Wife has treated herself to a little Toshiba netbook (NB200) and has
tasked yours truly with sorting out a wireless network, which is a
completely new area for me, and I'm stumped already.

Connecting the Tosh to our wired network is fine, so bought a D-Link
DAP-1160 wireless access point, thinking that the wiring goes from the
wall socket, to our Speedtouch router, then wired from one of the router
ports to the D-Link, and wirelessly from the D-Link to the Tosh.

Followed the setup instructions (which also involved buying a USB DVD
drive for the Tosh, to read the D-Link manual which is on CD), and using
the built in Tosh and D-Link software, I can see the D-Link access point
from the Tosh, but cannot connect. Keep getting the error message
'Another Vendor's Application is controlling the wireless adaptor', but
what application?

Anyone successfully connected a Tosh netbook in similar circumstances?

Thanks!

(My own DVD audio problems are on hold until this is sorted!)
--
Graeme

Graeme wrote:

Followed the setup instructions (which also involved buying a USB DVD
drive for the Tosh, to read the D-Link manual which is on CD), and using
the built in Tosh and D-Link software, I can see the D-Link access point
from the Tosh, but cannot connect. Keep getting the error message
'Another Vendor's Application is controlling the wireless adaptor', but
what application?

Look for Toshiba's wireless utility, find the Access point and do the
connect with that. I think you are using Microsoft's version of that,
which has been partially disabled due to the Tosh s/w being also installed.

Don't worry - this is, er, normal ...

--
Adrian C

In message , Adrian C
writes
Graeme wrote:
Followed the setup instructions (which also involved buying a USB
DVD drive for the Tosh, to read the D-Link manual which is on CD),
and using the built in Tosh and D-Link software, I can see the D-Link
access point from the Tosh, but cannot connect. Keep getting the
error message 'Another Vendor's Application is controlling the
wireless adaptor', but what application?

Look for Toshiba's wireless utility, find the Access point and do the
connect with that. I think you are using Microsoft's version of that,
which has been partially disabled due to the Tosh s/w being also
installed.

The utility which gives the error message is ConfigFree, which I think
is Toshiba's software, which I assume is fighting with MS's software.
What I'm not sure about is how to disable either one, to let the other
do whatever is necessary.

Don't worry - this is, er, normal ...

So I gather, from Googling :-)
--
Graeme

Graeme wrote:

The utility which gives the error message is ConfigFree, which I think
is Toshiba's software, which I assume is fighting with MS's software.
What I'm not sure about is how to disable either one, to let the other
do whatever is necessary.

Don't worry - this is, er, normal ...

So I gather, from Googling :-)

OK, so Microsoft's software is in the chair ... Don't go about disabling
things.

In control panel, click the "Network Connections" icon.

Right click the icon relating to the wireless connection, and choose
"View Available Wireless Networks"

You should be OK from then on finding and connecting ...

--
Adrian C

"Graeme" wrote in message
...

Followed the setup instructions (which also involved buying a USB DVD
drive for the Tosh, to read the D-Link manual which is on CD), and using
the built in Tosh and D-Link software, I can see the D-Link access point
from the Tosh, but cannot connect. Keep getting the error message
'Another Vendor's Application is controlling the wireless adaptor', but
what application?

Anyone successfully connected a Tosh netbook in similar circumstances?

You made the error of installing the software off the cd.
Uninstall it and start again without making the error.
(You may need to use system restore to roll it back a bit.)

Windows can find the wireless network without any of the cr@p that comes on
the cds.

You will want to log into the AP and set security once it is working.


BTW are you sure its an access point?
most are routers.

In message , Adrian C
writes

Right click the icon relating to the wireless connection, and choose
"View Available Wireless Networks"

A long message which says :

"Windows cannot configure this wireless connection.

If you have enabled another program to manage this wireless connection,
use that software.

If you want Windows to configure this wireless connection, start the
Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) service. For information about
starting the WZC service, see article 871122 in the MS knowledge base on
the microsoft.com web site."

The article says :

This behavior occurs for several reasons. Some computer and hardware
manufacturers provide their own configuration software that replaces the
Wireless Zero Configuration service that is provided in Windows. In that
case, you must use the software that is provided by the manufacturer to
configure your wireless network. If you want to use the Wireless Network
Setup Wizard or the View Available Wireless Networks feature to
configure your wireless device, see the documentation that came with
your computer or with your wireless network card. Use this documentation
to determine whether you can use the Wireless Zero Configuration service
to configure your wireless network. Sometimes, you cannot use the
Windows functionality.

You should be OK from then on finding and connecting ...

Hmm. :-)
--
Graeme

In message , "dennis@home"
writes


"Graeme" wrote in message
...

Followed the setup instructions (which also involved buying a USB DVD
drive for the Tosh, to read the D-Link manual which is on CD), and
using the built in Tosh and D-Link software, I can see the D-Link
access point from the Tosh, but cannot connect. Keep getting the
error message 'Another Vendor's Application is controlling the
wireless adaptor', but what application?

Anyone successfully connected a Tosh netbook in similar circumstances?

You made the error of installing the software off the cd.

Yes, I did wonder about that. The D-Link thing came with a huge sticker
saying :

STOP! Insert CD First.

Uninstall it and start again without making the error.
(You may need to use system restore to roll it back a bit.)

The netbook is almost brand new, so I suppose I could set it back to
'brand new'.

Windows can find the wireless network without any of the cr@p that
comes on the cds.

You will want to log into the AP and set security once it is working.

BTW are you sure its an access point?
most are routers.

It is described as Wireless G Access Point, model DAP-1160, suitable for
use as an Access Point, AP Client, Bridge, Bridge with AP, Repeater,
WISP Client Router or WISP Repeater.
--
Graeme

Graeme wrote:

Yes, I did wonder about that. The D-Link thing came with a huge sticker
saying :

STOP! Insert CD First.

Uninstall it and start again without making the error.
(You may need to use system restore to roll it back a bit.)


The CD supplied with the access point would have had software intended
to configure the wireless point NOT anything to do with configuring your
wireless adaptor on your laptop.


The netbook is almost brand new, so I suppose I could set it back to
'brand new'.

Windows can find the wireless network without any of the cr@p that
comes on the cds.

This following is pure Dennis.


You will want to log into the AP and set security once it is working.

BTW are you sure its an access point?
most are routers.


It is described as Wireless G Access Point, model DAP-1160, suitable for
use as an Access Point, AP Client, Bridge, Bridge with AP, Repeater,
WISP Client Router or WISP Repeater.

Back to the laptop, forget ConfigFree for the moment. That looks merely
like some convienience software for swapping settings for different
locations and their available internet connections be they wireless or
cabled. It's not a wifi driver.

If you look in device manager from control panel. i.e.
http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/HTD7201PO000SR01.htm

You'll find the make of the wireless network adaptor. Either Atheros or
Intel I think. The utility software that you want to select and make the
connection is the following.

Intel - Intel(R) PROSet for Wireless
Atheros - Wireless Lan Client Manager

Either should be found from the programs menu and could be the 'other'
driver that MS (and also ConfigFree) are complaining about.

--
Adrian C

On Sep 4, 9:11*pm, Graeme wrote:
In message , "dennis@home"
writes



"Graeme" wrote in message
...

Anyone successfully connected a Tosh netbook in similar circumstances?

You made the error of installing the software off the cd.

Yes, I did wonder about that. *The D-Link thing came with a huge sticker saying :

STOP! *Insert CD First.

Ha, that was your first mistake ... !

Uninstall it and start again without making the error.
(You may need to use system restore to roll it back a bit.)

The netbook is almost brand new, so I suppose I could set it back to
'brand new'.

Windows can find the wireless network without any of the cr@p that comes on the cds.

That depends on the wireless card and if it has a standard chipset.
Anything from Netgear, D-Link or 3com should be ok, and recognised by
windows.

As has been said, de-install your card software (but not the drivers)
and windows should pick it up and use the Wireless Zero software.

Only default to the card makers software if windows can't drive it.

There's loads out there on the web for and against WZC.

e.g. http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.co...le.php/3577111

Cheers,

Paul.

In uk.d-i-y, Graeme wrote:
In message , "dennis@home"
writes


"Graeme" wrote in message news:yqhs3YehyVo
...

Followed the setup instructions (which also involved buying a USB
DVD drive for the Tosh, to read the D-Link manual which is on CD),
and using the built in Tosh and D-Link software, I can see the D-
Link access point from the Tosh, but cannot connect. Keep getting
the error message 'Another Vendor's Application is controlling the
wireless adaptor', but what application?

Anyone successfully connected a Tosh netbook in similar circumstances?

You made the error of installing the software off the cd.

Yes, I did wonder about that. The D-Link thing came with a huge
sticker saying :

STOP! Insert CD First.

Yes, but presumably that wasn't in the laptop. Or was it? Normally you'd
install the D-Link software on a wired network PC. Then you'd use the
web browser on that PC to configure the WAP over the wired network. (You
don't need a crappy CD to do that, but that's another story). There's no
need to install any D-Link software on the laptop. Unless you use the
laptop to configure its own access point, which I suspect would be
confusing and inconvenient to say the least.

So:

Wired PC: install CD if you must, use your web browser to configure the
WAP (passwords, etc).

Laptop: don't install CD, use either Toshiba's software or Windows'
software, and whichever you get working first, stick with it. You should
be able to find Toshiba's software in the Start Menu, and when you start
that software you should see a check box "Allow Windows to manage this
connection" or similar. I'd check that box and see how I got on.

Lastly, take heart from the fact that this is all par for the course.

--
Mike Barnes

In message , Mike Barnes
writes

Lastly, take heart from the fact that this is all par for the course.

Not sure if I can help at all, but I just pop in to say that I'm the
owner of an earlier Toshiba NB100. Mine runs Ubuntu and I ran into a
whole heap of problems caused by my Linux inexperience with what to
answer to the questions that Ubuntu updates asked. A later version of
Ubuntu cured almost all of the mistakes I'd made, and I now really like
the little machine.

There are some Toshiba Europe forums for these machines eg

http://forums.computers.toshiba-euro...spa?forumID=94

which might give specific advice.

I certainly installed no software, just connected to my router. But the
wireless access point needs to be configured to pass through the dhcp
settings and DNS from the router transparently, and that's where you
need to have the software installed somewhere wired to set up the access
point.

I've done this using a second router as a WAP and it can be very
confusing.
--
Bill

"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
Graeme wrote:

Yes, I did wonder about that. The D-Link thing came with a huge sticker
saying :

STOP! Insert CD First.

Uninstall it and start again without making the error.
(You may need to use system restore to roll it back a bit.)


The CD supplied with the access point would have had software intended to
configure the wireless point NOT anything to do with configuring your
wireless adaptor on your laptop.


SSID, encryption, etc.

In message , Adrian C
writes

Intel - Intel(R) PROSet for Wireless
Atheros - Wireless Lan Client Manager

Either should be found from the programs menu and could be the 'other'
driver that MS (and also ConfigFree) are complaining about.

I think we're making progress. Found the Atheros settings under
Programs, and told it to let Windows take over. Windows confirms the
D-Link is connected, but is stuck, 'acquiring network address'. I start
work in ten minutes, so will try again later.
--
Graeme

In message , Mike Barnes
writes

Wired PC: install CD if you must, use your web browser to configure the
WAP (passwords, etc).

Mike, this is where I'm confused. Why do I need to bring a wired PC
into the equation? All I want to do is make the net book connect
wirelessly.

Lastly, take heart from the fact that this is all par for the course.

grin
--
Graeme

Graeme wrote:
In message , Adrian C
writes

Intel - Intel(R) PROSet for Wireless
Atheros - Wireless Lan Client Manager

Either should be found from the programs menu and could be the 'other'
driver that MS (and also ConfigFree) are complaining about.

I think we're making progress. Found the Atheros settings under
Programs, and told it to let Windows take over. Windows confirms the
D-Link is connected, but is stuck, 'acquiring network address'. I start
work in ten minutes, so will try again later.

Ok, so you have recognised the link, but DHCP is not set up correctly.


That may in fact be something you need to configure on the WAP.

dennis@home wrote:


The CD supplied with the access point would have had software intended
to configure the wireless point NOT anything to do with configuring
your wireless adaptor on your laptop.


SSID, encryption, etc.


Really?


--
Adrian C

Graeme presented the following explanation :
Wife has treated herself to a little Toshiba netbook (NB200) and has tasked
yours truly with sorting out a wireless network, which is a completely new
area for me, and I'm stumped already.

Connecting the Tosh to our wired network is fine, so bought a D-Link DAP-1160
wireless access point, thinking that the wiring goes from the wall socket, to
our Speedtouch router, then wired from one of the router ports to the D-Link,
and wirelessly from the D-Link to the Tosh.

I cannot help wondering why you bought an add on WAP, when it would
have been no more expensive to simply replace Speedtouch with a
combined modem/ router with an included WAP. It would have made setting
it up so much simpler and the cost would have been similar.

I have a much more complex system here and for various reasons I have
everything on my network configured with fixed IP's rather than using
DHCP. That way I know where everything is, can connect directly to them
and can ping them to make sure they are on and get straight to router
configuration web pages to check/ alter their settings.

It is also no bad thing for your LAN's security, to change the IP's
away from their default settings anyway, especially so if you add a
WAP.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

In uk.d-i-y, Huge wrote:
On 2009-09-05, Graeme wrote:
In message , Mike Barnes
writes

Wired PC: install CD if you must, use your web browser to configure the
WAP (passwords, etc).

Mike, this is where I'm confused. Why do I need to bring a wired PC
into the equation?

Because you have to configure the WAP and you can't talk to it on the wireless
until you have.

Quite so. It might be possible to connect to it as it comes "out of the
box" but that would be pretty lucky and obviously isn't happening here.

The first thing you should do, before even touching the laptop, is to
make sure the WAP is working as a member of your wired network, and
configure it. The software on the CD is meant to help you with this but
it isn't really necessary.

First, the WAP might be configured to obtain an IP address
automatically, or it might not. Probably not, in my experience, it will
be configured with a default fixed address. Go to a PC on the wired
network, start your browser and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar -
this is a pretty popular address. If that brings up the configuration
screen (or asks for a password) you're in luck. Otherwise search the CD-
ROM documentation for 192.168 and see what you find.

If you're really unlucky your wired network will be on a different
subnet (first three numbers different from the WAP's default) and a
rather more complicated procedure will be necessary. I can explain it if
necessary but I think it probably won't be necessary.

Otherwise you could just run the CD and all this should be done for you.

Once you've got your configuration screen up, you need to configure your
WAP. Change the "SSID" to a distinctive name so that when you see a
signal on your laptop, you know it's yours and not your neighbour's. :-)

There's lots more to it but I think that's enough for now. Let us know
how you get on.

--
Mike Barnes

It happens that Mike Barnes formulated :
Once you've got your configuration screen up, you need to configure your
WAP. Change the "SSID" to a distinctive name so that when you see a
signal on your laptop, you know it's yours and not your neighbour's. :-)

There's lots more to it but I think that's enough for now. Let us know
how you get on.

Most WAP's have wired LAN sockets, so probably his easy option would be
to plug into one of these directly to view the WAP's set up page.

Start by working out what the routers default IP and subnet is, then
once you have logged into the WAP - set that one up to the same subnet
and the same IP as the router, but add a one to the final number of the
IP. Thus - xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx + 1 (192.168.1.1 would therefore become
192.168.1.2)

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

"Mike Barnes" wrote in message
news
In uk.d-i-y, Huge wrote:
On 2009-09-05, Graeme wrote:
In message , Mike Barnes
writes

Wired PC: install CD if you must, use your web browser to configure the
WAP (passwords, etc).

Mike, this is where I'm confused. Why do I need to bring a wired PC
into the equation?

Because you have to configure the WAP and you can't talk to it on the
wireless
until you have.

Quite so. It might be possible to connect to it as it comes "out of the
box" but that would be pretty lucky and obviously isn't happening here.

The first thing you should do, before even touching the laptop, is to
make sure the WAP is working as a member of your wired network, and
configure it. The software on the CD is meant to help you with this but
it isn't really necessary.

First, the WAP might be configured to obtain an IP address
automatically, or it might not. Probably not, in my experience, it will
be configured with a default fixed address. Go to a PC on the wired
network, start your browser and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar -
this is a pretty popular address. If that brings up the configuration
screen (or asks for a password) you're in luck. Otherwise search the CD-
ROM documentation for 192.168 and see what you find.

Unlikely to help as his router will probably be on that address not the WAP.

IME WAPs use DHCP to get an address and it is usually easy to go to the
router and see what devices are attached to find the address of the WAP.
Then it is usually possible to got to the WAP and configure it.
I have never seen a WAP just use an IP address like 192.168.1.1 as that will
almost certainly clash with any router in use.

If he is really unlucky he will have to use the software on the CD to set
the WAP's IP address.


If you're really unlucky your wired network will be on a different
subnet (first three numbers different from the WAP's default) and a
rather more complicated procedure will be necessary. I can explain it if
necessary but I think it probably won't be necessary.

Otherwise you could just run the CD and all this should be done for you.

Once you've got your configuration screen up, you need to configure your
WAP. Change the "SSID" to a distinctive name so that when you see a
signal on your laptop, you know it's yours and not your neighbour's. :-)

There's lots more to it but I think that's enough for now. Let us know
how you get on.

--
Mike Barnes

"Adrian C" wrote in message
...
dennis@home wrote:


The CD supplied with the access point would have had software intended
to configure the wireless point NOT anything to do with configuring your
wireless adaptor on your laptop.


SSID, encryption, etc.


Really?

There isn't much point in having a wizard that sets encryption, etc. on a
WAP that doesn't set it on the PC.


--
Adrian C

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
k...


It is also no bad thing for your LAN's security, to change the IP's away
from their default settings anyway, especially so if you add a WARP.

It makes no difference to the security of the LAN if you use static
addressing.
It falls into the same myth as MAC filtering "security".

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
k...
It happens that Mike Barnes formulated :
Once you've got your configuration screen up, you need to configure your
WAP. Change the "SSID" to a distinctive name so that when you see a
signal on your laptop, you know it's yours and not your neighbour's. :-)

There's lots more to it but I think that's enough for now. Let us know
how you get on.

Most WAP's have wired LAN sockets, so probably his easy option would be to
plug into one of these directly to view the WAP's set up page.

Start by working out what the routers default IP and subnet is, then once
you have logged into the WAP - set that one up to the same subnet and the
same IP as the router, but add a one to the final number of the IP. Thus -
xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx + 1 (192.168.1.1 would therefore become 192.168.1.2)

That may cause more problems than it solves.
Many routers would use 19.168.1.2 as the first DHCP address so you would end
up with duplicate addresses on the net.
He needs to use an address not in the DHCP range or use DHCP to assign the
address.

In article ,
Harry Bloomfield writes:

I cannot help wondering why you bought an add on WAP, when it would
have been no more expensive to simply replace Speedtouch with a
combined modem/ router with an included WAP. It would have made setting
it up so much simpler and the cost would have been similar.

Yes. Actually, separate WAP's are harder to find nowadays.

I have a much more complex system here and for various reasons I have
everything on my network configured with fixed IP's rather than using
DHCP.

pedant
DHCP can supply fixed IP addresses. Indeed I have everything
here on fixed IP addresses, but they're dished out by DHCP so
I configure them all centrally.
/pedant

That way I know where everything is, can connect directly to them
and can ping them to make sure they are on and get straight to router
configuration web pages to check/ alter their settings.

and configure appropriate firewall rules for each device.

It is also no bad thing for your LAN's security, to change the IP's
away from their default settings anyway, especially so if you add a
WAP.

My WAP isn't on my LAN -- it is separately firewalled off
from both LAN and WAN.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Sat, 5 Sep 2009 10:30:54 UTC, Harry Bloomfield
wrote:

I cannot help wondering why you bought an add on WAP, when it would
have been no more expensive to simply replace Speedtouch with a
combined modem/ router with an included WAP. It would have made setting
it up so much simpler and the cost would have been similar.

Not always the solution - and not necessarily simpler. I had no desire
to change my current router/modem, and in any case it's buried on a
shelf inside a steel rack. Not an ideal placement for a WAP. I put the
WAP high up on a shelf in the centre of the house, and plugged it into
the nearest convenient network socket (of which there are 27).

I have a much more complex system here and for various reasons I have
everything on my network configured with fixed IP's rather than using
DHCP. That way I know where everything is, can connect directly to them
and can ping them to make sure they are on and get straight to router
configuration web pages to check/ alter their settings.

So why not make management easier, and hand out the fixed addresses
using DHCP, locked to the MAC addresses? That's what I do...!

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

In uk.d-i-y, Mike Barnes wrote:
In uk.d-i-y, Huge wrote:
On 2009-09-05, Graeme wrote:
In message , Mike Barnes
writes

Wired PC: install CD if you must, use your web browser to configure the
WAP (passwords, etc).

Mike, this is where I'm confused. Why do I need to bring a wired PC
into the equation?

Because you have to configure the WAP and you can't talk to it on the wireless
until you have.

Quite so. It might be possible to connect to it as it comes "out of the
box" but that would be pretty lucky and obviously isn't happening here.

The first thing you should do, before even touching the laptop, is to
make sure the WAP is working as a member of your wired network, and
configure it. The software on the CD is meant to help you with this but
it isn't really necessary.

First, the WAP might be configured to obtain an IP address
automatically, or it might not. Probably not, in my experience, it will
be configured with a default fixed address. Go to a PC on the wired
network, start your browser and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar -
this is a pretty popular address. If that brings up the configuration
screen (or asks for a password) you're in luck. Otherwise search the CD-
ROM documentation for 192.168 and see what you find.

If you're really unlucky your wired network will be on a different
subnet (first three numbers different from the WAP's default) and a
rather more complicated procedure will be necessary. I can explain it if
necessary but I think it probably won't be necessary.

[Following up my own posting]

A quick peek at D-Link's web site shows me that the fixed address for
your WAP is in fact 192.168.0.50. I don't know why I didn't think of
doing that before.

If your own network is 192.168.0.whatever you're in luck and you
should be able to just type 192.168.0.50 into the browser on one of your
PCs wired to the network. If that doesn't work it's probable that your
network is 192.168.1.whatever or perhaps even something more obscure.
Go to Control Panel (I'm assuming you've got a Windows PC), Network
Connection, and the IP address of that PC is shown at the bottom left
(on XP anyway). Your LAN's subnet address is the first three numbers.

Say you find that your PC is 192.168.1.something, that means that it
will only be able to see other 192.168.1.something devices on the
network. So you need to change the WAP's address to
192.168.1.something. To do this you connect the WAP directly to your
PC, not through any hub, router, switch, or other device - just a wire.
Disconnect your PC from the LAN and plug the WAP directly into your PC.
Start your browser and go to 192.168.0.50. Look for the setting for the
LAN IP address. Change it from 192.168.0.50 to 192.168.1.50 (substitute
the first three numbers from your PC's IP address that you discovered
earlier if necessary).

Now put all the wires back where they were and your PC will be able to
access the WAP using the new number you specified. Also the WAP will be
able to access your internet connection, etc.

If you lose contact with the WAP altogether you will need to press the
Reset button round the back which will restore the default address.

There's still some way to go but hopefully you'll post again when you're
in control of the WAP.

--
Mike Barnes

In uk.d-i-y, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
My WAP isn't on my LAN -- it is separately firewalled off
from both LAN and WAN.

One has to wonder what it can "access", in that case. :-)

My setup doesn't sound as highly segregated as yours but I think we both
have the same thought: Don't give wireless clients access to anything
they don't need access to.

My WAP is on its own LAN connected to the Internet via a NAT router[*].
My other PCs are on another LAN, which plugs into the first LAN through
a wired NAT router. So wireless clients can't access the wired PCs, only
the Internet.

Actually it's a bit more complicated than that, but never mind the
details. It's considerably better than the usual single-LAN setup.

[*] A combined router/WAP would be an obvious simplification but the
ADSL line comes in at the edge of the house (obviously) and the WAP
works best in the middle of the house (ditto).

--
Mike Barnes

In message , Harry
Bloomfield writes

I cannot help wondering why you bought an add on WAP, when it would
have been no more expensive to simply replace Speedtouch with a
combined modem/ router with an included WAP.

Because I didn't realise I could do that :-(

It would have made setting it up so much simpler and the cost would
have been similar.

It could hardly have been more difficult :-)

--
Graeme

dennis@home presented the following explanation :
It makes no difference to the security of the LAN if you use static
addressing.

From personal experience I can assure you it does add a level of
security.

It falls into the same myth as MAC filtering "security".

Again it does add some security, in as much as hackers need to find out
a MAC with access to get through filter and spoof it.

Each layer adds a little to the time and difficulty of gaining access
to a network.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

Andrew Gabriel submitted this idea :
pedant
DHCP can supply fixed IP addresses. Indeed I have everything
here on fixed IP addresses, but they're dished out by DHCP so
I configure them all centrally.
/pedant

Only if the router supports the function.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

on 05/09/2009, Mike Barnes supposed :
[*] A combined router/WAP would be an obvious simplification but the
ADSL line comes in at the edge of the house (obviously) and the WAP
works best in the middle of the house (ditto).

So do what I have done and move the phone socket to where it needs to
be.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

In uk.d-i-y, Harry Bloomfield wrote:
on 05/09/2009, Mike Barnes supposed :
[*] A combined router/WAP would be an obvious simplification but the
ADSL line comes in at the edge of the house (obviously) and the WAP
works best in the middle of the house (ditto).

So do what I have done and move the phone socket to where it needs to
be.

That obviously suits your situation but it wouldn't suit mine, because
of the existing wiring.

In any event you get best performance by putting the "modem" as close to
the exchange as you can get it.

--
Mike Barnes

In uk.d-i-y, Graeme wrote:
In message , Harry
Bloomfield writes

I cannot help wondering why you bought an add on WAP, when it would
have been no more expensive to simply replace Speedtouch with a
combined modem/ router with an included WAP.

Because I didn't realise I could do that :-(

It would have made setting it up so much simpler and the cost would
have been similar.

It could hardly have been more difficult :-)

Ah, but it's *educational*.

And there is a silver lining. You can keep your router where it should
be (near where the phone line comes into the house) and position your
WAP somewhere else that gives you better wireless performance. A
combined unit doesn't allow you to do that.

--
Mike Barnes

Mike Barnes was thinking very hard :
In any event you get best performance by putting the "modem" as close to
the exchange as you can get it.

I'm very close to our exchange at 0.6km, but I doubt even extending
that another 60m on twisted pair even to the far end of our garden
would make any difference at all.

--
Regards,
Harry (M1BYT) (L)
http://www.ukradioamateur.co.uk

In message , Mike Barnes
writes

First, the WAP might be configured to obtain an IP address
automatically, or it might not. Probably not, in my experience, it will
be configured with a default fixed address. Go to a PC on the wired
network, start your browser and type 192.168.1.1 into the address bar -
this is a pretty popular address. If that brings up the configuration
screen (or asks for a password) you're in luck. Otherwise search the CD-
ROM documentation for 192.168 and see what you find.

OK, I have found the address in the manual (192.168.0.50) but cannot
access it from a browser - page not found.

If you're really unlucky your wired network will be on a different
subnet (first three numbers different from the WAP's default) and a
rather more complicated procedure will be necessary. I can explain it if
necessary but I think it probably won't be necessary.

The subnet mask is indeed 255.255.255.0

Otherwise you could just run the CD and all this should be done for you.

Yes, got it.

Once you've got your configuration screen up, you need to configure your
WAP. Change the "SSID" to a distinctive name so that when you see a
signal on your laptop, you know it's yours and not your neighbour's. :-)

grin OK. I have used our home network name with the suffix dlink.

There's lots more to it but I think that's enough for now. Let us know
how you get on.

SO far, so good, I think.

I'm trying to get things straight, in my head. The IP address seen by
the outside world is actually the IP address of the Speedtouch router,
supplied by Demon. There are currently eight devices attached (wired)
to it (including an XBox, but we won't go there - it just works!).

The remaining seven are PCs, six with the same Subnet Mask
(255.255.255.0) and Default Gateway (192.168.254.254). The IP addresses
of the PCs are in the form 192.168.254.2 to 192.168.254.8, although 1
and 4 are missing.

I obtained the above details, using IPCONFIG on each PC.

The final PC is the new net book, which was showing IP Address and
Subnet Mask both as 0.0.0.0, and a completely blank entry for the
Default Gateway. I could, however, access my network, and the Internet
from the new net book, using a wired connection.

I have now changed the net book, using Properties of TCP/IP, to :

IP Address 192.168.254.9
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 192.168.254.254

Mike, just caught up with your last post, and EUREKA!

Finally figured out how to access the WAP from another PC, and reset the
addresses, and it all started working.

Thank you, everyone, who contributed. Wifey is happy, which means I'm
happy :-)
--
Graeme

In message , Mike Barnes
writes
In uk.d-i-y, Graeme wrote:

It could hardly have been more difficult :-)

Ah, but it's *educational*.

Indeed. I read every post on the subject, and kept reading until I
understood (most of) it.

And there is a silver lining. You can keep your router where it should
be (near where the phone line comes into the house) and position your
WAP somewhere else that gives you better wireless performance. A
combined unit doesn't allow you to do that.

Agreed.

One final thought has occurred. I'm not sure how secure the wireless
part of the network is, and whether I'm allowing anyone who hacks the
wireless part, access to the wired part. The WAP is plugged into one of
the ports of the router.

I've accessed Shields Up from the net book, and it passed all tests,
except the Ping test, but that result is the same for any PC on this
network.

When setting up the WAP, I selected WPA2 security.
--
Graeme

In article ,
Mike Barnes writes:
In uk.d-i-y, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
My WAP isn't on my LAN -- it is separately firewalled off
from both LAN and WAN.

One has to wonder what it can "access", in that case. :-)

I treat the WAP as untrusted, just like I treat the internet
as untrusted. When I had my first 802.11b WAP in 2000, it
was directly on the Internet (ISDN, later ADSL), outside my
firewall.

Until 2006 (when I started paying for the ADSL line myself),
I deliberately left the WAP wide open as all my American
colleagues do, to provide roaming internet access to passers-by,
although such usage was very small whenever I monitored it.

It's still pretty much the same setup, except I don't keep
it wide open anymore, and there's a bit of wirewalling there.
Access to my LAN from the WAP goes through same checks as
access to my LAN from the Internet.

My setup doesn't sound as highly segregated as yours but I think we both
have the same thought: Don't give wireless clients access to anything
they don't need access to.

My WAP is on its own LAN connected to the Internet via a NAT router[*].

I quickly discovered that visitors must only be allocated
NAT'ed IP addresses. Otherwise Skype, which most of the
Windows users have installed and running in the background,
discovers it's got a real IP address and becomes a supernode,
and quickly starts saturating my link with half the world's
skype calls.

My other PCs are on another LAN, which plugs into the first LAN through
a wired NAT router. So wireless clients can't access the wired PCs, only
the Internet.

Actually it's a bit more complicated than that, but never mind the
details. It's considerably better than the usual single-LAN setup.


[*] A combined router/WAP would be an obvious simplification but the
ADSL line comes in at the edge of the house (obviously) and the WAP
works best in the middle of the house (ditto).


--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Sat, 5 Sep 2009 13:23:42 UTC, Mike Barnes
wrote:

If your own network is 192.168.0.whatever you're in luck and you
should be able to just type 192.168.0.50 into the browser on one of your
PCs wired to the network. If that doesn't work it's probable that your
network is 192.168.1.whatever or perhaps even something more obscure.
Go to Control Panel (I'm assuming you've got a Windows PC), Network
Connection, and the IP address of that PC is shown at the bottom left
(on XP anyway). Your LAN's subnet address is the first three numbers.

For the record, it should be noted that this is a bit of an
oversimplification. That's true only
if the subnet mask has been correctly set to 255.255.255.0...which it
should have been, but who knows? And if you were using (say) 10.0.0.1 as
an address, you *might* have the subnet mask set to something else.

Say you find that your PC is 192.168.1.something, that means that it
will only be able to see other 192.168.1.something devices on the
network.

Assuming a netmask of 255.255.255.0. I know it *should* be set like
that, but best to be sure. If it's set to something else (and I have
seen that) the above may not work.

--
The information contained in this post is copyright the
poster, and specifically may not be published in, or used by
http://www.diybanter.com

dennis@home wrote:

SSID, encryption, etc.


Really?

There isn't much point in having a wizard that sets encryption, etc. on
a WAP that doesn't set it on the PC.


Wow. Tell me, with the plethora of different wireless chipsets possible
on a PC, and the random fact that the user may be using Microsoft
wireless configuration OR something else, and different operating
systems - exactly how is a setup disc wizard FOR THE WAP going to set up
encryption on the PC?

--
Adrian C

"Harry Bloomfield" wrote in message
k...
dennis@home presented the following explanation :
It makes no difference to the security of the LAN if you use static
addressing.

From personal experience I can assure you it does add a level of security.

It falls into the same myth as MAC filtering "security".

Again it does add some security, in as much as hackers need to find out a
MAC with access to get through filter and spoof it.

Each layer adds a little to the time and difficulty of gaining access to a
network.

True, but adding a few seconds doesn't add much to security.
And it really does only add a few seconds.

It does make the whole process of setting up the network more difficult and
may lead to errors being made.