# Need to restart modem and router everytime to connect laptops to WPA2-PSK wireless



## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

Every time when we come back from work (i.e., connected to wireless networks at work), we need to restart the modem and router before our laptops can connect to our home wireless network. The error message is "This connection has limited or no connectivity. You might not be able to access the Internet or some network resources. "

We never had this problem until I changed from WEP to WPA2. The current settings are:

on the router (D-Link, DI-524): WPA2, PSK
on the laptops: WPA2-PSK, AES

It doesn't look like that our laptops do not support WPA2, since they would work after restarting modem and router. And it works fine as long as we are at home, whether we restart our laptops or not.

I am totally confused and would appreciate any thoughts you can provide! Thanks!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Change back to WEP and see if it still has the problem. That would be my first step, just to see if this is really related.


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

JohnWill said:


> Change back to WEP and see if it still has the problem. That would be my first step, just to see if this is really related.


Thanks JohnWill for your reply!

I just changed it back to WEP (64Bit, HEX, and I put a password for Key 1), now I cannot connect to wireless anymore, but with a different symptom. (I am using WAN now to submit this post)

Now my wireless network shows "Security-enabled wireless network". After I tried to connect to it, it did NOT prompt me to input password. After a while, it shows "Not connected". But the detailed information in the "Wireless Network Connection" window shows "You are currently connected to this network. To disconnect form this network, click Disconnect".

I tried to restart the modem+router, didn't change anything. I then restarted my laptop, no help either.

I changed back to WPA2, it worked. But when I changed back to WEP again, the same symptom as I described above still exist.

Any thoughts? Thank you!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Remove ALL the stored wireless network profiles, it's still remembering the WPA key and trying to use that. When you search for the network after the profiles are gone, it'll ask for the WEP key.


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

JohnWill said:


> Remove ALL the stored wireless network profiles, it's still remembering the WPA key and trying to use that. When you search for the network after the profiles are gone, it'll ask for the WEP key.


Thanks again, JohnWill!

I did what you said and now WEP works.

But right now, I cannot test whether the WEP will still work if "I come back from work" and try to connect my laptop to the home wireless, since I don't have access to other wireless network now. I need to wait till Monday night to test this.

Anything else I can do before Monday night?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Does the work network have the same SSID as your home network? If so, that could be the problem. Make your home SSID unique.


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

Thanks, JohnWill! No, the work network does not have the same SSID as my home network. 

I will update on Monday night or Tuesday morning about whether I can connect on WEP home wireless without restarting the modem and router.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

After you get that working, we may try to go back to WPA. 

I'd also consider the latest wireless drivers for this machine, that could be a factor.

What's the version and patch level of Windows on these machines? Most machines from the last two-three years will support WPA2-AES.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

I know D-Link got up to revision E before discontinuing the DI-524, but I'm still surprised it supports WPA2 and AES.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I had a DI-524 running WPA2-AES, it just had so many other issues that I abandoned it anyway.


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

JohnWill said:


> After you get that working, we may try to go back to WPA.


Yes. After I test whether my laptop can connect to WEP without restarting modem and router, we can "see if this is really related" (JohnWill in post 2 ).



JohnWill said:


> I'd also consider the latest wireless drivers for this machine, that could be a factor.
> 
> What's the version and patch level of Windows on these machines? Most machines from the last two-three years will support WPA2-AES.


Correction: I thought both of our laptops have the same problem as I described in my first post. Now I remembered that my husband's laptop does NOT have this problem.

Not sure if info. about his laptop is helpful or not, but here it is: Dell Latitude E 6400, Windows XP Service Pack 3; wireless driver info:
Driver Provider: Broadcom
Driver Date: 3/21/2008
Driver Version: 4.170.77.3

My laptop that have this problem (in the first post): Acer Extensa 5420, Windows XP Service Pack 3. And here is the driver information I can find:
Driver Provider: Broadcom
Driver Date: 10/12/2006
Driver Version: 4.100.15.5

Please let me know if I missed anything.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I suggest updating the wireless driver on the problem laptop, that one is three years old.


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

JohnWill said:


> I suggest updating the wireless driver on the problem laptop, that one is three years old.


When I came back from work today, my laptop could connect to WEP wireless without restarting modem and router. So I guess it IS related with WPA2.

I also changed back to WPA2 and my laptop could connect to it.

I just found an updated wireless driver (2008) for my laptop. I will install it. But since I work from home tomorrow, I will wait till Wednesday night to test if the new driver will solve the original problem. Sorry for dragging this problem so long, but I finally see some clues to solve it now!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

I think the new driver may well be the cure, the old driver may have had WPA2 issues.


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

The new driver does not help. 

During the installation process, it gave me some error messages though. One message says "The driver files you wish to remove will not be removed as the corresponding card is not inserted". After clicking OK, another message says "The device may not be present or could have been ejected/unplugged from the system. Insert or Reinsert Now." 

I don't know what card it is referring to. Anyway I just clicked OK, and it started to install and at last it says "The installation program has successfully performed the selected operations. Click Finish to exit the Wizard.

But this does not change the problem in my first post, i.e., I still have to restart modem and router after I get back home from work.

The new driver I found was from Acer website, the zip file name is Wireless_Broadcom_4.102.15.61_Vistax86. It has "Vista" in the name, but my OS is Windows XP. I am not sure if that's the reason. 

But the only other Wireless LAN driver for my laptop model on Acer website is "Wireless_Atheros_7.2.0.208_Vistax86.zip". It also shows "Vista". Should I try this driver?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

What does Device Manager say specifically about the wired adapter? Specifically, does it specify *Broadcom *or *Atheros *for a brand?


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## mimenr (Oct 17, 2009)

In the device manager, under Network Adapters, there are four items:
1394 Net Adapter
Broadcom 802.11g Network Adapter
Cisco AnyConnect VPN Virtual Miniport Adapter for Windows
Marvell Yukon 88E8071 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Does this mean I should use the Broadcom driver?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

OK, the Broadcom driver is the correct one.


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