50-60... The lag
spike. I was almost crying
I already sent a message to microsoft and they told me that the bug
would probably be fixed in the Sp1.

This is ruining my gaming experience.

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

[Pavel A.]

Another solution (workaround) is the use of Gibson's (www.grc.com) Wizmo
multi-utility. It's "Wanlock" feature is used to disable the Wireless
Zero
Configuration service after a satisfactory wireless connection has been
established.

Ok, I've looked at Vista Anti-Lag by Julian Meisel (
http://www.codecase.de )

Basically it seems to use the documented API of Vista, WlanSetInterface, to
set parameter
wlan_intf_opcode_background_scan_enabled and maybe also
wlan_intf_opcode_media_streaming_mode.

This API is the documented way to suspend scanning by the OS WLAN
configuration,
and the device driver as well.

This situation is similar to starting a long operation like backup or CD
burning:
there's some API that prevents the system from going to standby.
Games or media apps that communicate over wi-fi are supposed to use the
above API
to avoid disruptions.
Anyway, the intention to have the OS automagically detect and handle this
have not
been realized, so we just have to thank Julian for this very handy utility.

Regards,
--PA

 

[p3rseus]

I too had this problem, I can't believe we had to resort to a third-party
software for a fix, Microsoft should have provided something to fix this a
long time ago. I switched to Vista as soon as it was out and I thought SP1
would solve this, it didn't. I've always gotten the latest Windows OS out but
this has taught me to be more cautious of future Windows releases. Anyways,
thanks to whoever posted the vista anti-lag, after such a long time searching
for a solution, it's about time. Hopefully Microsoft will respond better to
issues like this in the future, it's such a simple fix too.

 

[jase.au]

Annoyed-Gamer I fully agree.

I am still having this problem. I have tried VAL, WLAN autoconfig, netsh
commands and to no avail I still see the lag spikes in online gaming and by
pinging my router.

I have a DWL-G510 rev C pci wireless card (using DWL-G510 64bitVista Driver)
and netcomm nb5 plus 4w modem-router under 64bit home premium.

I would love to know MS official response to this issue, seems that a google
/ yahoo search on the matter yields lots of sites and complaints and still
alot of gamers still experiencing the problem, even after trying the fixes.

Please Please help ms as this is the most annoying vista trait, otherwise my
vista experience has been great...

 

[Pavel A.]

I have been following this problem for some time. I do not know much
about computers but I have come to realise that this "wireless spike"
problem every 1-2 minutes only occurs on PCI wireless cards. There seems
to be absolutely no spikes on any USB wireless cards. I have tested this
by borrowing/buying many different wireless cards out of sheer
frustration.

Could you post the models you've tried?

Regards,
--PA

 

[jase.au]

I hope this isnt MS official response. This is not a matter of wireless lag
but as Vraedac put it its about 1-2 sec of pause every 60 sec, which is
enough to ruin a session of games and music...surely it is obviously a OS
issue...no wonder this problem isnt getting a fix when we get un-constructive
responses like this...poor effort.

 

[Woka]

Hi !
I'm a french user of Vista Home Premium 64 Bits (SP1 included) and i confirm that this bug is very annoying.
I tried Vista Anti-Lag, WLAN Optimizer and netsh command with no result.

My PCI Wifi card is a Hercules HWGPCI-54 and the "Wifi Station Utility" doesn't work at all so i have no other choice than using the Vista integrated Wifi Utility.
Those lags every 60 seconds can't let me play to my favorite online games.

The spikes can be seen in HLSW as shows this picture:


I have contacted Microsoft technical support, i have no response at the moment, Hercules technical support, they are searching why the 3rd party driver doe'snt work properly.

Please, Microsoft, hear us, we are millions worldwide experiencing this problem.
Could you make a tickable box to choose to scan every minute for networks or not, please !


Post Originated from http://www.VistaForums.com Vista Support Forums

 

[Woka]

Hi !
I'm a french user of Vista Home Premium 64 Bits (SP1 included) and i confirm that this bug is very annoying.
I tried Vista Anti-Lag, WLAN Optimizer and netsh command with no result.

My PCI Wifi card is a Hercules HWGPCI-54 and the "Wifi Station Utility" doesn't work at all so i have no other choice than using the Vista integrated Wifi Utility.
Those lags every 60 seconds can't let me play to my favorite online games.

The spikes can be seen in HLSW as shows this picture:


I have contacted Microsoft technical support, i have no response at the moment, Hercules technical support, they are searching why the 3rd party driver doe'snt work properly.

Please, Microsoft, hear us, we are millions worldwide experiencing this problem.
Could you make a tickable box to choose to scan every minute for networks or not, please !


Post Originated from http://www.VistaForums.com Vista Support Forums

 

[thoth.au]

Woka,

Thanks for posting your problem. I check these posts and others regularly
for any sign that a fix for this is imminent and yet to see any official ms
response and possible fix, so I hope you keep us informed if you recieve
anything constructive or helpful.

Regards

 

[Woka]

Here is an update, i just figured that while downloading something that lasts more than 1 minute, there are no lag spikes
But, as soon as the download is finished, lag spikes appear again

Proof
http://images3.hiboox.com/images/1808/il59wmre.jpg[/img

Maybe a way to find th answer of the problem.


Post Originated from http://www.VistaForums.com Vista Support Forums

 

[Woka]

Hi again
I finally solved my problem purchasing a secondhand Ethernet Adaptator (also known as a Wifi Bridge) for about 25 euros
It's a Belkin F5D7330 and by now, everything is working perfectly
I have no more lag spikes and my ping is low and constant

Proof
[/URL
[URL=http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=384&i=sanstitre2fp6.jpg] [/URL

An Ethernet Adaptator receives the signal by Wifi and then transmit data to the PC (or MAC or Xbox, or Playstation, etc...) by Ethernet
As coming by the Ethernet Port, the WLAN service is not sollicited and no more lag spikes appear

There are no drivers for an Ethernet Adaptator so it is compatible with everything that has an Ethernet Port

I encourage you to buy this type of product if you have the Wifi problem with Vista, you won't regret it ;

Good Luck Guys !


Post Originated from http://www.VistaForums.com Vista Support Forums[/URL]