Network Bridge--Network Cable Unplugged

[Scarlett]

This one is beyond me! I have a wired LAN running on Linksys routers and switches. I also have a Linksys WAP11 which has been operating flawlessly with my one notebook computer (Dell D600) using a D-Link USB wireless adapter. I took this notebook to school with me, and since bringing it back home, it will not connect to the Internet using anything wireless!

The Link light on the adapter was flashing, and I was getting the messages that a wireless connection is unavailable for my Wireless Network Connection 2, that a network cable is unplugged for my Local Area Connection 3, and that a network cable is unplugged for my Network Bridge! I am getting no message at all about signal strength. It's as if the WAP and wireless adapter are not communicating at all.

I disconnected the power cable and Ethernet cable from the WAP, then moved the Ethernet cable to a different port on the switch. I then reconnected the power cable and Ethernet cable to the WAP. The power and link lights on the wireless adapter are now both burning solid, but I still have the messages that a "network cable is unplugged."

Everything worked fine before I took the computer to school with me. Also, when I connect the notebook to the Linksys switch with an Ethernet cable, it immediately accesses the Internet. This tells me there is some problem with my wireless setup--but what is it?

Does anyone have a clue what might be causing these problems? Let me know if you need more information. Any help will be appreciated.

Many thanks,

Scarlett

[classicsoftware]

Did the school IT peple "setup" your laptop?

I would remove the bridge. Did you install it?

You could also run the wireless networking wizzard

[Scarlett]

Did the school IT peple "setup" your laptop?
No, it just recognized the wireless network at school.
I would remove the bridge. Did you install it?
No, the "bridge" just appeared in my Network Connections. What is the purpose of a network bridge? I thought perhaps I needed it, because the rest of the network is wired.
You could also run the wireless networking wizzard
I think I have done that a couple of times--but before I removed the network bridge. I have now removed it, and it made no difference. I no longer see the bridge in my Network Connections, but there is a "Wireless Network Connection 2" that states: "Wireless connection unavailable. D-Link Air DWL-122 Wireless USB Adapter." There is a "Local Area Connection 3" that states: "Network cable unplugged. Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Controller." (Shouldn't there be a "Wireless Network Connection 1" somewhere?)

I think the Broadcom controller is what is used with my Ethernet cable connection--that works perfectly.

Obviously, the Wireless Network Connection 2 is what is used with my D-Link wireless adapter. I guess the adapter could be bad, but I don't know how to test it. Does it make a difference if the Link light "flashes" or burns "solid"? I know it does on my cable modem--but I couldn't get a connection even when it was burning solid last night!

I don't still have the software that came with the WAP, but perhaps I can download it from the Linksys website. At this point, I think I am going to have to delete or uninstall everything and start from "scratch"--not a prospect I relish, so if you have other ideas, please let me know. I am not very familiar with wireless technology at all--it just either works or it doesn't! I don't know how to troubleshoot it.

Thanks again,

Scarlett

[Variable]

Do you use WEP? If you do all that has likely happened is that the wireless network at home has been pushed down the list or has the wrong WEP key. Just enter the WEP key and connect. If you don't know the WEP key you will have to log into the wireless router and write it down.

[Scarlett]

I have never enabled WEP, but anything is possible! I will see if I can remember how to access the WAP on my network--you did mean the WAP, didn't you? Or did you actually mean the router?

Here is the way the network is set up:

First, there is the cable modem.

Then, the cable modem is connected to the router. The router has three desktop computers using its ports.

Next, the router is uplinked to a switch downstairs. The WAP uses one of the switch's ports, one of my laptop computers uses one of its ports, and a desktop computer uses one of its ports.

Finally, the switch is uplinked to a second switch in another room. I have one desktop computer using a port on the 2nd switch, and I use the other ports on the 2nd switch for the computers on my workbench. (None at the present time.)

When I bought the Dell D600, it was used and already set up for wireless. I just brought it home, turned it on, and it started talking to my WAP. After I took it to school, it connected immediately to the wireless network there, but when I brought it back home, although I got the icon indicating "excellent signal strength," I also got the littled computer icons with "x's" on them, and all of those messages about a network cable unplugged, etc. Now I don't even get the "signal strength" icon. As I said, it is almost as if the adapter and the access point are not talking to each other.

There is one other thing I can try. I have another Dell laptop with a PCMCIA wireless adapter. If that works, then I guess the problem is with the D-Link adapter. If it doesn't work, then maybe the problem is with the WAP. Or, it could all come back to the WEP key that you mentioned.

I will give you one more piece of information: My neighbor has all wireless computers. When he is using his computers, as he is right now, and when I double-click on my Wireless Connection 2, I get a list of Available Wireless Networks, and his network is on the list, together with my HOMENETWORK (which is the name of my wired network) and one called "default." When each of the available networks is highlighted, there is a message that says, "This wireless network is not secure. Because a network key (WEP) is not used for authentication or for data encryption, data sent over this network might be subject to unauthorized access." Then, I can check a box that says "Allow me to connect to the selected wireless network, even though it is not secure." If I check that, then click on "connect," nothing happens, because my "Wireless connection is unavailable."

Well, I just went in and enabled WEP, said that the key would be provided "automatically," and suddenly I had a connection! Also, the computer icon says that I am "connected" and have "excellent signal strength." I don't quite understand what I have done, and I still can't connect to the Internet, but I have been losing that connection intermittently on all of the computers for several days. It may be a RoadRunner problem. I am going to a different computer to see if it is the connection or if I still have a problem with the laptop.

Okay, there is nothing wrong with the connection. I tried to ping my router from the laptop and it was "unreachable." I then tried ipconfig, and I am getting that MS IP address of 169.254.37.75 with no default gateway. I tried an IP renew, and got the message that it was unable to contact my DHCP server--which, of course, is my router. I don't understand why it isn't getting an IP from the router! Any other suggestions at this point?

Thanks!

Scarlett

[Scarlett]

Well, I'm not sure how it happened, or how I managed to finally get all the right settings made, but the wireless connection is now working, and I am posting from my wireless laptop computer!

It all started with the WEP suggestion, and I just kept drilling down and clicking on Properties and Advanced settings until I got it right. I hope I never have to do this again, and I still don't know whether or not WEP is really enabled, but I am back up and running.

Many thanks for the suggestions--I think the "bridge" had something to do with it also, because I deleted it, and I was still able to make the connection work. I still would like to know the purpose of a network bridge. I don't know who added it--maybe it was always there. Like I said, when I bought it, I just brought the laptop home, plugged it in, and it worked immediately.

It is working again, and I am a very happy camper.

Thanks again for helping me through this!

Scarlett

[classicsoftware]

Readthis (http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp_ics/networkbridge.htm). Everything you want to know about a network bridge but were afraid to ask.

[Scarlett]

Okay, I quickly read through it, and I am saving it for further study, but if I understand what is being said, I don't think I really have a "Wireless Network" that needs to be bridged with a "Wired Ethernet Network." What I actually have is a wired Ethernet LAN that a computer using a wireless connection can access--and vice versa. I am guessing that because the WAP is actually connected to a port on my wired network, it is really a part of the wired network. Now, if I had a wireless router that had a separate Internet source, i.e., cable or DSL modem, then that would be a separate network, and I could bridge the wireless network with the wired network. Is that correct?

I actually have taken some network classes, and I should know more about this than I do, but theory and practice are two different things, and I haven't had a lot of real world experience yet. Now that I have been exposed to the theory, I should go back and take the same classes again. This time, I might understand the concept a little better.

As always, I appreciate the time that everyone here takes to read my problems, make suggestions, give advice, and point me to references and resources. I will never learn it all, but I learn something new every time!

Thanks for being here when I really need you!

Scarlett

[classicsoftware]

You are pretty close to being correct..........