constant disconnection/reconnection between Netgear MA401 AP and SMC2632W V.2 client

[Mike Bohan]

	I actually have the machine up to date with "Windows Update". This
includes sp1 and all patches after that. Also, I borrowed a friend's
prismII pcmcia card and used it in the same machine. This yielded a
flawless connection.  The one conflict I read about with win XP post sp1
is that you must check the box "Allow Connection without WEP
Encryption", or something to the same effect. So unless there's a patch
that is not part of Windows Update (or aware of), I don't think that's
the issue unfortunately. 


On Wed, 2003-01-15 at 19:51, Ryan Abbenhuys wrote:
> This is a problem with WinXP.
> Apparently this is a WinXP update or service pack that fixes it.
> 
> 
> >Hello there,
> >
> >	I recently setup a Toshiba Satellite as a WAP/router for my home
> >network.  The setup uses a Netgear MA401 PrismII based card in the
> >laptop, which is binded to the HostAP driver. The configuration was very
> >strait forward (no special firmware needed), and it works well for the
> >most part. 
> >	A problem did emerge when I tried using a SMC2632W V.2 (Amtel chipset)
> >based client on the network.  The SMC client becomes associated on the
> >network without a problem, and even had a very strong signal. However,
> >every minute or so the SMC client laptop (running Windows XP) displays a
> >network disconnection of the wireless NIC, and then reconnects. These
> >disconnect/reconnect intervals seem to be equal, though I have not
> >proved this assumption. The simple and most obvious answer is that the
> >client is too far away from the WAP. However, the signal on the SMC xp
> >client is categorized as very "very good".  In fact, it's much better
> >than any of the Prism II clients have ever been (I have several machines
> >that access this WAP. All the rest are PrismII based). The transfer
> >rates (when actually connected) are indicative of this too, as they are
> >excellent. Most importantly, the other PrismII clients perform without
> >disconnection at equal distance from the WAP with a lower signal. I have
> >also tried using both SMC's windows utility and Windows XP's integrated
> >"zero" configuration system.  Both yield equal results.
> >	I should also mention two factors..
> >
> >1. This is the first non-prismII client I've used with this WAP system,
> >and it's the first with problems.
> >2. I upgraded the firmware on the MA401 to the most recent version
> >(standard firmware, not AP firmware) in hopes this would solve the
> >problem. It did not.
> >
> > Are there known incompatabilities with non-PrismII chipsets acting as
> >clients to the hostap driver?
> >
> >	I'm wondering if anyone has any insights to the cause of this
> >troublesum problem. Perhaps there is a way to tweak either the hostap
> >driver or the smc client settings?
> >
> >-- 
> >Mike Bohan <bogin at shortcircut.org>
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >HostAP mailing list
> >HostAP at shmoo.com
> >http://lists.shmoo.com/mailman/listinfo/hostap
> >
> >
-- 
Mike Bohan <bogin at shortcircut.org>