T42: Intel 2200BG not associating with D-Link 802.11g

[CantStopNow]

Just got my T42 yesterday, and I've been playing around with it a bit. The first thing that I did was to install all of the urgent XP hotfixes, along with most of the recommended others (coming over from OS X, I'm pretty concerned about viruses). Pretty much everything has been working fine, but I've been unable to associate with the 802.11g D-Link at work (either in b or g mode). It's running with 64 bit WEP, and I'm able to see the access point in the list of available networks just fine. I even went to IBM's site and applied the 2200BG driver there, but all that seemed to do was kill WPA as a possible authentication mechanism.

I've seen mentions of problems with Centrino and XP hotfixes, and other vague Centrino problems. Anyone have any advice for digging into this problem?

[jephhy]

The Microsoft WPA Hotfix is known to cause problems with wireless drivers. Try uninstalling it and see if that helps.

To Remove the Hotfix

1. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click Windows XP Hotfix (SP2) Q815485.
3. Click Remove. You may receive a message that some programs may not work if the update is removed. Ignore it, and click Yes to remove the update.
4. Restart your computer.

Jeff

[CantStopNow]

I read about issues with that hotfix, but it looks like it isn't (and probably hasn't been) installed on my T42.

I did connect to an 802.11b network at home this AM, but I didn't know about Access Connections, and just used the stuff built into XP. Perhaps now I've unconfigured whatever various settings are needed to make Access Connections happy?

I'm tempted to nuke the machine and start over with the factory install. If I do that, any suggestions as to which hotfixes to istall/not install?

[JohnV]

First thing I would do is drop the WEP and make sure you still cannot make a connection without encryption. I have a T42 with the 2200BG running 802.11G with WPA at home with a Dell AP and it is running like champ. I have also connected to a linksys AP also with no encryption and that worked fine too.

John

[sswany]

I'm having an issue also with a DLink router (DI-514 [802.11b] though). I can get it to get an IP from it and it shows up on the DHCP tables on the router, but it won't access the internet. I don't use WPA, just WEP and I can't even get it to work without WEP on. I use an old Linksys 802.11b down at school and it works wonderfully, but this thing won't work. I checked DLink's site and they had a firmware update that said it "fixed issues with Intel Centrinos" and tried it, but still no luck. I'd like to get this one working too if anyone has any thoughts.

[cooljw]

I just got my 2200BG on my T42 working with my D-Link 802.11g under WEP-128. It didn't work for the first 2 weeks I had the machine, but I discovered it was because I screwed up the WEP security settings on the T42. Make sure you didn't make the same mistake I did.

I am using WEP 128-bit shared key. You need to make sure you are using the right variant of WEP security as your router is.

For me this is what I did:
1.) I'd recommend using IBM Access Connections.
2.) Open Access Connections, go to Manage Location Profiles. "Edit" the connection you're having trouble with.
3.) Go to the Wireless tab.
4.) Click Edit Wireless LAN Settings
5.) Select which WEP you're using. If you pick the wrong one, your connection will not work. i.e.- I'm using a Static Key, so I select that.
6.) Hit Next. Under "Access Point Authentication", make sure you select "Shared" if you are using a shared WEP key, and not "Open". It defaults to Open, and this caused my connection not to work.
7.) Make sure you enter the right key.

[sswany]

Still no luck. I tried Open and Shared. On my Linksys network it's set to Open and it works fine, I think I do use Open. The DLink router is set to Auto for Shared or Open and I have tried to use Open as well, but it won't work. I can't open the router's setup page either from the wireless. So it's not talking correctly. Even with WEP turned off I can't get it to work. I tried changing the preamble settings from short to long and long to short (fixed my Orinocco's problem on my old laptop), but it doesn't help either.

Thanks for the help.

[sswany]

So I ended up uninstalling Access Connections and the problem went away; however, now I can't use the power management for the wireless because that wireless status program I believe was part of the Access Connections program. Is there any reason why the program would have gotten in the way, or I can get the wireless config program back?

[sktn77a]

A long shot but try updating the firmware on the D-Link router and then connecting via IBM Access Connections again.

[sswany]

That was the first thing I had done.