Vista - Vista Wireless connectivity question

I have my laptop configured as part of my home network using a wireless
connection. My router is a Linksys wrt54g with two computers configured in a
wired arrangement and the laptop configured wireless. Here is my problem.

When I am close to the router everything works fine. As I move away from
the router (10 or 15 feet) I still have excellent signal strength shown in
the Network and Sharing Center however the access shows local only. Nothing
that I try, including rebooting, will correct the problem. If I move closer
to the router then I Vista re-establishes my internet connection.

I have my router set up not to broadcast the SSID, to use WEP, and to only
permit specified MAC addresses access to the internet.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Vbritt,

I'm sorry you're experincing trouble. Even though the Network and Sharing
Center shows local-only, what is the result of running Diagnostics (right
click on the Network icon in the system tray)?

There also may be signal interference. Post back with the results of the
Diagnostics session.


"Vbritt" wrote:

> I have my laptop configured as part of my home network using a wireless
> connection. My router is a Linksys wrt54g with two computers configured in a
> wired arrangement and the laptop configured wireless. Here is my problem.
>
> When I am close to the router everything works fine. As I move away from
> the router (10 or 15 feet) I still have excellent signal strength shown in
> the Network and Sharing Center however the access shows local only. Nothing
> that I try, including rebooting, will correct the problem. If I move closer
> to the router then I Vista re-establishes my internet connection.
>
> I have my router set up not to broadcast the SSID, to use WEP, and to only
> permit specified MAC addresses access to the internet.
>
> Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Kim,

Thanks for your reply.

I get different messages. I either get Unable to ping your primary DNS, or
your modem or router is not available, or a problem with your network router.
I have a Linksys WRT54G router and I have two other wired connections using
the same router and DSL modem without any problems so I don't think that it
is my modem. I also have another machine connecting wirelessly that is
running on XP and it doesn't seem to be having any problems connecting so I
don't think that it is my router.

It is just the machine running on Vista home basic that is causing me
problems. If I get within 15 feet or 20 feet of the router then it syncs up
and everything is fine.

Another thing that is strange is that if I go outside pretty much in a
straight line from the router some 60 or 70 feet away the signal strength
goes down a couple of bars, but the Vista machine works fine and I can
connect to the Internet. That is some 40 or 50 feet further away (in a
straight line) from where it doesn't work. When it doesn't work there is
only one wall between the Vista machine and the router and when I go outside
there are 4 walls and numerous electrical wires running through the walls.
It is a real mystery.

Virgil

"Kim [MS]" wrote:

> Vbritt,
>
> I'm sorry you're experincing trouble. Even though the Network and Sharing
> Center shows local-only, what is the result of running Diagnostics (right
> click on the Network icon in the system tray)?
>
> There also may be signal interference. Post back with the results of the
> Diagnostics session.
>
>
> "Vbritt" wrote:
>
> > I have my laptop configured as part of my home network using a wireless
> > connection. My router is a Linksys wrt54g with two computers configured in a
> > wired arrangement and the laptop configured wireless. Here is my problem.
> >
> > When I am close to the router everything works fine. As I move away from
> > the router (10 or 15 feet) I still have excellent signal strength shown in
> > the Network and Sharing Center however the access shows local only. Nothing
> > that I try, including rebooting, will correct the problem. If I move closer
> > to the router then I Vista re-establishes my internet connection.
> >
> > I have my router set up not to broadcast the SSID, to use WEP, and to only
> > permit specified MAC addresses access to the internet.
> >
> > Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

There are other things like HVAC ducts, mirrors, large appliances
besides the number and construction of walls and floors that have an
impact on the range of 802.11 b/g wireless. Also, closeby
interference from Microwave ovens and 2.4GHz cordless phones (even
some 5.8 GHz phones use a 2.4 back channel) have a big impact.


On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 20:46:02 -0700, Vbritt
<Vbritt@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Kim,
>
>Thanks for your reply.
>
>I get different messages. I either get Unable to ping your primary DNS, or
>your modem or router is not available, or a problem with your network router.
> I have a Linksys WRT54G router and I have two other wired connections using
>the same router and DSL modem without any problems so I don't think that it
>is my modem. I also have another machine connecting wirelessly that is
>running on XP and it doesn't seem to be having any problems connecting so I
>don't think that it is my router.
>
>It is just the machine running on Vista home basic that is causing me
>problems. If I get within 15 feet or 20 feet of the router then it syncs up
>and everything is fine.
>
>Another thing that is strange is that if I go outside pretty much in a
>straight line from the router some 60 or 70 feet away the signal strength
>goes down a couple of bars, but the Vista machine works fine and I can
>connect to the Internet. That is some 40 or 50 feet further away (in a
>straight line) from where it doesn't work. When it doesn't work there is
>only one wall between the Vista machine and the router and when I go outside
>there are 4 walls and numerous electrical wires running through the walls.
>It is a real mystery.
>
>Virgil
>
>"Kim [MS]" wrote:
>
>> Vbritt,
>>
>> I'm sorry you're experincing trouble. Even though the Network and Sharing
>> Center shows local-only, what is the result of running Diagnostics (right
>> click on the Network icon in the system tray)?
>>
>> There also may be signal interference. Post back with the results of the
>> Diagnostics session.
>>
>>
>> "Vbritt" wrote:
>>
>> > I have my laptop configured as part of my home network using a wireless
>> > connection. My router is a Linksys wrt54g with two computers configured in a
>> > wired arrangement and the laptop configured wireless. Here is my problem.
>> >
>> > When I am close to the router everything works fine. As I move away from
>> > the router (10 or 15 feet) I still have excellent signal strength shown in
>> > the Network and Sharing Center however the access shows local only. Nothing
>> > that I try, including rebooting, will correct the problem. If I move closer
>> > to the router then I Vista re-establishes my internet connection.
>> >
>> > I have my router set up not to broadcast the SSID, to use WEP, and to only
>> > permit specified MAC addresses access to the internet.
>> >
>> > Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
--

Barb Bowman
MS Windows-MVP
Expert Zone & Vista Community Columnist
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/e...ts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/