Again ! 'excellent ssid connection' but won't connect to server.

[Parangles]

My 4th post in 18 months with the same wireless connection problem.
Sony Vaio laptop with WinXP, connects to my ssid but when Firefox opens,
'server not found'.
Sony wizard says 'problem with network password' but that cant be so because it connects to the server Ok with RJ45 cable and nic card.
I reset password on the Linksys site to be sure and anyway 2 other laptops are connecting OK.
I installed wireless card driver updates.
No connections are 'bridged'
I renewed the IP address and it shows a 192. etc address for the cable connection, but a 169 etc address for the wireless. Why ?

Is this wireless card shot ? Can onboard cards be changed ? New mobo ?

Thanks,
Chris

[DynamicTech]

Have you disabled the wired connection? It sounds to me like the computer is trying to use the wired connection instaed of the wireless.

[Parangles]

Thanks- I do not use the wired connection. I only attached it temporarily as previously suggested by glc to help diagnose the problem. ie if I got a connection with the cable it is a problem with the wireless card and not other areas......also, I was not thinking clearly when I said that because the cable worked that it is not a password problem. The cable connection does not need a password. I will try removing the password on the router and eliminate that.
The laptop is not here now. Will get back.

[glc]

If it's pulling a 169. IP, it's not seeing the DHCP server. This does sound like an encryption mismatch.

[Parangles]

OK- somewhere I saw that the password had to be 13 ascii(plaintext) characters so I changed it from the longer one (that had been working fine)
but it still did NOT work on the WinXP Sony in question but DOES work on other W98 & W2K laptops on the network.
.... I disabled the WEP on the router and yes I get a connection to the server.
So... why wont it work with the password/WEP enabled ?

EDIT: My passphrase on the router is 13 plaintext characters, and when I enter this in the WinXP wireless network connections setup and then close it and return later, the passphrase is showing as only 8 symbols/bullets not 13.
eg. as : ******** instead of *************. Does this have anything to do with it ?
( I'm 'grasping at straws ' at this stage).

[glc]

If you are using a Linksys wireless router, use 64 bit WEP and generate keys with a passphrase. Copy the 10 digit hexadecimal string you see in key 1 and use that as the key in your clients. If you use 128 bit WEP, same thing applies except it will be a 20 digit hex key. If ALL clients are WPA-capable, use WPA with a password.

Bottom line - you should not be using an ASCII key, use hex.

[Parangles]

Thanks glc - I did that earlier this morning- it wont take the hex key either.
I had changed to wep from wpa because a $20 card I bought for an old Thinkpad only had wep. Will change AP and laptops to wpa and report back later.
Chris.

[Parangles]

OK- FIXED !!!- the Sony didn't have wpa so I went back with wep.
Some clients didn't have option of entering 'key' directly- so
I took the hex Key 1 that was generated with the plain text passphrase and used that as the passphrase.I used the new(2nd) key1 as passphrase.
ie the router now has hex characters as the passphrase. When I had told you I tried hex and it didnt work, I was using the hex key1 in the clients, but the passphrase in the router was still plaintext. Now everything is hex.
" Bottom line - you should not be using an ASCII key, use hex." Yes Sir !
Question is why is this darn Vaio frequently giving trouble with wireless ?
Even an old $26 ebay thinkpad connected first time with a $20 wireless card.
Saw quite a few complaints on Google searches about sony wireless.

Thanks lots !!