[howard.a.s]

Hi all.

From the outset, please can I just say that I'm not a highly skilled 'tekkie' person, so any advice needs to be simple, with a capital S!

Until recently I have been using a Thomson Speedtouch Modem (the one that looks like a large mouse) to connect to my broadband connection, but have now purchased a Netgear DG834UK wireless router and hope to set it up so that I can run more than one PC online at the same time.

Following the install instructions from the Netgear CD, I have successfully managed to get the router up and running and have connected to the internet in order to post this message. So, all seems reasonably O.K as far as that side of things are concerned, except that when I retrieve my emails using Outlook Express, and after scanning and receiving all incoming mail, I am greeted with a message that says 'dial-up connection' - select the service you want to connect to.........
Thing is, I am already connected, as the received emails obviously prove. I no longer need to dial-out in order to gain a connection, as the router is always on. So, how would I stop this box from popping up? Moreover, does it matter that the box pops up?
Basically, I'm a little concerned, 'cos if I can't get the router to function alongside my other PCs, and should I want to return to using the Speedtouch Modem, if I merrily dismantle all the existing settings, then my original equipment will no longer work either.

Now for some more problems.

As I said, the main PC to which the router is hard-wired works fine on the net, but when I come to connecting via my other PCs, then nothing seems to work.

I am using IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless LAN USB Adaptors AD1211B V 1.6, that I purchased from eBuyer. They came with a software CD.

Again, following the instructions, I install the software from the supplied CD and then plug the adaptor into a spare USB socket of my second PC.

The USB adaptor is found by Windows XP SP2 and an icon appears for the device in the menu at the bottom of my desktop screen.

If I click on the ZD icon I see a window headed 'Wireless LAN Configuration Tool Plus ZD1211B' on which are shown 'available network' and 'current network' info.

In the 'available network' box it says: 'available network - SSID: NETGEAR / STRENGTH 100%.

In the 'current network' box it says: Channel 2 / type: Infrastructure / SSID: (here is a passname assigned by the network) / tx rate: 54mbps (this seems to vary) / encrypt: none

There is also a 'more settings' tab, but I haven't touched this yet. Got enough settings to understand, without being presented with any more!

The 'link status' window at the foot of the configuration tool window seems to show that most of the time the USB adaptor is trying to connect to the network. This it seems to do for very long periods. Eventually, and if I'm lucky, a connection is made, at what appears to be approx 20% signal strength / link quality 18% / tx frame 375 /rx frame 70, even though the router and its attached antenna are situated only about 2 feet away from the laptop that I'm using. After a minute or so, any connection that was made just seems to drop out and the reconnection process restarts all over again. I have tried this on more than one PC using the same USB adaptor. Perhaps the adaptor is faulty?

When the device does stay connected for more than a minute or two, I have tried connecting to the internet, but I.E just says that no connection can be found.

Returning to the icons displayed in menu bar at the bottom of my desktop screen, I notice that there is now a new icon for 'wireless network connection'. The icon displays a small screen with green tx bars when connection is made, and a red x mark when the connection breaks. If I right-click on this icon and choose 'view available networks' I see another window saying 'windows cannot configure this wireless connection. If you have enabled another program to manage this wireless connection, use that software'. It then asks whether I want to start the 'wireless zero config' service.

Basically, from the information I have given so far, can you suggest how near/far I may be from getting all this new equipment to function?

Should I run the 'windows zero configuration' option, or the 'set-up new network wizard', or am I past that point?

Should I uninstall all the software for my USB adaptors and router and just start again from scratch?

Wish I'd stayed with my old faithful Speedtouch now.

Tell you what, I ain't half got a headache. HELPPPPPPP!

Seriously though, any advice would be very gratefully received. Now, where are those painkillers?

[TerryNet]

For that dial-up popup go to Control Panel - Internet Options - Connections tab - select 'Never dial a connection.' After I've used my (backup) dial-up connection I sometimes keep getting that annoying popup; I check the box telling it to not bother me the rest of this session and after a week or so the popups get tired or something and stop. They are annoying, but not harmful.

Disable encryption on the router and try to connect via wireless that way. If successful we can then secure the connection. Make sure you haven't done anything "dumb" on the router such as enabling MAC address filtering. If unsuccessful connecting, try to connect and show ...

Start, Run, CMD, OK to open a command prompt:
(For Vista type CMD in the Search box after Start)

Type the following command:

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter.
Paste the results in a message here.

If necessary use a text file and removable media to copy the results to a computer with internet access.

[howard.a.s]

O.K. So, I'm not sure how to disable encryption on the router. I assume that like any other software/hardware that I've got installed on my PC, there must be a configuration screen that I can get into for the Netgear router, but I can't see anything with the name Netgear that appeared as an icon on my desktop after install, nor can I see any reference to Netgear in the folders contained in my C drive program files folder. So, not sure on that one.

However, I did get the other info you asked for.


Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\default>IPCONFIG/ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : YOUR-00357AA3C9
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Unknown
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast Eth
ernet NIC
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-5B-C1-CE-96
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 09 May 2008 14:51:05
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 10 May 2008 14:51:05

C:\Documents and Settings\default>


Don't know if that helps at all? It looks completely baffling to me!

Anyway, if you are able to offer any further advice I'd be very grateful.

[howard.a.s]

Oh, just thought I'd mention that I was looking at the Wireless Network Wizard located in Control Panel. The wizard says that I should give the network an SSID name, which I'm certain I didn't do. Should I run this wizard and assign a name? I won't do it unless you say so, but thought it was worth a mention.

[TerryNet]

A good place for information on disabling encryption, setting SSID, etc., on the router is the User Manual. It should be on the CD or you can download it from Netgear's web site (support section). I always keep a copy on my computer for quick reference.

Briefly, type 192.168.0.1 (your router's LAN address according to your ipconfig /all) into your browser's address bar. Login to the router, try to stay away from wizards, and follow the user manual if necessary to find the wireless section. Personally I don't like to keep the default SSID--too much chance a neighbor will use the same default.

There is no evidence of any wireless hardware on your ipconfig /all.

[howard.a.s]

O.K. I'll take a look for the manual and print it. that way I can have a good read before I touch anything else. I'll get back to you once I see what happens next.

Should I add more posts to this thread? Will you be notified if it's a day or two?

[TerryNet]

I stay in touch with any threads to which I have posted. Yes, post back here please.