URGENT: Wireless will not get an IP via DHCP

[Craig]

Hi Guys, im just at home now but i need this information for 9am tomorrow (going to customers site)

one of their computers that has all of the data on has just had a wireless card installed, and it will not get an IP via DHCP at all, yet all the other PC's will. I have tried reinstalling the drivers and replacing the card but nothing has worked so far

I had this with my laptop a few months back and it was NOD32 causing the problem but this PC dosent have any AV (hasnt been on the internet so no need)

Cheers

Craig

[Paul Adams]

Encrypted network?
What OS on the client?
If XP, is the WZC service running?
Does the client say it is connected to the WLAN, stuck in "acquiring network address"?

[Craig]

64-bit Encrypted
Windows XP w/ Service Pack 2
WZC Service is running

And you hit the nail on the head with the last one, it connects to the WLAN but it sticks on "acquiring network address"

Thanks for the speedy reply mate <cookies at the ready>

Craig

[Paul Adams]

Are all the other clients also WinXP SP2, and using identical adapters?
What is the make & model of the AP and adapters?

The first wireless case I had to deal with had the symptoms that the clients could not get an IP address if encryption was enabled, it was an older D-Link access point and needed a firmware update to work.

I had a setup in my apartment where the clients would connect fine with unencrypted WLANS nearby, but not with the AP I had set up with any kind of encryption - SMC access point in this case, and it turned out it didn't like being altered from the default IP address.

Is the access point the DHCP server in this case, or is it routing DHCP requests through to a wired DHCP server?

Does the AP have a web interface where you can see the MAC addresses associated with it, with IP addresses assigned if it is the DHCP server?

Does it work with encryption disabled entirely (just as a test)?

[Craig]

Hi Paul,

The AP is Dynamode Branded (No model number, Dynamode reguarly change the type of the products) and so are the PCI Cards. I have just checked and there are no firmware updates for the AP

All of the PCI Cards are the same, there are two AP's on the network, with IP addresses 192.168.16.242/241 connected to a Small Business 2003 Server which assigns the IP addresses. It still dosent connect when there is no encryption either

Will this be a backup and reload job?

Cheers,

Craig

Edit: All bar one of the clients are using Windows SP2, the other is using SP1a.

Edit #2: I did just install Service Pack 2 today too, it was upgraded from bog standard XP (ie, no service pack at all to start with)

[Paul Adams]

Hmm, depends how much time you have to troubleshoot the problem I guess.

WZC activity can be logged to a file, which might give clues but still leave you guessing at how to actually fix it:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/com...uy/cg0804.mspx

Wireless Zero Configuration service logging

Windows XP supports detailed logging for various components to troubleshoot the wireless authentication process. You can enable logging for specific components or for all components by using the netsh ras set tracing command. Windows XP SP2 now includes tracing for the Wireless Zero Configuration service, which is responsible for detecting and attempting to connect to preferred wireless networks. To see the Wireless Zero Configuration service logs, type netsh ras set tracing * enabled at a command prompt to enable logging for all components. Disable and then enable your wireless network connection in the Network Connections folder. Then, view the Wzcdlg.log and Wzctrace.log files in the %SystemRoot%\Tracing folder. To disable tracing for all components, type netsh ras set tracing * disabled at a command prompt.

Do you know if the Windows Firewall (or any other firewall) is active on the wireless interface?
Might be worth disabling it to test if the port filtering is a little strict - or set iit to log dropped packets (via Control Panel applet) and view %systemroot%\pfirewall.log afterwards.

Silly question, but the DHCP Client service is running on the client, right?
(I have disabled it before now as I use static IPs, and forgot all about it when I took my PC to another LAN.)

[Craig]

Thanks very much for your help Paul I will go in there tomorrow armed with all that knowledge! I didnt even think of checking the DHCP Client! I know they have McAffee installed, but i dont think it has the Firewall on it. Also, thanks for the tip on the logging, i will give that a go too

<Hands Paul a cookie>

Cheers mate

Craig

[Paul Adams]

No problem, good luck with it