Wireless Connectivity Problems with IBM a/b/g T42p

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dmcgibbo · #1 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 1:24 am

I have a T42p with IBM a/b/g card. There are two routers, one with a weak signal and only 11mbps and the other has a great signal and can do up to 108mbps. I had my PC connected wirelessly to the 108mbps one and it was fine, secured with WEP, etc.

But now all of a sudden it won't connect. I've checked all the settings and can't find out what is wrong. I will try to connect but it will connect to the unsecure weak slower router. Even when I try to connect to the 108mbps faster router it will say it does in the wireless window but then down in the taskbar it says it's connected to the other one. What gives?! When I restarted, it used to connect to it immediately but now nothign connects and I have to manually try to connect to them or a window will pop up saying there are networks detected and click to connect to them...

hmphargh · #2 Post by **hmphargh** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 1:53 am

im guessing a router problem. double check that wep is still on and you are using the proper keys

MrBeta · #3 Post by **MrBeta** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 1:58 am

Hey, this sounds somewhat familiar to what I just posted earlier today in this thread:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=3643

Did you ever have it working before, properly?

What do you see when you go into Device Manager, look up the wireless network card, and look up the "Manufacturer"?

dmcgibbo · #4 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:17 am

yup wep is on, i'm using the proper keys, i can log into the router and compare all the settings. right now it is fixed and connected to the right router but i'm sure when i restart i'll have the same problem. i did "repair connection" and that seemed to work.

who knows. i guess i could install the artheros drivers from fujitsu notebooks but i was holding off on that b/c i thought ibm preloaded software would be most compatible and user friendly. who knows what software/configuration screwed it up...

MrBeta · #5 Post by **MrBeta** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:28 am

dmcgibbo - could you please confirm what you see in your Device Manager under "Manufacturer" for your card? I would like to confirm whether what I have is a similar or related issue, if it turns out to be the same card in my T42p as well.

Thanks!

dmcgibbo · #6 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:32 am

MrBeta wrote:dmcgibbo - could you please confirm what you see in your Device Manager under "Manufacturer" for your card? I would like to confirm whether what I have is a similar or related issue, if it turns out to be the same card in my T42p as well.

Thanks!

Arcadyan Technology Corporation
11a/b/g Wireless LAN MiniPCI Adapter

I also have the Intel Pro100/1000 Adapter and Bluetooth Listed under the Card field...

MrBeta · #7 Post by **MrBeta** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 2:40 am

dmcgibbo wrote:Arcadyan Technology Corporation

Arcadyan? That's one I haven't heard of before. Mine shows "Accton Technology Corporation"... and is supposed to be the epitomy of IBM's wireless cards, Atheros a/b/g card - it's just not clear from the card manufacturer name

Daniel · #8 Post by **Daniel** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 5:02 pm

That's weird, mine says Atheros Communications Inc. T42P 2373KTU

#9 Post by **jdhurst** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 5:15 pm

Mine says Atheros. T41 with IBM 11/a/b/g retrofit. .... JDHurst

ZPrime · #10 Post by **ZPrime** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 5:43 pm

make sure you all have the latest drivers, from IBM, for your a/b/g card. They put out new ones in late August, I think around 8/23 or so.

I'm using those ones and my drivers say "11a/b/g Wireless LAN Mini PCI Adapter". The Manufacturer is "Atheros Communications Inc", driver date is 7/22/2004, Driver version is "3.1.102.23".

I have issues where I occasionally lose communication with my b accesspoint, but I blame the access point as it doesn't happen on a different one that is a/b.

One other thing to check is the "power management" option of the wireless, it's in the advanced properties for the WLAN card. having it at "maximum" power savings may confuse some access points. maximum power savings usually means it will send out less beacons or try to throttle speed down even though the signal is good. a recent AP should be fine with it, but i've seen older ones have issues.

Also, 108mbps on A or G is not an official standard. The chipset in the IBM card *should* work with the "turbo" modes, but the driver does not seem to support it. if you're having problems with a turbo accesspoint, try disabling turbo on the accesspoint and see if this fixes things.

I'd love to find a driver that will actually support turbo mode for this card...

WilsonF · #11 Post by **WilsonF** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:07 pm

I have had similar problems with a D-Link 7100AP (a/g access point only) using WPA and have solved them by resetting the access point to factory setting using a paper clip and the reset button on the back of the AP and then restoring my WPA and other settings the access point as though it were new. Maybe that will work for you.

Wilson

dmcgibbo · #12 Post by **dmcgibbo** » Sun Sep 12, 2004 8:09 pm

i just downloaded the dual band a/b/g drivers from IBM's website (multiple file download page or driver matrices page)

and my device manager for the network card says...
11a/b/g Wireless LAN MiniPCI Adapter
Arcadyan Technology Corporation
Driver Date: 5/13/2004
Driver Version: 3.1.1.5401
Digital Signer: Microsoft Windows Hardware Compatibility Publisher

So what gives?

Wireless Connectivity Problems with IBM a/b/g T42p

Wireless Connectivity Problems with IBM a/b/g T42p

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