Re: repost - Intermittent DHCP failure?

On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 16:58:37 -0400, Peter Adler <padler@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>Chuck wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 11:13:36 -0400, Lem <lemp40@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> >I have a situation where sometimes -- but not always -- I get the
>> >"Limited or No Connectivity" warning. Sometimes I can fix this by using
>> >the "repair" connection button; sometimes it takes a power cycle; and
>> >sometimes it takes a shutdown and wait for some period of time before
>> >trying again.
>> >
>> >I understand that a corrupt winsock and/or TCP/IP stack can cause this
>> >message to occur, but I would have guessed that this sort of corruption
>> >would cause a permanent problem -- not one that comes and goes. Before
>> >I repair winsock, either with netsh winsock reset catalog or one of the
>> >various winsock repair tools (which will then probably requir
>> >reinstallation of various apps), does the intermittent nature of this
>> >error suggest that something other than a corrupt winsock and/or TCP/IP
>> >stack? Should I start looking for problems with the cabling or the DHCP
>> >server itself?
>> >
>> >The "problem" pc has WinXPpro sp2. I haven't ever had to remove malware
>> >from this PC (apparently one of the causes of a corrupt winsock). The
>> >last time I got the warning, I restarted in safe mode and scanned with
>> >the following and found no problems other than a few tracking cookies:
>> >Norton a/v 2004 with uptodate defs; Spybot S&D latest version with
>> >uptodate defs; and Ad-Aware latest version with uptodate defs.
>> >
>> >The error occurs on a wired LAN (which has 2 other PCs that don't seem
>> >to have connectivity problems and a third pc that seems to be on a dead
>> >LAN connection) [this is in a small office -- not where I work -- that
>> >has "limited or no" tech support; the LAN was installed several years
>> >ago solely to share DSL access; as I recall, it uses a switch plus a PC
>> >running some unknown application --WinRoute or WinGate??]
>> >
>> >FWIW, at the same time the "problem" PC is connected via its on-board
>> >NIC to the LAN, it also is connected via a Linksys WPC54g pci card
>> >running in ad-hoc mode to a wireless printer (with built-in print
>> >server). No connectivity problem has ever been observed when connecting
>> >to a wireless (infrastructure) LAN via the WPC54g (i.e., away from the
>> >LAN where the above problem happens).
>> >
>> >Following are ipconfig /all dumps from the 4 pcs on the LAN. Naturally,
>> >the problem didn't occur when I did this, but perhaps there's some
>> >information that can shed light on it:
>> >
>>
>> <SNIP>
>>
>> >"problem" pc; WinXPpro sp2; working tonight. I also have the WinXP
>> >"automatic network diagnostic" output for the laptop, but that's an HTML
>> >
>> >page, so I won't post it here unless you specifically ask for it.
>> >
>> >Windows IP Configuration
>> >
>> > Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : laptop
>> > Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
>> > Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
>> > IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
>> > WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
>> >
>> >Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:
>> >
>> > Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
>> > Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/100 SP Mobile
>> >Combo Adapter
>> > Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-03-47-69-67-F5
>> > Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
>> > Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
>> > IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.104
>> > Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
>> > Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
>> > DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
>> > DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.254
>> > Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, August 02, 2005
>> >8:52:29 PM
>> > Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, August 02, 2005
>> >9:52:29 PM
>> >
>> >Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:
>> >
>> > Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
>> > Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Wireless-G Notebook Adapter
>> >
>> > Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-06-25-42-CB-0E
>> > Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
>> > Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
>> > Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.173.4
>> > Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0
>> > Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
>> >
>>
>> Lem,
>>
>> When you get the "Limited or No Connectivity" warning, how do you know which LAN
>> it applies to? If you have a computer with 2 network adapters, and one is an
>> ad-hoc network (with no DHCP server), that's set to use DHCP anyway, that could
>> be causing the warning.
>>
>> Try manually setting the ip address on the Laptop Wireless-G Notebook Adapter,
>> and on the wireless printer. Don't use DHCP unless there's a reasonable
>> possibility that it will be used properly. APIPA is like insurance, you can use
>> it but you shouldn't unless you really need to.

>Chuck:
>The warning appears in the system notification area next to the symbol that
>indicates that the wireless connection is active and connected. Moreover, Internet
>connectivity is lost when the warning is displayed. It's pretty clear that the LAN
>with the problem is the ethernet connection that ultimately goes to the Internet,
>and not the wireless connection that goes to the printer.
>
>With respect to setting fixed IP addresses for the printer and the notebook adapter,
>will this cause problems when the laptop is used in a (different)
>infrastructure-mode wireless network, where DHCP is enabled? In other words, in a
>network that does have a DHCP server, can you have some nodes that have fixed IP
>addresses -- as long as they are in the same subnet and you're reasonably sure that
>they won't duplicate an address assigned by the DHCP server? That is, when picking
>fixed IP addresses for the printer and the wireless adapter, I should probably make
>sure that they are not likely to be duplicated either by the DHCP server on the
>ethernet network in the office or by the DHCP server on the wireless network at
>home.

Peter,

Are you Lem?

Fortunately, you CAN have DHCP when available, and a fixed ip address (not
APIPA) when not. The Alternate setting will take care of you, and avoid the
APIPA notice.
<http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/2005/05/have-laptop-will-travel.html#IP>

So do you have any idea when you're losing connectivity? Maybe get PingPlotter
(free) from <http://www.pingplotter.com/>, and set it up to ping the printer,
and the router (192.168.1.254) simultaneously. See if there's a pattern.

--
Cheers,
Chuck, MS-MVP [Windows - Networking]
http://nitecruzr.blogspot.com/
Paranoia is not a problem, when it's a normal response from experience.
My email is AT DOT
actual address pchuck mvps org.
.