Vista and wireless connection Help?

[KEVINS]

I just received a new laptop with Vista (no comments please) which is set up for wireless internet and I when I connect to a wireless signal it finds it easily enough and Vista says it's a Strong signal but I can't view any websites.. When I try to open a web site it says that the web address can't be found, or something to that affect. The signal is an Open signal and requires no password (it's at the local coffee shop where I hang out) and they said that it's my computer settings. The computer is definitely connected via wireless signal, no question about this..

What's going on, am I missing a internet setting somewhere in Vista?

tia..
Kevin

 

[turbo2nr]

I have three new Vistas and had all sorts of probs.

Never tried logging on to an open network though.

Should be a piece of cake.

Maybe some safty setting in your firewall stuff, ah???

 

[KEVINS]

Do I have a firewall? How do I check if that's the prob?

ks

 

[klrv6]

run ipconfig

Post the results. You can do this by going to run > type cmd > ENTER and then ipconfig. Your wireless adapter should not read 169.254.blah.blah. Are you using the Vista wireless utility or a third party app from the laptop manufacturer? I have found the Vista wireless tools very nice. I took one to a business that was protected by WEP and got on without the key. Yes, Vista's "correct" network problems option actually got me on a WEP protected network! It may say you have excellent signal strengh but can't get on the network. I have seen where certain access points allow the conection but don't route you out to the network. I have verified this with certain Cisco APs that are connected to some newer model Cisco switches. The only option was to configure a static IP address for the connect as the AP/switch issue was causeing the dropping of DHCP (auto addressing) packets.

You may ask them what valid IP range they are handing out and configure your wireless connection as a static IP within the range they tell you. This can be done via the tcp/ip properties of the wireless connection.

Let me know the results of the ipconfig.

 

[KEVINS]

Here's what it shows. I have no idea about this stuff. I'm at home using DSL right now if that makes a difference on the info below. I'm using the software that came with Vista..

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\KEVIN>IPCONFIG

Windows IP Configuration


Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : domain.invalid
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::81db:acba:c10c:6c3e%8
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.254

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e66:1874:3a2c:3f57:1fd
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::1874:3a2c:3f57:1fd%12
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 10:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : domain.invalid
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::5efe:192.168.254.2%13
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

C:\Users\KEVIN>

 

[klrv6]

Try it on their wireless.

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : domain.invalid
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::81db:acba:c10c:6c3e%8
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.2
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.254.254

The 192.168.254.2 is your local host (laptop) IP that given to you by your dsl modem. 192.168.254.254 is the route off your network, out to the internet. The same will apply to wireless only on the wireless adapter using different IP numbers. In the adapter properties, you can remove the IPV6 option. The US won't need those for awhile.

You can go down to this free wireless AP and run this ipconfig again. I you type ipconfig > c:\ip.txt it will puke all that info out to a text file you can open in notepad and paste in here. iponfig /all > c:\ip.txt will give even more/better info.

It looks like all of your adapters were deleted at one time and re-detected and setup. Normally they start at #1, your start at 6. The things we will do for free internet. Also check to see if there is an option to only connect to secured networks. I have seen that in a few wireless drivers. Post the results when you are connect to their network but can't get to the internet.

 

[KEVINS]

It's amazing what tech gurus can tell from code! My computer is a brandnew refurb which is why you see the new sequence in numbers. I'll get back tomorrow with new numbers if I can't get it figured out in the morning when I get my Late'..=)

ks

 

[klrv6]

It was imaged then.

The manufacturer must have used a hard drive image that was created from a machine similar enough to allow your machine to boot Vista and install new drivers, starting with #5 or 6, depending on how many adapters were installed on the host machine.

When I deploy machines, it's always running a full setup with only drivers for that model type getting pushed down. I did several of them this morning that way. A full setup from (i386 for XP) is the safest and sanest way to guarantee the best possible build. I will begin rolling Vista out to my company's network later this year. Total machines will be just over 7500 by December - Oh the fun that will be, unless monster.com has something better for me...I have our imaging so streamlined now, you just boot it from the network, login, select the machine type and come back thirty minutes later to a full install waiting for users to login.

Yea, post your config when you get a chance. What model computer is it? You may also want to make sure your wireless adapter has the latest drivers for it. It may be close enough but not quite right for certain things. I run into lots of XP laptops that need new drivers so they can do WPA2 encryption. Is this the only wireless network you are having problems getting on?

 

[KEVINS]

Day 2:
This morning I turned off the firewall, turned off all security. Again, I will state that I AM connected with great signal strength since it’s 5ft above my head I just can’t see any web pages.
Windows Network Diagnostics came up with this:
The network adapter “Wireless Network Connection” does not have a valid IP configuration.
I went through the auto setup to issue a new IP address but it failed.

Here’s the info after connecting to the wireless signal when I type: ipconfig /all:
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : KEVIN-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 4321AG 802.11a/b/g/draft-n Wi-Fi
Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1A-73-81-7D-9C
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::5d15:2c0:cc82:b4f0%10(Preferred)
Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address. . : 169.254.180.240(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 268442227
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : domain.invalid
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1B-24-76-C3-66
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{5675E5D3-62D1-426C-AA0F-5BC1020DD
0CF}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::5efe:169.254.180.240%11(Preferred)

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : fec0:0:0:ffff::1%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::2%1
fec0:0:0:ffff::3%1
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 10:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 6TO4 Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.domain.invalid
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

C:\Windows\system32>

 

[klrv6]

The lights are on but nobody id home.

I looks as if you should be getting an address but the router just isn't getting the request or passing the info back.

Try and disable your IPV6 stack. Then restart your machine.
in the start box type:

ncpa.cpl [enter]

right click the ethernet or wireless connection you are troubleshooting

select properties and acknowledge the UAC prompt

uncheck IPv6 and click OK

If the AP owners won't tell you the IP range they are handing out, ask someone who is connected what IP information they have. The ipconfig command works on 2000 and up windows machines. You will need to use the subnet mask and gateway they give you. The ip, you will just have to put in a higher number say above 100 and give it a try. Something like 192.168.0.101 or what ever 192.168.blah.blah network they are on. This could cause an IP conflict and both machines will fight to get on the network. Just listen for someone to start complaining that their network connection keeps dropping off. Time to change the IP again... Throw the /all on there to also get your DNS servers you will need. Doing all this will help rule out a driver/vista problem and isolate it to their equipment/your driver/network card being the issue.

Let me know.

 

[KEVINS]

You seem to be correct. I went down there just to test some new drivers (didn't work) and there was a weak signal floating around and when I used that signal everything worked fine. The workers there have no idea about computers so they were of no help. I was only there for a few minutes so I didn't get to do any more diagnosing.

So I will try this per your suggestion when I get a chance:
Try and disable your IPV6 stack. Then restart your machine.
in the start box type:

ncpa.cpl [enter]

right click the ethernet or wireless connection you are troubleshooting

select properties and acknowledge the UAC prompt

uncheck IPv6 and click OK

How do I disable the IPV6 stack?
A buddy of mine goes down there so I may be able to get is IP address. When using his address can we change a number or two and still have it work so we don't have the same IP addy or is it more complicated than this?

ks

 

[klrv6]

Nope, it's that easy

How do I disable the IPV6 stack?
A buddy of mine goes down there so I may be able to get is IP address. When using his address can we change a number or two and still have it work so we don't have the same IP addy or is it more complicated than this?

ks

The ncpa.cpl from start will give you the option to remove IPV6. just select your interface and remove it.

Have your friend get you the ip information and add a few numbers to it. You can have him try to ping your *new* address to see if someone else is using it. It will come back with "ttl blah ms" if someone else has it already. This does not account for clients that are blocking ICMP packets with a firewall. Your computer will also complain about a duplicate IP on the network if it's in use already. The highest number you can use is .253 on a standard class C network. If the subnet mask is 255.255.255.0 you can go up to .253. DO NOT use the default gateway (router) as your IP, unless you want to risk shutting down the network there. Advanced routers protect from this but theirs may not. I prefer to never hand out .254 although so many places I go into have the DHCP server configured to hand it out.

 

[turbojimmy]

What kind of PC is it? I just got a new Dell a few weeks ago (inspiron 1520) with Vista. It was f'd up right out of the box. I didn't have wireless connectivity problems, but I got the Blue Screen of Death after about 3 minutes of use.

The new machines come with the image burned into a 'recovery' portion of the drive. If all else fails, you can re-image the machine yourself at startup. It will erase the hard drive, reformat it and reinstall the software to factory specs. The Dell tech talked me through this process and the machine has been fine ever since.

Jim

 

[klrv6]

I had thought about that.

What kind of PC is it? I just got a new Dell a few weeks ago (inspiron 1520) with Vista. It was f'd up right out of the box. I didn't have wireless connectivity problems, but I got the Blue Screen of Death after about 3 minutes of use.

The new machines come with the image burned into a 'recovery' portion of the drive. If all else fails, you can re-image the machine yourself at startup. It will erase the hard drive, reformat it and reinstall the software to factory specs. The Dell tech talked me through this process and the machine has been fine ever since.

Jim

This Vista machine can get on other networks, it seems to be isolated to just this one AP.

I build all my test boxes with the ability to do one click reimaging. The one thing to be careful of is when the hard drive fails, you lose the backup image All hard drives will fail. Some are just much more accelerated than others. Laptops are by far the worst for todays computers. Years ago it was IBM deskstar drives. I hated those things, you were afraid to even reboot a machine because it may not see the drive as the box comes back up. I lost 40 of them in one power outage. Needless to same my phone blew up that day.

Best Buy is now *offering* for you to have the original media for XP or Vista...for an additional charge of $50 when you get a new machine. As long as you have the COA license sticker on that box, you're golden.

 

[KEVINS]

It will be a few weeks before I can "borrow" a IP address from a buddy of mine.

But, since I am having issues with another computer I'll ask you about that one. This particular computer is my desk top unit with win2000 on it and I just purchased a 22", 1680 x 1050 widescreen LCD for it. FYI, The laptop will eventually replace this machine entirely with a docking station. Anyway, I downloaded the new video drivers for this monitor but when I set the resolution to the proper specs 1680x1050, the monitor goes black. I can only run the monitor at 1600x1200 and obviously its scewed a bit and just a tad fuzzy.
Why can't I run it at the 1680x1050?

Kevin

 

[klrv6]

Drivers?

It will be a few weeks before I can "borrow" a IP address from a buddy of mine.

But, since I am having issues with another computer I'll ask you about that one. This particular computer is my desk top unit with win2000 on it and I just purchased a 22", 1680 x 1050 widescreen LCD for it. FYI, The laptop will eventually replace this machine entirely with a docking station. Anyway, I downloaded the new video drivers for this monitor but when I set the resolution to the proper specs 1680x1050, the monitor goes black. I can only run the monitor at 1600x1200 and obviously its scewed a bit and just a tad fuzzy.
Why can't I run it at the 1680x1050?

Kevin

I too started running 22" monitors, I picked mine up for $150 each on Black Friday I knew that my video card might be an issue and it was. I had to throw two (dual monitors) newer video cards in the box until I could spring for a dual DVI nvidia 8600 card for $79.

Things to check... You will need the latest graphics card driver and a driver for the monitor itself. Both of these can be found on the respective manufacturers web sites. The default monitor.inf found in 2K and XP doesn't seem to cut it on the larger LCDs that have come out lately. If your graphics card does have the correct driver, you can pick up another card that will work fairly cheap.

As a suggestion, you could take your 2K box, toss in a litle RAM and a $40 graphics card. Download and install this on it. PC-BSD - Home

It runs absolutely awesome on slightly older hardware, is based on the original AT&T unix code and is said to be one of the worlds most secure operating systems (derived fro freebsd). Don't let the installation scare you, it is super easy. Just a few clicks and waiting for files to copy, make an awesome internet machine. If it's a 1.ghz 512MB of RAM machine, you could also run Ubuntu Home Page | Ubuntu

It has more support for applications and drivers but does perform the occasional OS update like Windows. You could then pick up a $20 2 port KVM so you can switch between your older PC and the new laptop, both sharing the 22" monitor. I have a 4port that supports XP, 2008 server, XP and a freebsd desktop at the same time, all from one monitor. I just thought I would throw this out there in case you wanted a computer that you could just walk up to and get online. Laptops can wear out a little faster when used all day, every day.

 

[KEVINS]

Idea??
Getting back to my laptop problems with Vista not getting an IP address. The laptop came with Symantec and it keeps popping up wanting me to activate it. Since it's not activated yet I keep getting popups telling me about security issues and "warning me about security problems. You don't suppose that it may view the wireless IP address as a security threat and is refusing to issue an IP address for that particular router? It will connect to another router and get an IP address but I didn't know if it could differentiate between different routers.
I guess I can activate it and find out but just thought I'd see what you thought?

ks

 

[klrv6]

Just don't pay for it.

AVG Free Advisor - Free antivirus and anti-spyware downloads is better and free


You could uninstall it and see if it helps. You won't want it on there anyways.

 

[KEVINS]

Well, I came down to the coffee shop this morning and lo and behold the laptop connected and I am currentlly connected to the .net and I'm typing this from here now. So it is working just fine!!! I did remove Symantec so it could have been that or could have been just that day or ?? but I have connected at a few other places with no problems..

Thanks for the help on this, it's greatly appreciated!
KS

 

[klrv6]

No problem.

Well, I came down to the coffee shop this morning and lo and behold the laptop connected and I am currentlly connected to the .net and I'm typing this from here now. So it is working just fine!!! I did remove Symantec so it could have been that or could have been just that day or ?? but I have connected at a few other places with no problems..

Thanks for the help on this, it's greatly appreciated!
KS

Don't forget to install something like AVG from AVG Free Advisor - Free antivirus and anti-spyware downloads