A few days ago I moved my girlfriends PC out of the kitchen for a party and moved it back and the wireless stopped functioning! I'm utterly baffled and thought I would throw it out there and see if anyone else has run into this problem.

The machine runs Windows 2000 pro with a Linksys wireless USB adapter. when everything was hooked up again the adapter states it is connected to the router but cannot find the internet and there is no gateway listed under details.

running ipconfig at the command prompt shows the same thing and it will not work even if a gateway address is manually inputted.

What is really odd is all the laptops here work fine (xp and linux) but not two Win2000pro machines that have wireless USB adapters (2 different brands too)

Tried winsockfix, made no difference.

Hi Gary,

1 - Do you broadcast your SSID?  If not, turn that on to see if you get a connection.

2 - Did you move any wireless phones?  You didn't state which Wireless frequency you are using B/G/N, but did you move any wireless phones in your house for the party?

3 - What IP address for your network card, do you see from the Command Prompt, when you type:  ipconfig /all
Do you get a 169.xxx.xxx.xxx IP?

4 - What happens when you ping your USB wireless adapter?

5 - Are the XP & Linux machines very close to the access point with the 2000 machines being far away?

did you use the same USB port?

razrx wrote on 13.10.09 at 18:36:18:

Hi Gary, 1 - Do you broadcast your SSID?  If not, turn that on to see if you get a connection.

Yes.


Quote:

2 - Did you move any wireless phones?  You didn't state which Wireless frequency you are using B/G/N, but did you move any wireless phones in your house for the party?

No phones moved, phone is on channel one, wireless on channel four.


Quote:

3 - What IP address for your network card, do you see from the Command Prompt, when you type:  ipconfig /all Do you get a 169.xxx.xxx.xxx IP?

I'd have to set the machine back up and test, currently she is using the laptop which is functioning fine.


Quote:

4 - What happens when you ping your USB wireless adapter?

did not try pinging it, but I know the wireless router could see it as it logged the machine at an ip address.


Quote:

5 - Are the XP & Linux machines very close to the access point with the 2000 machines being far away?

Nope, all are in easy range.

exxe wrote on 13.10.09 at 19:06:36:

did you use the same USB port?

Not sure- That was my first thought so I went into the registry and nuked all network connections.

Even with a different adapter it still would not work.

Try the following...

1) Unplug the USB wifi device

2) Uninstall the wifi drivers

3) Use a cleaning program to remove ANY trace of the wifi drivers
(CCleaner  / Smarty Uninstaller or similar)

4) Re-install the drivers and re-plug the device as prompted

Sometimes the drivers and device fail to communicate correctly thanks to Bindows... :P

paulpsomiadis wrote on 13.10.09 at 23:18:49:

Try the following... 1) Unplug the USB wifi device 2) Uninstall the wifi drivers 3) Use a cleaning program to remove ANY trace of the wifi drivers (CCleaner  / Smarty Uninstaller or similar) 4) Re-install the drivers and re-plug the device as prompted Sometimes the drivers and device fail to communicate correctly thanks to Bindows... :P

Did that too.

Even tried another brand with the same results, odd eh?

i`ve got a linksys w300n they do play up now and then
if you have diagnosed the adapter , try resetting the router to default and re enter your details

i had the same prob on 3 wireless pc`s had to do as above

and make sure you unhide your network on reconnect

IG88 wrote on 14.10.09 at 03:44:17:

i`ve got a linksys w300n they do play up now and then if you have diagnosed the adapter , try resetting the router to default and re enter your details i had the same prob on 3 wireless pc`s had to do as above and make sure you unhide your network on reconnect

Reloaded the router defaults too.

Very puzzling, the only thing the two machines have in common are they are windows 2000 pro boxes and have wireless USB adapters.

maybe give this a try if you havent re installed windows yet
Layered Service Provider / Winsock 2 repair

lsp fix
http://download.cnet.com/LSPFix/3000-2085_4-10417026.html

also my wireless adapter conflicts with the network drive plugged directly into the pc ( no internet )

IG88 wrote on 14.10.09 at 11:24:39:

maybe give this a try if you havent re installed windows yet Layered Service Provider / Winsock 2 repair lsp fix http://download.cnet.com/LSPFix/3000-2085_4-10417026.html also my wireless adapter conflicts with the network drive plugged directly into the pc ( no internet )

Tried the winsock fix.

The adapters are working fine, the router sees them IP address being assigned.

Good to know it works , thought the tool might come in handy!

IG88 wrote on 15.10.09 at 04:51:26:

Good to know it works , thought the tool might come in handy!

Did not fix the problem- I still have no internet on those 2 machines.

I think I forgot to mention, one machine I tested with normal NIC connection worked fine, it is just the wireless that is broke.

This weekend I'll finally have some spare time I think, for fun I'll plug in a spare hard drive and load XP or ubuntu and see if the problem is still there.

gdonovan wrote on 14.10.09 at 01:36:34:

paulpsomiadis wrote on 13.10.09 at 23:18:49: Try the following... 1) Unplug the USB wifi device 2) Uninstall the wifi drivers 3) Use a cleaning program to remove ANY trace of the wifi drivers (CCleaner  / Smarty Uninstaller or similar) 4) Re-install the drivers and re-plug the device as prompted Sometimes the drivers and device fail to communicate correctly thanks to Bindows... :P Did that too. Even tried another brand with the same results, odd eh?

Is there a cleansing tool from Linksys?

ok sorry !
yeah verify the adapters / if they`re ok
must be the os
(if not some spyware/virus) hopefully not

lol, home networking.. .soooo difficult:

http://www.abload.de/img/wirelessnetworksfordumu9qf.jpg

This makes no sense!

I tossed a spare hard drive in the one PC and installed XP, loaded up the adapters and tried connecting with no luck.

With either adapters, laptops still worked perfect!

Went into the router and killed security (changed to open network) and now they work!

WTF?

What is the brand of software are you using to connect to the AP?

razrx wrote on 17.10.09 at 19:41:23:

What is the brand of software are you using to connect to the AP?

Linksys or Trendnet depending on what adapter I'm using.

Tried changing the keys, no change.

What about updating the firmware on the USB sticks?

razrx wrote on 17.10.09 at 19:49:48:

What about updating the firmware on the USB sticks?

They were working fine, I'm inclinded to think the problem is with the router.

I'm going to see if there is a firmware update.

I'd recommend a great third party firmware that's also free.  Tomato firmware.  http://www.polarcloud.com/tomato

Check the list of compatible routers.  I use it at home and at work.   8-)

Great, the router will not flash.

At the bottom of the page there is a list of other good 3rd party firmware sites like DD-WRT.  They might be compatible with your router.

New Belkin N router, problem fixed!

Had 6 wireless devices connected and streaming at once, lol.

Very strange problem, have no idea what caused it. I'll keep the Trendnet router and see if I can flash it when I have more time.

Getting new hardware is a good option for fixing problems too.  :)  Glad to hear the network is fully working again.

Flashing routers are easy, and you gain many more controls over your hardware with 3rd party software.  Good luck!

razrx wrote on 18.10.09 at 01:10:09:

Getting new hardware is a good option for fixing problems too.  :)  Glad to hear the network is fully working again. Flashing routers are easy, and you gain many more controls over your hardware with 3rd party software.  Good luck!

I don't like throwing parts at problems, very baffling how the wireless desktops would not work while the wireless laptops would.

Once the security was shut down it was clear where the problem was though.