Wi-Fi woes

Ok, this is on the Fujitsu PenCentra 200 - HPC Pro OS, MIPs processor.

I've had trouble getting a wifi card to work. I tried once again and could not install the Agere drivers for my Agere Orinocco Gold card.

I have a NetGear 401 card and so I downloaded (from here at HPC Factor) and installed the Prism drivers. These drivers installed right. I took it to my university to try it out on a hotspot.

At first it was scanning, scanning, scanning - and NOTHING. Then I unchecked the 128-bit security and put the security on disabled. This worked as far as I could connect to the hotspot and received a fair to good linkup.

But then I pulled up Internet Explorer and it would not get to any of the websites. I kept getting a flash screen about not being able to connect to the site. All these sites I could get over the modem at home. But not through wi-fi.

So then I checked the 128-bit security in the Prism Configuration program. And I lost the Wi-Fi hotspot connection.

Note: I do have the 128-bit upgrade installed on the handheld.

So what is the problem?

Edited by quiche 2007-03-14 3:17 PM

Either your Uni is using WPA for its hot spots or they're using unencrypted network level security. Install vxUtil and see if it's getting an IP from any of the AP's, if it is you need to work out the security methodology.

Thanks, C:Amie - now please for an English translation of the first part (American English) - "Either your Uni is using WPA for its hot spots" -

What is WPA?

I don't think it is unencrypted because I do connect to the hotspot with the encryption off but no websites are accessible.

This is a different handheld than I have used before at this university. And it has been several months since I was wi-fi-ing there. But I seem to remember logging on. But the Prism configuration program doesn't seem to have a log on tab and no log on screen appeared.

Short answer: it's a form of encryption that H/PC Pro doesn't support. (H/PC Pro only supports WEP.)

Here's from the university's wireless page:

Over the winter break we will be setting up a new SSID called "busecure". It will be available to students/faculty/staff and offer WPA2 security. This SSID will offer a higher level of security for you as it encrypts all traffic you send over the wireless network. This SSID will also be using Campus Manager to control access and ensure that connected clients have updated software for their machines.

Additionally we will be upgrading code on all our wireless hardware that should improve the reliability of the network. Clients in the RESNET may have noticed small network outages lasting for 1 - 5 mins. This software update should correct these problems.

-----------------------------------------------------

Can HPC Pro handle this?

So what I'm gathering from all of the above that my HPC Pro is now outdated because the university is using WPA2.

The Netgear card with the Prism driver is working. It did link up. The problem is not with the card, but with the OS on the handheld.

Is this summation correct?

Ya, and I'm in the same boat at with my home network. I get activity out of my wireless card. I'm using the WCF11 set up from linksys. When I used the encryption (64 bit or 128) and plugged in the key, I got no signal through the card at all.

Now, if I disable the encryption, the card lights up, and I get full strenght signal on the link page of the utility. So with that set, I still can't get anything to open up on the browser. It won't set an IP automatically, so I started tyring different combinations there, but can't make it go.

So, any idea's next. I have the same set up, the Pencentra 200. Mine had an Orinoco Silver card that came with it, but couldn't make it work. I found a Linksys, the same as listed on this site, and got the driver to load, just can't get connected.

FLHP,

Which Pencentra do you have ( HPC Pro or HPC 2000)?

S/F,
CEYA!

HPC Pro- in this case I don't think it's a driver issue any more. The utility seems to work and run, and I have activity from the card. It almost has to be settings of some type.

I have the exact same problem on my Mobilepro 770... I am using a Siemens Speedstream wifi card and the Compaq WL-100 driver for Win CE 2.11. The wireless network utility shows a strong signal from my home network, and the power and link lights turn on on the card. But when I open IE or AIM, I find that it is not connected to the internet. This occurs at all hotspots I've tried it at as well (library, starbucks, etc.). What's causing this? I even disabled WEP encryption from my home network to test, and same problem. Has anyone out there actually successfully connected to a wireless network using a Mobilepro770? Using any HPC Pro?

NECGUY,

You don't have an email posted, so I can't email you directly, but I can connect using my 770 with a wireless connection without any problems.

Rich

Rich

Tell us here, Rich.

I'm going this morning back to my university with my MobilePro 790 (HPC2000) and will try out with my Agere card.

are you sure you added the card's mac address in your router (if you use mac address filtering)? seems to be a common problem another idea is did you enable B or at least mixed B/G mode in the router (if it is a 54mbps router). try to experiment with preamble modes as well.

Edited by cmonex 2007-03-19 8:41 AM

iirc you need to install the pcmcia update for the 770. i dont remember if i had to do that on the 770 (i can check later), but i certainly had to on my nec 800. and that's essentially the same thing, just with a larger screen..

also, it matters a lot which prism driver you use on the mips machines. i'll check which worked for me and get back to you (if the pcmcia update doesn't help).

this latter advice applies to that pencentra as well..in the case of the linksys card.

Edited by cmonex 2007-03-19 8:44 AM