[noscoe]

Hey guys, I recently got all my lines replaced by comcast and wasted far too much of my time on the phone with linksys "senior technicians," when I should have simply came to you beautiful, beautiful people.

Here's my setup:
Motorola Modem-> Linksys wireless router (WRT350N) -> laptop with vista
Laptop's wireless -> network bridge with LAN -> Xbox 360

Here's my problem:
-When I have the gateway setup, my wireless connection immediately says "connected with limited access" on it, a message that is usually reserved for when I have no internet access. However, it says this whenever the bridge is set up, even when it is not in use and I have full signal and and good connection.
-This gets the connection to the xbox, except the connection is often poor even when my laptop's is perfect, and then it spikes every so often (lets say ten minutes) and almost disconnects me altogether.
-Another odd thing besides the "connected with limited access" message is that, when I have the bridge set up, connecting to the wireless network is very strange. It will often say "connection is taking longer than usual... connection failed" and then, I will be connected with full signal and be able to surf the internet perfectly.

The wired connections to the router work perfectly to my knowledge, and direct connection to the modem is also fine.

EDIT: Update, although the limited access message dissapears when I delete the bridge, the wireless on my laptop still seems to have some spiking problems, even with good signal.

Thanks for your time!

[JohnWill]

Have you tried the simple fixes first?

1. For wireless connections, change the channel on the router, I like channels 1, 6, and 11 in the US.
2. Update the firmware to the latest version available on the manufacturer's site.
3. Reset the router to factory defaults and reconfigure.

Many times these measures will resolve a lot of intermittent issues.

[TerryNet]

However, it says this ["connected with limited access"] whenever the bridge is set up, even when it is not in use and I have full signal and and good connection.

I'm guessing the warning is referring to the ethernet link of the bridged connection, not the wireless link.

[noscoe]

Hey John and Terry, thanks for a quick reply.

the firmware on the router is up to date and I did reset the router to defaults already, sadly no dice.

I just changed it to channel 11, i'll see if that helps.

[noscoe]

no dice again, didnt help =[

[noscoe]

Also, one probably huge thing which I forgot because I am slow in the head, and is probably the cause of it:

The Ethernet port on my laptop got something bent inside of it somehow, so I bought a USB->Ethernet adapter.

Could it be that this POS is causing the problem? It's aTrendnet TU2-ET100. I installed the CD then plugged it in and such as the instructions said.



thanks in advance for the help!

[TerryNet]

From various threads I have the impression that ICS and bridging are more problematic when USB is involved. There is probably nothing wrong with the adapter per se.

Remember also that the ethernet traffic is now contending with any thing else you may have on USB.

[noscoe]

hmmm thanks terry, I dont have anything else on USB but I do think that indeed I will have to return the adapter...

so new question, How much does it cost to repair an ethernet input on my card =[ ?

[TerryNet]

You don't normally repair an integrated ethernet adapter; but if your problem is a bent connector maybe it is possible. Usually when an integrated adapter in a laptop goes you just get a USB or a PCMCIA (or ExpressCard) adapter.

Is it now time for me to suggest connecting the Xbox to the router via ethernet or wireless? You can find a wireless bridge for $30 - $60 or so. Wireless Bridge is also called AP Client; the units go by various names and are often just called wireless Access Points. You have to read the feature list or specs to see if wireless bridge or AP client is mentioned. That kind of device works like an external wireless adapter that connects to your Xbox (or most anything else) by ethernet. They are less expensive and more versatile than the special game box wireless adapters.