Hi,

I'm having a horrible time getting my wireless adapter to work.

The cast in this drama:
A Compaq Armada M700 with Win98SE.
A Comcast cable internet connection.
A Motorola modem.
A Linksys B Wireless router.
A Motorola WN825G wireless notebook adapter.

The problem: my software works fine, drivers installed and everything, and my adapter is picking up the signal from the router loud and clear, but I can't use the internet. Actually, after more than a week of failure, I was able to access the internet yesterday, and packets were sent, received, and enjoyed by all. Today it doesn't work.

This is driving me insane.



The plot so far:

I bought the adapter from ebay. It didn't come with any software. I had a bit of trouble finding the right software, but I eventually got the right stuff from the motorola website.
So I had all this shiny new software (they even sent me a replacement CD), but I still couldn't access the internet. I called motorola again. The guy ran me through basic stuff (checking the utility, IP, things I've done a thousand times before) and it suddenly started to work. He ascribed this effect to "the magic of motorola" and ended the call. I was happy all evening.

Last night I needed to use my notebook in a different location (that's why we buy notebooks, right?) For safety's sake, I safely removed the card. I didn't try to use the internet again until this morning, and it didn't work. I called Motorola twice and Linksys once (the router company) and everyone said everything they could possibly assist me with was working fine, unplugging the card and putting it back in shouldn't make a difference. Finally motorola said the last thing to try was to exchange the adapter.

But I'm a bit stubborn and don't want to do this. Is there anything I and these techincal service agents are missing? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I guess I should add that security is disabled on the router, and I have no firewalls or anything like that set up. Everything is completely open.

Update!!!!

I got my internet connection to work again... for now.

I opened up ipconfig. Clicked release all. Then renew all.

I did get an error message saying the DHCP was unstable, but then internet explorer (which I had left open) began opening the page.

I sincerely hope this was the only problem.

I will keep the forum posted if problems reoccur. It's my understanding that this is a common problem, and I want to keep this information out there.

By the way, could anyone explain why this solution worked? What is the underlying problem?

Thanks.

Sorry no-one has been able to help you so far, its an interesting problem and you describe it well.


Any more detail on that?

The fact that it worked after you did a release all and renew all would imply that it is a DHCP problem.
I'm really guessing here but could you have two devices acting as DHCP servers?
Could you switch to static IP?
Are there other PCs accessing the router?

I'd recommend you activate the router firewall ASAP and make sure your laptop anti-virus and anti-spyware programs are up-to-date.

You may have a neihbors wireless router or NIC interfering with your signal. Change the channel on your router. It should be listed in the users manual.