Can't get ThinkPad T42 to connect to Netgear MR314 w/ 128 bit WEP

From: News Reader (SLCUUVKKQKKI_at_spammotel.com)
Date: 11/27/04 

Date: Fri, 26 Nov 2004 23:55:15 -0500

Hi there,

For the life of me, I can't get my work laptop (brand new ThinkPad T42 with
built-in Intel wireless adapter, running XP) to connect to my home Netgear
MR314 access point with 128 bit WEP turned on. I also have MAC address
filtering turned on.

If I disable WEP, I can get it to connect. But if I leave WEP activated, I
can't. The MAC address filtering doesn't seem to make a difference. I've
tried setting up 64 bit WEP instead and that didn't seem to help.

I'd rather not disable WEP, and I'd rather not downgrade to 64 bit.

The infuriating thing is that I went through this situation a few weeks ago,
which was the first time I brought home the work laptop. When I first tried
it, I couldn't get it to connect. I tried all combinations of turning WEP on
and off, changing it from 128 bit to 64 bit and back, turning on the MAC
address filtering and turning it off, power cycling the router, etc. -- I
tried a million combinations and finally, in desperation, I rebooted one
more time and miraculously, it worked (with 128 bit WEP and MAC address
filtering ENABLED). I had tried so many things that I wasn't sure what
worked, but at that point the work laptop was able to connect no matter how
many times I rebooted it. I had no further problems for the rest of the
weekend (well, aside from the fact that I was *working* the whole weekend).

Since I had the correct settings (WEP key, SSID, etc.) stored in XP (my
network was listed as the only "preferred" network), I figured that next
time I brought it home, it would already have the settings and would just
see my network.

No dice. I've spent the evening trying all these things again (turning
various settings on and off, power cycling the laptop, router, etc.) with no
luck.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Troubleshooting steps or diagnostic utilities? I'm
stumped and frustrated.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Cant get ThinkPad T42 to connect to Netgear MR314 w/ 128 bit WEP
    ... through creating multiple profiles if needed, enter your wep keys etc. ... > For the life of me, I can't get my work laptop (brand new ThinkPad ... The MAC address filtering doesn't seem to make a difference. ... > Since I had the correct settings stored in XP ...
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  • Re: Cant get ThinkPad T42 to connect to Netgear MR314 w/ 128 bit WEP
    ... But if I leave WEP activated, ... The MAC address filtering doesn't seem to make a difference. ... > which was the first time I brought home the work laptop. ... > time I brought it home, it would already have the settings and would just ...
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    ... > It previously worked with the 3COM WAP, ... My work laptop sees the SSID if I ... so should be no issue to just set the properties to WEP ... a hex key) otherwise it'll think its a passphrase and generate the hex ...
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  • Re: 802.1X help needed
    ... the WAP where you can specify RADIUS settings? ... and, as you note, it only supports WEP. ... I'm in the process of replacing, but until then I would like to attempt ... Properties on the laptop and examining the wireless configuration. ...
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    ... your connection settings, tap settings." ... not using 128-bit WEP is not secure. ... >key generator link on the page I pointed you to... ...
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