T20 Wifi PCMCIA Help me please.

[cosaw]

Hello all,

I've searched and searched and read and read on the forum but can't resolve my problem. For your information I live in the UK.

I'm trying to help my brother to connect via a wi-fi PCMCIA Network Adapter to a BT voyager 2091 wifi modem/router. Unfotunately we have limited access to the router side of things so far but beleive only basic WEP to be setup for access with a Wireless Network Key once the network has been detected.

Hardware list:
BT Voyager 2091 wifi modem/router,
IBM Thinkpad T20 with internal Mini Pci Combo Card,
Generic PCMCIA Network Adapter with limited support which shows under the Device Manager Network Adapters section as: Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter, without a driver installed it registers in the same place as "Network Controller", Driver is on CD,

I've read of boot issues with cards that use a PCI-ID of "Network Controller" where they shouldn't. These relate to error codes of 1802 and 01C9, neither of which I'm getting. If I'm not getting the errors shouldn't the PCMCIA card work or is it still incorrect to have more than one Network Adapter listed (in addition to the onboard Mini Pci Combo Card). On instinct I'm thinking the card should be listed under "PCMCIA Adapters" in one of the 2 slots which both currently list: "Texas Instruments PCI-1450 Cardbus Controller", am I incorrect in beleiving this? Can someone confirm what listing I should be getting under the "Device Manager"?

I've tried the card with the same hardware but 2 operating systems both operating systems listed the card in the Device manger in the same manner. I also get a LAN Icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen for both setups. The differences between operating systems were:-

With Windows 2000 (my first choice), the Lan Icon shows as "not connected" but doesn't give me an option to search for wireless networks or anything.

In XP it also shows as "not connected" but in the right click submenu I get the option to "View available Wireless Networks". On viewing I see the network I want to connect to and signal strength looks high but there is failure to connect even with the Wireless Network Key as provided from the administrator. I beleive the router to be on default settings with WEP and only requiring the key as given but I still can't connect.

I'm left scratching my head with a number of questions which I can't answer:

Is the card just not well supported under 2000 that I haven't got the option to look for wireless networks or am I just looking in the wrong place?

Is the issue that the PCMCIA controler is being seen as a "Network Controller" and it shouldn't be?

Would using a USB dongle instead of the PCMCIA card circumvent problems associated with the last question?

Is the antena bad even though signal strength shows as high?

Does anyone know specifically which PCMCIA cards work fully with a T20 and are well supported?

And again: Can someone confirm what listing I should be getting under the "Device Manager"?

Any help recieved gratefully. Many thanks in advance.

[BillD]

Unfotunately we have limited access to the router side of things so far but beleive only basic WEP to be setup for access with a Wireless Network Key once the network has been detected.

Win2000 you probably have to download the driver for your card from the internet, or get them off a CD..win2000 has limited support for wireless cards..

XP you should be fine..But there maybe many reasons you can't connect is since you don't have access to the router, like a MAC address security setup on the router..

[cosaw]

Thanks Bill for your input.

I've got the driver for the card on cd but I think the failing is there is a lack of Client Manager software which as you suggest is offered as standard by XP itself. I've found some client manager software now for use with many cards and which works in 2000 so I'll try with that later.

I don't currently feel that it's to do with the security setup on the router as he has a friend who has managed to connect to the same router in the same house with only a Wireless Network Key style password. As you say though router settings are something that need looking at ultimately.

[al7kz]

In XP your card should show up under “Network Adapters” in device manager. This may also be true for 2K, but XP is what I have on my T20.

Your router apparently comes with WEP enabled, which makes the initial connection more difficult. Try to access the router via a wired connection, and a browser like IE set to the router’s IP address (192.168.1.1 or some such) and disable WEP until you get a connection. And check the name of the SSID (wireless network name).

The signal strength you see on the T20 is for the router, not the card. Your card signal strength will show up at the router GUI (if the firmware has that feature).

Make sure you input the router's wireless SSID at the T20. In XP click on View available wireless networks > change advance settings > wireless networks > add, then input SSID.

Also check “enable when not broadcasting” so you can turn off SSID broadcast at the router for better security.

Then input your security info.

There must be dozens of cards that work with a T20, but the ones I have used are Lucent/Orinoco gold and silver (11b – WEP only), Airlink101 AWLC4030, and 3Com 3CRPAG175.

[cosaw]

Thanks al7kz. Great information which I'm sure will be of use and also help improve my knowledge.

Try to access the router via a wired connection, and a browser like IE set to the router’s IP address (192.168.1.1 or some such) and disable WEP until you get a connection.

Yes I'm sure I'd be up and running by now if I was able to do all this but I'm sorta doing this at a distance via second and third parties. The router is part of a house share and owned by the "landlord" if you like. The owner of the router works nights and so it's difficult to get access to the router in her room or make arrangements. Oh well.

You are correct on the router specifics so you obviously looked the model up - thanks. There is one ethernet socket which is being used and one usb. I'm thinking and hoping the usb is free as I've instaled the usb driver and am hoping to run a usb repeater cable from one room to another to get round all the problems I'm currently having through lack of access to the actual hardware.

The signal strength you see on the T20 is for the router, not the card. Your card signal strength will show up at the router GUI (if the firmware has that feature).

Thanks for pointing that out - that was something I didn't know and hadn't even thought of.

[BillD]

When you say in XP you're not connecting to the router does that mean after you type in the WEP the icon is still saying 'not connected' or the icon says 'connected with limited access'...

Connected with limited access means you're connecting to the router, but it's limited and no info is being transfered because of a security setting or the signal is weak( but you stated your signal is strong)...If it's saying 'not connected' then the problem is probably with your card and/or the Windows setting for the card...

In the UK are there public hotspots? In the US hotels, starbucks, etc have free wireless.. If you can try connecting to another wireless network to see if you have better luck...

[cosaw]

When you say in XP you're not connecting to the router does that mean after you type in the WEP the icon is still saying 'not connected' or the icon says 'connected with limited access'...

I need to confirm this - I'll be at the residence of this setup maybe tomorrow evening so I'll check then.

Yes I've learnt from al7kz that the signal strength denoted is that of the router and that does show as strong.

Connected with limited access means you're connecting to the router, but it's limited and no info is being transfered because of a security setting or the signal is weak( but you stated your signal is strong)...If it's saying 'not connected' then the problem is probably with your card and/or the Windows setting for the card...

Interesting. I'll bear this strongly in mind when I next check the setup.

In the UK are there public hotspots? In the US hotels, starbucks, etc have free wireless.. If you can try connecting to another wireless network to see if you have better luck...

Yes there will be and it's something I've been meaning to check. We are pretty rural here so it's not been my top priority but as you say its something worth looking into. I'll have to check which hotspots if any are without charge.

Thanks again,

[RealBlackStuff]

Just in case you don't have the BT manual:

Step 4: Install wireless adapters on your computers
You must install a compatible 802.11g or 802.11b wireless adapter on all computers you want to connect to your wireless network.

Refer to the installation instructions provided with your wireless adapter. Once your wireless adapter is installed, use the tool provided with your wireless adapter to connect to the Voyager 2091 network. Please follow instructions provided with your adapter.

Your Voyager 2091 wireless network can be identified by its Wireless Network Name (SSID). This is set to 'VOYAGER2091-xx' by default where 'xx' are the last two digits of the BSSID value printed on the label underneath the base.


Configuring your computer to obtain an IP address automatically
Windows 2000/XP

Click Windows Start menu, then Settings/Control Panel, then click Network Connections
Right-click the icon for the network adapter you use to connect to your Voyager 2091
Click Properties
Select TCP/IP for the network adapter you use to connect to your Voyager 2091
Click Properties
Select Obtain an IP address automatically
Click OK twice
Restart your computer


Step 6: Broadband ADSL Account Settings
Your Voyager 2091 Wireless is pre-configured for UK Consumer ADSL services using NAT and Dynamic IP address allocation (PPPoA and VC MUX). The only settings you need to configure into your Voyager 2091 are your Broadband User Name and Password provided by your ISP.

To set or update your Broadband ADSL connection settings:

Click http://voyager.home to start your Internet browser and open the Voyager Configuration Manager.
If this address does not work, try http://192.168.1.1 instead.

Ensure the Voyager is 'ready to connect' to Broadband. Click Help if the Broadband line is 'not ready'.
Enter the Broadband User Name and Password given by your ADSL service provider
Click Connect

Note: If there is no Connect button on the screen but only a Disconnect button, then you are already connected to Broadband. If you cannot browse the Internet, click Disconnect, then follow steps above again.
Your broadband connection is now always-on. Simply start your Internet browser and surf the Internet. That's it!

[cosaw]

Cheers RealBlackStuff thats great stuff!

Hopefully I'll get time to check the setup tomorrow armed with all this new information.

[Merlin Witt]

Have you tried disabling the WIRED adapter?
Right click on the icon in network connections and left click on disable.Then re-boot the unit.
I am assuming you are using XP and some (read most) versions of XP do not work well with more than one active network connection in my experience.

[cosaw]

Thanks for the advice Merlin. I haven't tried that so will. Fortunately getting this to work well is no longer a big priority as I've managed to hook up a wired connection as I suspect it's my limited access to the router which is not allowing me to fix my issues. Thanks to everyone who endeavoured to help out though.

[Merlin Witt]

FYI:

I am using an Airlink 101 WIFI PCI card in two different desktop computers on two separate services (DSL & cable modem). I have two D-link DI-624 wireless routers. One on each service. The Airlink drivers are NOT Windows certified. I use my T20 on both networks.
The following is true for both systems.
I had no problem accessing the router or other devices on the router after using the router's address as a gateway. It was necessary to disable the wired connections on both computers. In order to access the Internet it was necessary to assign static IP addresses to each computer. I must change the gateway address and the IP address when I move the T20 between services. In the two years I have been using both services I have had one outage that took both systems down at the same time. They were both down for more than 12 hours.

Merlin

[cosaw]

Thanks for the further advice Merlin - interesting stuff. Seems like disabling the wired connections is a key point.