Limited or no connectivity
 

Hi All,
I am trying to share an internet connection on 2 desktop PCs. One desktop has a netgear DG834 router attached and the other is attempting to share the internet connection using a netgear WG111 wireless USB adaptor. When I fire up the netgear assistant for the WG111 it sees the router and connects to the network, but in the taskbar I have an icon of a small PC with an exclamation mark in a yellow triangle and when I hover over it it says :
Wireless network connection: SSID
Speed: 54.0Mbps
Signal strength: excellent
Status: Limited or no connectivity

I have checked that windows firewall isn't blocking the connection.
Any ideas ?

Both PCs running XP SP2
Thanks in advance

Limited or no connectivity usually indicates that the IP configuration is incorrect.

From a command prompt, type ipconfig /all - what are the IP address, gateway, subnet mask and DNS server settings?

You should also be able to see whether DHCP is on or not - if it is, you need to ensure that there is a DHCP server supplying appropriate addresses.

SD

Do as SD suggests - it sounds like you don't have an IP address assigned to your connection.

One other thing to consider though - do you have any security on the connection (i.e. WEP or WPA)? - if you enter the wrong passkey in XP you'll get the "limited or no connectivity", as of course your computer hasn't been allowed access to the network.

Hi guys thanks for the replies I will have a go when I get home this evening. I have just typed the ipconfig / all into a command prompt on my PC in work and a window displays the info but only for aout half a second before it closes itself down. Where can I find this info or how do I stop the window from closing so quickly ?
One other thought, to keep things simple can I just set PC2 (the one with the USB adaptor attached) to share the internet connection rather than have to network both PCs ? If so, how ?

Start > Run > CMD > IPCONFIG /ALL

If I were you I would get a switch / router / firewall to share the connection. Not that expensive, and a much better solution overall. You can have wifi as well, and have the ability to add further PCs / printers also. Much more secure with built-in hardware firewall, and much more robust. Plus, you only have to leave the router on, not the other PC when you want to access the internet from the lappie.

And it is probably easier to set up and maintain.

Instructions to set up ICS (internet connection sharing) are best obtained from the MS website. Lots of good stuff there on home networking.

Also some stuff in the FAQs on this forum.

SD

Vanishing ipconfig
 

Whiz you wrote:
I have just typed the ipconfig / all into a command prompt on my PC in work and a window displays the info but only for aout half a second before it closes itself down. Where can I find this info or how do I stop the window from closing so quickly ?

Me too. Never had a non-vanishing result from that route. However, if you do <Start> <Program Files> and look in the Accessories section you will find a shortcut to Command Prompt. Click on that and you will get a non-vanishing Cmd window to play in.

Good luck
Jim

go to start>run and type cmd then enter then do ipconfig the info will stay there.

Hi all
Apologies for not replying sooner, life got in the way !

I have done the ipconfig / all thing on both PCs with some confusing results

Desktop1 (router attached) comes up with:

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-11-09-AA-C5-8C
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.7
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. . . . . . . . . . : 17 October 2008 12:51:59
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 20 October 2008 12:51:59

PC2 ( USB access point attached) comes up with:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : your-d65bbc6695
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NETGEAR WG111 80
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0F-B5-00-8B-1
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.2.180
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 169.254.2.180

Am I right in thinking the IP address of PC2 is not one that will connect to a netgear router ?
I had PC2 with me in work last week for some malware removal and I connected it to my works network using a Belkin USB adaptor could this have something to do with it ?
I have fully uninstalled the belkin software. I am trying to not to have to re-set the router cos I've forgotten the password :=
Any suggestions before I embark on a world of pain ?

OK, I solved it. I uninstalled and reinstalled the netgear software and its re-assigned a proper IP address.
Cheers all

Bear in mind that you must choose either the Windows WIFI manager or Netgear WIFI manager. Having both running may well cause problems.

Also, you should disable the RJ45 network card (if present) when on wifi. The less for the system to get confused with / manage / assign resources to, the better!

SD

I've chosen the netgear manager. Thanks Saab

Whiz - I too have a Netgear DG834 and have had problems with it dropping the internet. Turns out this is happening to lots of DG834 owners, with no apparent solution so far according to the numerous forums....just in case you have the same problems.

Vanishing IPCONFIG
 

Whiz said he had this on his work PC.

This is a network security issue, and not a problem. Clearly his network manager has a system that does not permit you so issue or view commands such as this. That you see it at all suggests a system running slightly slow.

If you're referring to the cmd window closing very quickly, that's normal behavior for a command-line program started from outside a cmd window: the spawned cmd window will close when the program's finished.

I've had a similar issue before and always advise using the Windows Network software rather than the suppliers. It seems to work much better.

Seconded!

SD

I tried using the windows software but after being connected for around 2 mins the netgear window came up and told me I had to use it. I selected 'No' and dropped off the network. I ended up re-connecting and selecting netgear when asked and mysteriously I stayed connected.
Ref the disappearing cmd window that was my fault as I started the instruction with 'start - run-ipconfig/all' instead of 'start - run - cmd - ipconfig/all'