Wireless Netorking Issue

From: James McIninch (james.mcininch.nospam_at_comcast.net)
Date: 05/11/04

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    Date: Tue, 11 May 2004 02:17:20 GMT

    I'm having issues trying to set up a wireless network in an apartment I'm
    staying in while there's some construction going on at my house.

    I'm using Belkin 802.11b/g 4-port wireless cable router and have several
    laptops. There are obviously at least 2 other wireless networks in the area
    (if I scan for them). The router is set to broadcast its ESSID and requires
    a 128-bit WEP key (set on all client machines).

    2 of the machines have Windows XP, and one is dual-boot Mandrake Linux 10
    and Windows XP. The network cards are a NetGear MA401, a D-link DWL-650,
    and whatever is built into the newer IBM T-series my wife just got from her
    office.

    All of the XP systems suffer the same problem: they will connect to the
    router and function properly for 20 - 120 sec, then disconnect for a few
    seconds, then connect again. It worsens the more activity you attempt to
    engage.

    I'd suspect hardware, BUT - the signal strength is very strong and the
    connection (when connected) is always "Excellent". All of the systems,
    regardless of card are connected UNLESS they are running Linux. XP cannot
    maintain a connection, but andy machine/card running Linux ALWAYS works
    prefectly and reliably.

    So, it's a software issue. I've googled on the XP issue and all I could find
    were issues with Microsoft's screwed-up ZeroConf. However, turning that off
    doesn't fix things. I suspect that the Linux setup is tuning into a single
    channel with the approriate ESSID and locking on, but XP is continually
    seeking (probably prompted by the availability of other networks) without
    staying locked on to the approriate AP, dropping the connection in the
    process.

    The obvious solution -- migrate everything to Linux -- is not an option
    right now for my wife (I hardly use XP).

    How does one get XP to lock onto and stay connected to an AP? Turning off
    ZeroConf doesn't work. If I turn off the "Use Windows to Setup Connection"
    and attempt to manually select a network, nothing appears in XP's available
    network list.

    Any pointers would be helpful. 

    -- 
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