Access Connections v5.12 for XP Now Available

[bill bolton]

See.... http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... IGR-4ZLNJB

A Vista release of v5.12 will also be available when testing is complete.

Changes since v5.02....

<5.12>
- (Fix) An AcSvc.exe error occurs when restart or shutdown on
Hungarian edition of Windows.
- (Fix) The location profile for USB Enhanced Dock with the USB
Ethernet device attached may have no USB Ethernet device when
switched to it.

<5.11>
- (Fix) Network settings defined in the location profile (.loa) are
not applied to new location profiles.
- (Fix) The Access Connections icon may disappear from task tray.

<5.10>
- (New) Support for XOHM WiMAX Mobile Broadband Connect.
- (New) Support for Swisscom, KPN and Vodafone ES as Wireless WAN
service provider on Ericsson HSDPA Wireless adapter.
- (New) Added the "Disable automatic profile creation" option in CCP
setting, in order not to creating a default profile for
Wireless WAN automatically.
- (Fix) An application error occurs when Firefox is specified on Home
Page or proxy configuration setting.
- (Fix) Verizon International profile is not available with Qualcomm
adapter. Only Verizon Wireless is available in the profile
list.
- (Fix) After entering PUK code for blocked SIM though Fn+F5 key
operation, the following internal error may occur.
"Internal error(Error code = 1). API failed."
- (Fix) While connecting to a roaming network, if the Cancel button
is clicked on roaming prompt, the incorrect diagnostic error,
"Service provider not found" appears.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[spwhiting@]

AC 5.12 is considerably improved over AC 5.02 for XP SP3 on an R51.

Any idea when AC5.1X will be released for Vista?

[Ralf Hutter]

AC 5.12 is considerably improved over AC 5.02 for XP SP3 on an R51.

In what ways?

[spwhiting@]

My R 51 with XP PRO SP3 does not freeze anymore when coming out of sleep - about 50% of the time it froze with AC 5.02. In some cases the R51 would loose the wireless connection and in order to get a connection with the ATT Uverse system required a reboot. None of this occurs with AC 5.12. The temporary fix for about a month was to revert to AC 4.52. AC 5.12 seems to be slightly faster than AC 4.52. I tried AC 5.02 on the T60 (Vista HomePremium with SP1)but that was a complete disaster since the GUI was very distorted. I went back to AC 4.52 and the GUI problems went away.

Does anyone know when AC 5.02 will be updated for Vista?

[winslow]

Is access better than the standard windows connection utility?

[jdhurst]

Is access better than the standard windows connection utility?

On this question, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. .... JDH

[henrikb]

ThinkVantage Access Connections v5.12 for Windows Vista was released on January 13, 2009:

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-67283

Had it running for a few days and it seems to have solved my freezing problems.

/Henrik

[jdhurst]

I have it running. Within Vista (at least my Vista 64-bit machine) all Vista-compliant versions of Access Connections work (and I use it) but they are all so slow that they start up with a Not Responding screen that etches into the background and won't go away without refreshing the screen. The graphics (mostly silly graphics) render poorly and incomplete. I have complained to Lenovo and offered very factual evidience; however when it comes to useability, they play deaf. Power Manager graphics suffer from the same defects, so it is the base programming that is the flaw. They put "cool" both in front of, and instead of, functional workability. .... JDH

[bill bolton]

but they are all so slow that they start up with a Not Responding screen that etches into the background and won't go away without refreshing the screen.

I use the default Vista user interface settings, and AC has run fine right out of the box in all its Vista releases for me.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[jdhurst]

You probably nailed it Bill. This is what I complained about to Lenovo. I use the Classic interface, and Lenovo has neglected this interface. It can take up two minutes for either AC or Power Manager to start because it is trying to work with an interface that isn't there.

Those of us who don't want the user interfaces Microsoft is offering are in an ever-shrinking minority, so I don't see any fixes forthcoming. .... JDH

[Truthfinder]

I have tried both AC as well as the software built into XP. I've found that the Windows version is much faster getting me on the net without all the waiting that AC goes through.
As far as I'm concerned, the Windows version is way better, ie: when I boot up I'm connected in an instant. With AC, it takes a while while AC finds whatever it is it's looking for.
My 2 cents.

Please post comments concerning the pros and cons.

Thanks to all.....

[bill bolton]

I've found that the Windows version is much faster getting me on the net without all the waiting that AC goes through.

You've got something odd going on in with your system then.

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Truthfinder]

Bill:

I had a feeling that something wasn't right, so I Ghost restored my T60 and then reinstalled Access Connections 5.12. All is well now..... I have no idea what was causing my system to act up, but all is good now. Hopefully I won't have this problem again..............

Take care

Steve

[Skysurfer]

Hi Bill,

I'm still running 4.42 on an XP T43 and am wondering whether I could improve performance with an upgrade. The old rule of if-it-aint-broke-don't-fix-it may apply except for two complaints: 4.42 is slow; and I continually loose my wifi connection (which is probably a router issue).

Thoughts?

Lawrence

[Truthfinder]

Howdy:

I had the same problem with the older version, ie: slow to get my ThinkPad on the net as well as loosing my connection from time to time. It became aggravating so I just removed it and have been using the Windows software and it worked great.
Anyhow, I decided to try the new version, 5.12 and it's great. Nice and fast and I don't lose my connections anymore.....

NOTE: I would make sure you have the latest version of the Power management goodies before updateing to V 5.12. You may want to read over the install info in Acces connections 5.12 before installing in order to make sure they don't require updates and any other softwaere before making the update.

Hope this gives you some insight.

Best to you, Steve

[jdhurst]

@skysurfer - AC V4.42 works just fine. If you are losing your connection, it is likely a router issue as you suggest. I had V4.42 and it predecessor versions working fine on a T41 with XP and a Netopia router. All gone now as I use a T61, Vista and upgraded the router to a Netopia G. .... JDH

Followup note: In Access Connections, uncheck all but the one wireless connection you most generally use. That will speed it up. Leaving all connections checked to try willl slow things down. Look in Location Switching.

[bill bolton]

4.42 is slow; and I continually loose my wifi connection (which is probably a router issue).

Check all the power setting options in Power Manager and in Access Connections and make sure that any which impact WiFi operation are set to Maximum Performance (or similar).

Cheers,

Bill B.

[Truthfinder]

Bill:

You are correct on advising him to check his power settings.

I also found that if you are utilizing another internet security program, other then the Windows Firewall, there is a way in Access Connections to keep the Windows Fireawall from turning on. I use the 2009 version of Norton and found that the Windows Firewal was turning itself on everytime I did a restart of my T60. After some research I came to see that there are setting in Access Connections to keep it off at all times. I felt that there was no need to run both st thr same time.

What's your opinion ?

Best to you, Steve