Centrino wireless won't work with old Linksys wireless access point

[steveK]

I just bought a T43 Thinkpad with built-in Intel ABG wireless
networking and discovered it wouldn't work with my Linksys wireless
access point at home, even though it was able to get an IP via DHCP
just fine!

The built-in wireless worked fine at my work on B and G access points
there.

Took it home and found that it wouldn't work with my vintage Linksys
wireless router (version 1.40.2, Nov 28 2001) even though ever other
wireless card works fine with this router.

Packet trace showed that my new notebook got an IP address just fine,
but the ARP from the notebook to get the mac addr of the Linksys
gateway failed.

So I put in a manual ARP entry for the gateway and then did a ping.
Router never replied to the ICMP packets.

I am totally mystified as to how that can possibly happen. It acts as
if either the Linksys can't hear the packets sent from the notebook
AFTER the DHCP discovery is done.

Having them stop talking after DHCP negotiation seems bizarre to me.
You'd think they either can talk or they can't.

I plugged a 3com wireless card in the laptop and it happily talked to
the Linksys router.

If anyone can explain this mystery as to why DHCP can be successful but
then the router can't hear the notebook, I'm all ears.

 

[stk]

I upgraded with the latest firmware (1.45.10 april 15, 2004) and now
the laptop works just fine with the router.

Go figure.