ThinkVantage Access Connection Problem

[cerebral_mamba]

One fine day, that is since day before yesterday, when I press Fn+F5, it gives me the error "cannot change power state of wireless radio"!! i really don't know why, i did not do any change to my system, just went to PC-Doctor System diagnostics from IBM Predesktop and ran a few tests on my GPU and Display.

1. Since then I have done at least 2 dozen un-installation, re-installation of Access Connections, Intel 2200Bg drivers in various orders.

2. I have read most previous threads that talk about un-installation & installation priorities like Access connections first, then re-boot, then drivers..... etc. but no luck.

3. Updating to 4.01 Access connections does not cause the error message, but Accessconnection always displays the wireless radio as OFF, even when its actually ON and so will no work.

4. Windows zero configuration works fine. And yes, I tried disabling zero configuration, enabling it and in both cases re-installing access connection & intel drivers. No Luck.

5. The wireless is working and passes all tests when using built in diagnostic software.

6. Have been corresponding with technical support, and 4th time after giving up with un-installation 7 re-installations, they said they will send me a VB script, but I cannot access the webpage link they send me to download the script. I will be calling them on monday for further support. Anyway, the webaddress is http://32.85.144.10/helpcenter/infotips ... 60950.html. See if any of you folks can download the vbs file. If you can, please send me the file to sujithvn@gmail.com.

I feel if I fix the error message "can't change power state" that I get with 3.81 Access Connection driver, then even the 4.01 may work fine.

So, did anyone else get similar error message you have fixed, or similar situation with 4.01 Access Connections and you got it working, please help out.

[margolin]

Any luck finding the file. I too have been having the same problem. I have it working now with AC4.01 and an older version of my Wireless driver (9.0.1.21). If I upgrade my wireless driver to the newest version, it breaks again though.

[cerebral_mamba]

I have yet to follow up with IBM. As for the time being, I am using Intel's latest 9.0.3.. driver. It gives me a 1-click disable-enable radio option, but I really want access Connections.

Thanks, i will try with the older wireless driver and as soon as I get this fixed, I'll update this thread.

[cerebral_mamba]

Any luck finding the file. I too have been having the same problem. I have it working now with AC4.01 and an older version of my Wireless driver (9.0.1.21). If I upgrade my wireless driver to the newest version, it breaks again though.

For the time being, i cannot find the older 9.0.1.21 drivers anywhee fro download. If possible cay you pleae upload it onto any general file sharing servers like http://rapidshare.de/, so that i can try some gimics with it.

[margolin]

Okay, I zipped the driver install stuff and put it on Rapidshare. The link is:

http://rapidshare.de/files/11552508/WLANCX2A.zip.html

I've found that I had to completely remove the newer version of the driver before installing the older version. Once this version is installed AC 4.01 works fine though.

If you figure anything out could you please post it here?

thanks

[cerebral_mamba]

Okay, I zipped the driver install stuff and put it on Rapidshare. The link is:

http://rapidshare.de/files/11552508/WLANCX2A.zip.html

I've found that I had to completely remove the newer version of the driver before installing the older version. Once this version is installed AC 4.01 works fine though.

If you figure anything out could you please post it here?

thanks

Thanks a Million. I am just downloading this file now. I am on the phone right now with thecnical support and they have escalated my case to higher folks out there... so hope something may work out. I will immedietely let you know if things get resolved.

Thanks a lot again for the drivers.

[cerebral_mamba]

The 9.0.1.21 driver still doesn't work for me... guess I am one of the unlucky ones out there. But since it woked for you, the solution TechSupport gave me may just work for you.

I have uploaded their VBS script and the instructions (DOC) they send me into a ZIP file here http://rapidshare.de/files/11778007/Wireless.zip.html

The links in the instruction file does not work, but the wireless driver they are refering to is the latest one you get from IBM/Lenovo website. The VBS script did detect 9 files which it deleted, but the final result for me was the same. Best of luck anyways.

Just to make sure, can you tell me the steps you adopted to get AC to work with the older driver. I mean was it Uninstall AC first >> Reboot >> Un-install Wireless driver >> Install wireless driver >> reboot etc... Just let me know the procedure you adopted.

[greghead]

A few days ago I got a brand new T43 with the Intel 2915ABG.

And the Fn+F5 control of the radio doesn't work. Not even brand new, right out of the box.

It does control the bluetooth radio.

But it thinks the wifi radio is off all the time. Clicking "Turn On" does nothing. No error message, just no result.

I updated the Intel drivers (uninstalling the old ones first), to 9.0.2.31. No help.

I ran the Software Updater yesterday, and one of the dozens (!) of driver/utility updates I got, was Access Connections 3.81. No help.

I had a T41p which worked great. It's hard to believe this would be configured wrong in a brand-new T43, with wifi installed at the factory.

Any ideas? I've never needed to call for ThinkPad tech support and I'm dreading futzing around with phone queues and plodding through procedures that clearly won't work, until finally someone admits a problem. Avoiding that is part of why I buy ThinkPads. Oh well. If anyone has any suggestions for self-help, I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

[leegaard]

I am very surprised that you would be offered a 3.81 version of AC. 4.01 has been out for quite a while now.

Using an odd language?


Oterwise use Software installer once again and tell how it went..

Uninstall the AC and install it again together with wireless drivers might help..

[greghead]

Thanks, leegard!

Language = US English.

Software Updater still offered me only 3.81.

I went to the web site and downloaded 4.01 manually, installed OK. [4.01 looks much spiffier.]

Unfortunately AC still thinks the wifi radio is off, but cannot turn it on. When I click to turn it on, there is no error message, but no result, AC thinks it is still turned off.

Interesting, I noticed that that AC's "Wireless Connection Status" window says the MAC address of the "Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection" is F8:F8:22:01:A9:A1.

But in Windows, the Intel driver itself says its MAC address is 00:13:CE:B7:B7:97. [Which I know is correct, since my wireless router is restricting devices to specific MAC addresses, and that's the one, and it's working.]

In other words, AC appears to be talking to some kind of ghost wireless device which doesn't actually exist.

I guess you're going to advise that I uninstall both (1) AC and (2) the Intel 2915 driver, and re-install? If so, does it matter in which order I do the re-install?

Thank you so much for your help!

[helloguys]

Thanks, leegard!

Interesting, I noticed that that AC's "Wireless Connection Status" window says the MAC address of the "Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Connection" is F8:F8:22:01:A9:A1.

But in Windows, the Intel driver itself says its MAC address is 00:13:CE:B7:B7:97. [Which I know is correct, since my wireless router is restricting devices to specific MAC addresses, and that's the one, and it's working.]

In other words, AC appears to be talking to some kind of ghost wireless device which doesn't actually exist.

the MAC address in my AC is also F8:F8:22:01:A9:A1. So we 'accidentally' have the same MAC address...LOL

It must be some software issues. Not sure if it's been reported to IBM/Lenovo or not.

[greghead]

I've discovered that with AC 4.01 on my system, shutting down and starting up takes longer. There's an extra 60 seconds on shutdown, and an extra 30 seconds on startup. I wonder if that's due to AC trying to talk to this phantom wifi card, and getting stuck on some timeouts. Argh.

So I uninsalled AC entirely. I could revert to 3.81, but why? Admittedly I was looking forward to trying AC, but on my previous T41p I stuck with Windows wireless management and liked it just fine. So I'm willing to give up on AC.

At this point, I'm simply looking for a hotkey, quick way to turn the wifi radio on and off (e.g. on an airplane), like Fn+F5 used to let me do. If I can do that with IBM/Lenovo software, great. If I can do that with Intel software, or a 3rd party utility, great.

So if anybody has any suggestions, for simple/quick radio power control, I'd be grateful. Thanks.

[leegaard]

Try to install AC and all network drivers included wired and wireless. Do it by help of the "software installer.

Restart and install again using "software installer"

Now when you have downloaded the AC 4.01 software installer should recognize it and install that instead of 3.81.

If "software installer cannot find 4.01 do not install 3.81 just install all network drivers but not Intel Proset.

Restart and get wireless connectivity.

Install AC 4.01

A similar procedure have worked for me often.

[cerebral_mamba]

I have had the same issue of AC not able to turn the Wireless radio ON for quite a while and have goo through over 30 un-installation & Installations in various orders and it does not work!!!

I have been working with IBM Tech support for over a week now and I have uplaoded their solution and instructions in my reply above. It contains a VBS script written by IBM to search your computer and remove the legacy drivers etc.. but did not work for me. But I suggest you try it out first. THE LINK IS ABOVE IN MY PREVIOUS REPLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let us all know if anyone has go it to work. If you just want to be able to Disable and enable radio very easily and don't use the advanced features provided by AC, the you can use the latest Intel Wireless driver V10.. available from Intel.

[helloguys]

I tried many uninstall/reinstall orders. I also tried the VB script. But the AC still got a 'ghost' MAC address (which is the same on different ThinkPads). Since the AC was not talking to the real NIC, there's no way to get it work. Not sure if anyone has reported this 'ghost MAC' issue to IBM or not.

[GomJabbar]

I saw that kidtriton and firefly on the following thread got it to work for an Intel 2100B and an Intel 2200BG respectively.

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=18107

[greghead]

6. Have been corresponding with technical support, and 4th time after giving up with un-installation 7 re-installations, they said they will send me a VB script, but I cannot access the webpage link they send me to download the script. I will be calling them on monday for further support. Anyway, the webaddress is http://32.85.144.10/helpcenter/infotips ... 60950.html. See if any of you folks can download the vbs file. If you can, please send me the file to sujithvn@gmail.com.

I can't download either: "Connection timed out" error.

[sinanju009]

Have been lurking for some time now and have this problem hit me twice. The 1st one is a dependency issue between the driver and AC (must be installed in a specific order. May have changed in newer versions of AC). The 2nd one, much more subtle to diagnose. The number of profiles seem to break AC. Had about 8 to 12 profiles. Recently added one more for a Verizon EV-DO card and AC simply stopped working. By removing a few of the older profiles, AC was, once again, control properly the power state of my 2200BG.

MC

[jmt]

I have also had problems. When I removed access conec. 4.01 and reinstalled 3.81 all problems were gone. I think if you go back to 3.81 you will also find your problems have been corrected.

[jmt]

I have also had problems. When I removed access conec. 4.01 and reinstalled 3.81 all problems were gone. I think if you go back to 3.81 you will also find your problems have been corrected.

[cerebral_mamba]

I reported the problem of AC reffering to a ghost MAC to IBM. But that was via. email and so I have not any reply, but I will try calling them tomorrow to get the issue fixed. I suggest all of you too call just to get them a little more serious and understand that its not an isolated compuetr issue.

I reverted to AC3.18 and it still does not work

[tokjdm]

I have the same problem and discussed at length with IBM Japan Customer Service today. Their policy is that warrantee does not cover IBM software and they don't feel concerned by the problem. I asked them to escalate the problem and told them about the problems reported in this thread. I am not sure they will do anything about it.
jdm

[helloguys]

Ok... I solved the problem, accidentally. Not sure if it works for everyone, but it's worth trying.

My ThinkPad: T43
My Wireless LAN card: Intel 2915ABG

1) uninstall prviously installed wireless LAN drivers and related wireless clients (such as IBM Access Connections, Cisco Aironet Utility, Funk Odyssey Cleint, etc.) To make the system 'clean', I used 'Your Uninstaller 2006' (might be not necessary, not sure). I also used the VBscript that mentioned previously in this thread to doulbe check. The VBscript didn't find any file to delete ('Your Uninstaller' did a good job).

2) reboot your PC. When it boots into Windows, it'll say sometime about 'Found new hardware...'. Click 'Cancel' if it asked you about the options to install drivers. If it installed the drivers automatically, that means your didn't do well on step 1). Go back to step 1) and try again.

2) Download the latest wirless driver from IBM website. I downloaded mine from: ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... wc38ww.exe

3) Double click the downloaded file, and it extracts to your C:\Drivers folder. Mine was in C:\Drivers\WIN\WLANCX2A.

4) Go to the directory in step 3) and double click 'setup.exe'. The deault selection should be fine. But I choosed 'custom' install, to make sure the 'Intel ProSet' was selected.

5) Reboot your PC and verify if the wireless driver is functioning. (you don't need to connect to a wireless AP. detection of wirless existence is enough). Don't change anything (such as channels, security settings, etc.), you'll do it later.

6) Install Access Connections. I used version 3.81 because I like the 'traditional' user interface.

7) Reboot. And AC should be working with the WLAN card. (verify this by enable/disable radio from within AC).

Configure your profiles in AC.

The keypoint is installing Intel ProSet. Intel ProSet is not necessary if you want to use Widnows Wireless Zero Configuration. But it's a bridge between 'IBM Access Connections' and the wireless drivers. Without Intel ProSet, AC won't talk to the WLAN card.

[tokjdm]

I did it exactly the way you describe it but the problem was not solved

[greghead]

Software Intstaller told me there's a new 4.11a version of Access Connections. I tried it. No difference.

[jetpen]

Access Connections 4.11a on my ThinkPad X40 (Intel 2200BG) does not work. The status meter does not display any signal strength, and it is unable to connect to an access point (fails associating). Reverting to 4.01 makes everything work fine.

Access Connections 4.11a works fine on my ThinkPad X30 though.

[GomJabbar]

I thought 4.11 was a typo.

I just downloaded and installed the above version on my T42. So far no problems. After I downloaded the above, I double-clicked on it to extract the files, then I went to Add or Remove Programs and uninstalled Access Connections 4.01, but not the profiles. I rebooted, then installed 4.11 using Software Installer (telling it not to look on the internet), and rebooted again. It made my home wireless connection without any problem on boot up.

I see they have a new Peer to Peer Community tab. Not something I will probably use though.

EDIT: BTW, I have the Intel 2200 BG wireless adapter in my T42.

[greghead]

Success: Now the Fn+F5 menu lets me actually turn the wirelress radio on and off.

I followed the instructions and used the VBS script. It uninstalled 6 items.

I followed the rest of the instructions but they could be better. At step 8, they should make it really clear that you need to drill down into C:\DRIVERS\WIN\WLANCX2A, and you must run the Setup program yourself.

I wonder if that was the problem all along. Software Installer dumps the files in this folder, and that may suffice to update the raw wireless drivers for Windows. But it did not launch the Intel Setup program and properly install the PRO/Wireless application. That application seems to be the glue that lets the wireless radio control work.

I hope this helps someone. Either a user like me, or IBM/Lenovo to fix/enhance Software Installer.

P.S. I haven't even got to trying the new Access Connections. I embarked on this just wanting basic radio control to work, which it never did on my T43 fresh from the factory. I solved that. In the process I got a peek at AC 4+, and it looks spiffy. I'm going to declare victory but later loop back and give that a shot. Meanwhile: Not broken? Not fixing!

[tokjdm]

Do you what was uninstalled by the VB Script ? I cannot locate it.

[cerebral_mamba]

Success: Now the Fn+F5 menu lets me actually turn the wirelress radio on and off.

I followed the instructions and used the VBS script. It uninstalled 6 items.

I followed the rest of the instructions but they could be better. At step 8, they should make it really clear that you need to drill down into C:\DRIVERS\WIN\WLANCX2A, and you must run the Setup program yourself.

I wonder if that was the problem all along. Software Installer dumps the files in this folder, and that may suffice to update the raw wireless drivers for Windows. But it did not launch the Intel Setup program and properly install the PRO/Wireless application. That application seems to be the glue that lets the wireless radio control work.

I hope this helps someone. Either a user like me, or IBM/Lenovo to fix/enhance Software Installer.

P.S. I haven't even got to trying the new Access Connections. I embarked on this just wanting basic radio control to work, which it never did on my T43 fresh from the factory. I solved that. In the process I got a peek at AC 4+, and it looks spiffy. I'm going to declare victory but later loop back and give that a shot. Meanwhile: Not broken? Not fixing!

I have tried all those without any success . Could you please tell detail the order in which it was done. The documentation speaks nothing of AC. Does AC have to be installed all along? If so, what version did you have? What is the version of the wireless driver you installed? Please Please specify in more detail.

And congradulation with your success. It has given me new hope.