Intermittent problem with workgroup over wireless

[Michael Taylor]

I'm having an intermittent problem connecting to my workgroup PC's when
connecting to them via a wireless network.

It's a small workgroup, 2 Windows XP Pro PC's (with SP2), one Windows XP Pro
laptop (with SP2), and a print server. They are all configured with the same
workgroup. When I use the laptop with a wired connection it works fine
within the workgroup, accessing shares, the print server and internet (via
an ADSL router). When I use wireless it can get to the internet but doesn't
see the rest of the workgroup. What I find puzzling is that sometimes it
works through wireless, but more recently it has become less reliable.

I can't ping any of the other PC's using wireless, yet my ADSL router (with
DHCP) is dishing out private IP addresses just fine (range 192.168.1.33
through to 255).

I have a Zyxel Prestige 652-R11 ADSL router, and a Dlink DWL-7000AP, both of
which are up to date with their firmware.

I've checked the Windows Firewall and can't see anything that looks wrong.

It always works when the laptop is wired, but it beats my why sometimes it
works wirelessly, and sometimes it doesn't, yet when it doesn't I can still
get to the internet.

Has anyone seen this type of problem?
Mike

 

[Robert L [MS-MVP]]

assuming the firewall doesn't block the ping, posting the results of both ipconfig /all may help.

Bob Lin, MS-MVP, MCSE & CNE
How to Setup Windows, Network, VPN & Remote Access on http://www.HowToNetworking.com
Networking, Internet, Routing, VPN Troubleshooting on http://www.ChicagoTech.net
I'm having an intermittent problem connecting to my workgroup PC's when
connecting to them via a wireless network.

It's a small workgroup, 2 Windows XP Pro PC's (with SP2), one Windows XP Pro
laptop (with SP2), and a print server. They are all configured with the same
workgroup. When I use the laptop with a wired connection it works fine
within the workgroup, accessing shares, the print server and internet (via
an ADSL router). When I use wireless it can get to the internet but doesn't
see the rest of the workgroup. What I find puzzling is that sometimes it
works through wireless, but more recently it has become less reliable.

I can't ping any of the other PC's using wireless, yet my ADSL router (with
DHCP) is dishing out private IP addresses just fine (range 192.168.1.33
through to 255).

I have a Zyxel Prestige 652-R11 ADSL router, and a Dlink DWL-7000AP, both of
which are up to date with their firmware.

I've checked the Windows Firewall and can't see anything that looks wrong.

It always works when the laptop is wired, but it beats my why sometimes it
works wirelessly, and sometimes it doesn't, yet when it doesn't I can still
get to the internet.

Has anyone seen this type of problem?
Mike

 

[GTS]

Did you turn off DHCP in the DWL-7000AP? It would also be advisable to
assign it a static IP address on the LAN side in the same subnet but outside
the DHCP range of the Zyxel. I suspect, though it's odd that the problem
is intermittent, that if you do and ipconfig on the laptop when the problem
occurs you may find a subnet differing from the wired machines.

 

[Michael Taylor]

Hi Bob,

The routers built in SPI firewall is not configured to prevent pings and nor
is the Windows Firewall on any of the PC's.

Here's the IPCONFIG and PING when using wireless on the laptop......
C:\Documents and Settings\Mike>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : mtcs3-laptop
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : asg.com

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : D-Link AirXpert DWL-AG650
Wireless Cardbus Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0D-88-57-83-E5
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.34
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 25 July 2005 22:18:43
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 28 July 2005 22:18:43

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel 8255x-based PCI Ethernet
Adapter (10/100)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-20-E0-6F-E7-03

C:\Documents and Settings\Mike>ping 192.168.1.33

Pinging 192.168.1.33 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.33:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 1ms, Average = 1ms

I don't know why the PING worked this time, but I still can't see my
workgroup PC's.

Now here's the IPCONFIG and PING from the laptop when using the wired
connection
C:\Documents and Settings\Mike>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : mtcs3-laptop
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : asg.com

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel 8255x-based PCI Ethernet
Adapt
er (10/100)
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-20-E0-6F-E7-03
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.36
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 27 July 2005 19:17:38
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 30 July 2005 19:17:38

C:\Documents and Settings\Mike>ping 192.168.1.33

Pinging 192.168.1.33 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.1.33: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.1.33:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

The IP address ranges are all correct, as are the subnets.

I decided to reset the access point and go through wireless again. When I
first tried to see my workgroup I got a message saying either there is an
error with the workgroup definition or i'm not not authorised to see the
workgroup. I immediately tried it again - and hey presto all the workgroup
devices are now visible. It has to be the access point. Wish I knew why
though I guess it's just flaky firmware.

Mike

 

[Michael Taylor]

Hi GTS,
Yes, DHCP is turned off in the 7000AP, and I have it configured with a
static IP address. The Zyxel uses 192.168.1.1, the print server uses
192.168.1.10, and the 7000AP uses 192.168.1.20. The dynamic range for DHCP
configured on the Zyxel is 192.168.1.33 to 255 (I keep 1 through 32 for
static use). All the subnets are 255.255.255.0.
I've posted some IPCONFIGs and PINGs in a reply to Rob. I think the WAP is
the problem. I reset it and it's now working, at least for now.
Mike

 

[GTS]

You're probably right about the WAP. I have seen similar flaky behaviour
occasionally on consumer grade routers and WAPs. Other than possible
firmware updates, there doesn't seem to be much that can be done for it.