Home Broadband & Home Phone

[ARansome]

Hello

I'm trying to wirelessly connect my son's PC to my new v5 box without any success. The wireless software can see the router, records a 100% signal, but refuses to connect.

Out of interest I turned Windows Firewall off and it connected instantly, I then turned Windows Firewall back on and it stayed connected.

Are there specific settings on Windows Firewall for XP SP3 that I need to implement? If so, can any of you kind souls let me know what they are, please?

[Guest2]

I'm running XPSP3 and had no such problem connecting to WB V.

Are you using Windows WZC to manage wireless ?

[ARansome]

Hi - I'm using the proprietary software that came with the USB dongle:- Softcom Wireless Utility.

.

I guess allowing that through the firewall could't hurt, could it?

[anticpated Level 18: Posting pro]

Do yourself a favour and get Comodo Internet Security. WFW isn't as effective as other solutions.

It's more likely you are using the wrong protocol to link the wireless signal. Using a Multi-mode like WPA/WPA2 should help it latch onto the right settings. Once you discover which one the router is transmitting then you can set the wireless receiver accordingly.

But anyway, if there is a manual or automatic setup procedure like a PIN number this can also simplify things.

[ARansome]

As reported, I connected successfully last night without Windows Firewall. This morning there was no connection, just the message about "Limited or No Connectivity" - with or without Windows Firewall.

This evening I tried to reconnect - I used Windows WZC to manage the wireless as suggested and turned Windows Firewall off. I've been connecting via WPA2PSK-AES, using the key that O2 supplied. I've sat at the machine all evening watching progress bars with no success. No connections; just the message "Acquiring Network Address". The signal is 100%, I have full bars on the reception icon. I even sneakily connected to a neighbours unsecured network for a minute (showing 1 bar of reception) without a problem.

At 8:15, after having a cup of tea, I tried again and it connected. I didn't do anything apart from click on "Connect" in the Wireless Network dialog box and input the access key.

I have no idea what's going on, but I'm fully expecting "limited or no connection" again tomorrow morning once my son tries to connect.

[perksie Level 58: Overseer]

You should be able to set the wireless in WinXP to "Connect automatically", it's also worth turning off "Power management" to stop the adapter going to sleep, and the same in the Box V. (Power Reduction)

[ARansome]

Connected perfectly this morning with no problems, so whatever happened last night between it not working and suddenly working seems to have sorted the problem out.

Sorry I can't give a definitive solution to my problem, but thanks for your help and advice.

[perksie Level 58: Overseer]

Sometimes Windows can get confused about which network to connect to, I've known these problems to right themselves.

I hope you're ok now.

[buseng12 Level 6: Acolyte]

---

perksie wrote:

You should be able to set the wireless in WinXP to "Connect automatically", it's also worth turning off "Power management" to stop the adapter going to sleep, and the same in the Box V. (Power Reduction)

---

Sorry to hijack this, but where do you find the power reduction settings in the Box5 please?

I  have searched all through the interface logged in as SuperUser & cannot find them.

Cheers.

[perksie Level 58: Overseer]

Home network> WLAN> Configure.