Yet another Intermittent 'Acquiring Network Address' issue

16 Jan 2009 12:22 PM

Rohan

I know there's another post with an almost identical title, but it seems to
be heading off into different territory, so...

I'm running 3 HP laptops - 2 using Vista, the third running XP. Also
connected to my wireless network are three Apple Airport Express, and a PS3.
I'm running a Belkin N1 Vision router.

I have enabled security (WPA2) and all devices can successfully connect to
my network. The issue is that the laptop running XP intermittently drops the
connection and in the Wireless Network Connection window continually is
'Acquiring Network Address'. I then have to re-connect manually but even then
that doesn't fix the problem. The frustrating thing here is that all other
devices do not have this problem, and I know that this can happen to the
laptop running XP regardless of it's location in my home and proximity to the
router. Yes, I have 5.8ghz cordless phones also but they don't seem to impact
my network with the Vista laptops never experiencing the same issue as the
laptop running XP. They are all different models of laptop and yes the one
running XP is the oldest of the three (about two years old). The XP laptop is
up to date with the latest XP service pack.

As I write this the XP laptop has been connected and has remained connected
for around 45 minutes without issue. But chances are that won't be the case
some time from now and I'll be back where I was.

I've tried running WinSock XP Fix and so far that may have done the trick.

Any suggestions on what I can try should the laptop running XP drop out
again? Grateful for any useful tips and procedures.

PS - yes, I could upgrade the XP laptop to Vista - except that it's my
wife's work laptop. Right now she's about to kill me (yes, I think that's not
too much of an exaggeration) if her laptop drops out again when she needs to
connect to the office so I'm desperate for some knowledgeable assistance.
Also, the problem is connecting to my network, not connecting remotely to the
office.

16 Jan 2009 4:58 PM

James Egan

On Fri, 16 Jan 2009 04:22:00 -0800, Rohan
<Ro***@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

>Any suggestions on what I can try should the laptop running XP drop out
>again? Grateful for any useful tips and procedures.

Check that the pc encryption and authentication matches the router.

I know you shouldn't have to do that since it used to work okay and
you haven't changed anything, but occasioanlly these things happen.

Just last week two of my pc's were misbehaving occasionally and I
noticed that the encryption settings had been reset to aes which is
wrong because the router can only handle tkip. It's happened before
too. I suspect it's when windows update updates relevant files but I
can't say for sure.

Jim.

17 Jan 2009 1:48 AM

Jack (MVP-Networking).

Hi
Check the Power Saving of the Laptop's Wireless card.
If it is set to save power, try to uncheck it.
Some Wireless cards have the tendency to become unstable when they laps to
Power Saving Mode.
http://www.ezlan.net/example/powersave.jpg
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

Show quoteHide quote

"Rohan" <Ro***@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4D7CBB7C-AA00-415E-927B-ED5649FEBA3C@microsoft.com...
>I know there's another post with an almost identical title, but it seems to
> be heading off into different territory, so...
>
> I'm running 3 HP laptops - 2 using Vista, the third running XP. Also
> connected to my wireless network are three Apple Airport Express, and a
> PS3.
> I'm running a Belkin N1 Vision router.
>
> I have enabled security (WPA2) and all devices can successfully connect to
> my network. The issue is that the laptop running XP intermittently drops
> the
> connection and in the Wireless Network Connection window continually is
> 'Acquiring Network Address'. I then have to re-connect manually but even
> then
> that doesn't fix the problem. The frustrating thing here is that all other
> devices do not have this problem, and I know that this can happen to the
> laptop running XP regardless of it's location in my home and proximity to
> the
> router. Yes, I have 5.8ghz cordless phones also but they don't seem to
> impact
> my network with the Vista laptops never experiencing the same issue as the
> laptop running XP. They are all different models of laptop and yes the one
> running XP is the oldest of the three (about two years old). The XP laptop
> is
> up to date with the latest XP service pack.
>
> As I write this the XP laptop has been connected and has remained
> connected
> for around 45 minutes without issue. But chances are that won't be the
> case
> some time from now and I'll be back where I was.
>
> I've tried running WinSock XP Fix and so far that may have done the trick.
>
> Any suggestions on what I can try should the laptop running XP drop out
> again? Grateful for any useful tips and procedures.
>
> PS - yes, I could upgrade the XP laptop to Vista - except that it's my
> wife's work laptop. Right now she's about to kill me (yes, I think that's
> not
> too much of an exaggeration) if her laptop drops out again when she needs
> to
> connect to the office so I'm desperate for some knowledgeable assistance.
> Also, the problem is connecting to my network, not connecting remotely to
> the
> office.
>
>