Wireless Internet connection for standalone PC

[Jake]

I have a standalone laptop (no network) with a LAN card
that I use to connect to the Internet through a wireless
router. I want to connect to the wireless router with
this standalone laptop using an 802.11g PC Card. Is this
possible?? If so, how to I configure the 802.11g Card
without affecting the hard wired LAN connection I am
currently using??

 

[Jack]

Hi
Assuming that you are using WinXP.
Switch off your computer. Disconnect the LAN Cable.
Insert the Wireless Client Card. Boot the computer.
Install the Drivers and configure the Wireless.
That it when the Wireless is Out and the cable is In it will use the Cable
and vice versa.
Wireless - Basic Configuration: http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Config.html

Wireless - Basic: http://www.ezlan.net/Wireless_Security.html

Extending Wireless Distance: http://www.ezlan.net/Distance.html

Jack (MVP-Networking).

 

[Jake]

Jack -- did exactly what you suggested below. The
wireless card drivers were installed, the card functions
properly and connects to the wireless router, but cannot
acquire an IP address from the router, so XP Pro SP2
indicates "little or no connectivity" error and I am
unable to access the Internet.

Ipconfig/all shows DHCP and Autoconfiguration enabled, an
autoconfig IP address of 169.254.34.178, subnet mask
255.255.0.0 and no default gateway, DHCP Server, DNS
Servers or leases. I am able to ping 127.0.0.1, but
nothing else, not even the router at 192.168.2.1.

Please help.

 

[Jake]

Please note that XP cannot repair the connection; I can
manually Ipconfig/release, but cannot ipconfig/renew
because I get the error "an operation was attempted on
something that is not a socket."

 

[Quaoar]

Please note that XP cannot repair the connection; I can
manually Ipconfig/release, but cannot ipconfig/renew
because I get the error "an operation was attempted on
something that is not a socket."

Google for lspfix.exe and winsockxpfix.exe. Run both in default mode.
See if this helps. Both programs are benign and will fix a broken
TCP/IP stack, nothing else.

Q

 

[Eric Cross [MVP]]

Greetings Jake,

There's a new netsh command in Service Pack 2 (SP2) that can reset the
winsock catalog.

Open the Command Prompt, and type:

netsh winsock reset catalog

________________
Eric Cross
Microsoft MVP (Windows Networking)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Jake]

Eric -- I tried your netsh command below. After the
command completed, it said I had to reboot (which I
did). However, this appears to have done nothing.

I still am unable to ping my wireless router
(192.168.2.1), although I can ping 127.0.0.1. The
wireless card is connecting to the wireless router, but
cannot acquire an automatically assigned IP address from
the router, so I get the "little or no connectivity"
error.

Thankfully, I am still able to connect to the Internet on
this standalone PC using the wired LAN card (to post this
message). Why is it so hard in XP Pro SP2 to configure a
wireless connection to the Internet for a standalone
computer that already has a wired Internet connection???

 

[Jake]

Q - tried the winsockxpfix.exe, but it did not solve the
problem with the wireless card, although I can now
ipconfig/renew without the socket error -- I now get a
host unreachable error. This also solved a different
problem I was having with the wired LAN card -- I can now
disconnect and reconnect the wired connection without
rebooting. I'm still stuck with the wireless card though.

 

[Eric Cross [MVP]]

Hi Jake,

That "little or no connectivity" message just means that it is unable to
communicate with the DHCP Server. It should get an automatic private ip
address in the 169.254.x.x range. If your computer is configured for a
wireless network, disable the wireless encryption on the network while
troubleshooting. If you have a successful connection with encryption
disabled, then check your encryption settings. You can turn off that
messsage. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Right-click My Network Places and click Properties.
2. Right-click the Wireless Network Connection, and then click Properties.
2. Uncheck "Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity"
3. Click Ok.

There seems to be a lot of connectivity issues with wireless with SP2
lately, Jake. So, far I haven't seen enough replies to come up with an
answer. If this doesn't fix your problem, then you could wait for someone to
reply in the newsgroups or contact Microsoft Support Services and they might
have a solution. It is free of charge for SP2. For more details, see the
following link.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;Prodoffer80&sd=GN

Please let us know it it goes. =)

_____________
Eric Cross
Microsoft MVP (Windows Networking)
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com

 

[Jake]

Eric -- thanks for the help. I will contact MS as you
advise. Please note that I am able to access the router
wirelessly with two other networked (not standalone)
computers and the router always assigns IP addresses in
the following form 192.168.2.x (where x=1 through 100).
I know that the "router is unreachable" if the card gets
an IP address in the range 169.254.x.x range as you note
below.

 

[John]

Jake,

I've had the same issues with SP2. It not only has
completely blown my wireless network connection, it also
has lost my wireless print server connection. My MAC is
working though, so I know it must be the SP2 install. Let
me know if you figure anything out.

John

 

[Quaoar]

Eric -- thanks for the help. I will contact MS as you
advise. Please note that I am able to access the router
wirelessly with two other networked (not standalone)
computers and the router always assigns IP addresses in
the following form 192.168.2.x (where x=1 through 100).
I know that the "router is unreachable" if the card gets
an IP address in the range 169.254.x.x range as you note
below.

I would really download lspfix.exe and run it on the wireless
connection. Also, open the TCP/IP properties of the connection, General
Tab, Advanced properties, Options tab, TCP/IP filtering properties,
check Enable filtering and change the Permit Only to Permit All. See if
this helps.

Q

 

[ryan]

You might want to try a Winsock Repair. you can find the utility at
http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~shershbe/