# cannot obtain proper IP address via wireless connection



## martini1179 (Feb 22, 2006)

Hello All,

I'm having a problem with my laptop connecting to my wireless network. My laptop can receive my network's wireless signal, but cannot access network (ie. no internet access and it cannot be seen by other devices on the network). My wireless connection has always been spotty, forcing me to upgrade my wireless card's drivers, but ever since I did so, I cannot access the network AT ALL now from the laptop.

On the machine in question, I'm running Windows XP SP1, Windows firewall is disabled and I'm using a ZoneAlarm Firewall, and the IP range of the router has been programmed into the firewall (to the best of my knowledge). TCP/IP is set to obtain an IP address/DNS automatically. The router and network otherwise work flawlessly.

From my basic understanding of networking, my laptop cannot get a proper IP address. Instead of it being 192.168.0.X, the IP address is something like 169.254.212.46.

Performing an ipconfig /all gives me the following:

Windows IP Configuration
Host Name: D224GJ41
Primary DNS Suffix: [this is blank]
Node Type: Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled: No
WINS Proxy Enabled: No

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Configuration: [this is blank]
Connection-specific DNS suffix: [this is blank]
Description: Dell TrueMobile 1400 Dual Band WLAN Mini-PCI Card
Physical Address: 00-90-4B-74-21-F2
Dhcp enabled: Yes
Autoconfiguration enabled: Yes
Autoconfiguration IP address: 169.254.212.46
Subnet mask: 255.255.0.0
Default gateway: [this is blank]

Performing an ipconfig /release, then ipconfig /renew gives the following error: "An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection : unable to contact your DHCP server. Request has timed out."

The network authentication is WPA-PSK and the data encryption is TKIP. These have never given me a problem in the past, but I'm listing them just in case.

Also, I don't know if this is relevant or not, but in Windows Network Connections, under LAN or high-speed internet, I have three things listed: Local Area Connection (with a red X -- says "Network Cable Unplugged, Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Controller), Wireless Network Connection (Enabled, Dell TrueMobile 1400 Dual Band WLAN Mini-PCI card), and 1394 Connection (enabled, 1394 Net Adapter). Also, device manager is not showing any red Xs or yellow exclamation points.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I wanted to give you all a clear picture of the situation. I do NOT want to start assigning static IPs to my computers, if at all possible!

Thanks in advance,

Marty K.


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## Terrister (Apr 18, 2005)

Right click on 1394 net adapter (firewire) and disable it. See if that fixes the problem. Also loading SP2 would be a good idea. It fixed many networking problems.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

You really need to consider installing SP2, it fixed a LOT of wireless networking issues.


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## martini1179 (Feb 22, 2006)

Well, I installed SP2 on the laptop and I'm still not connecting. Windows recognizes the network, but I cannot access it. My other PC, which is connected via an ethernet cable, has no connectivity problems (and THAT PC is even running SP1). 

I tried to automatically repair my wireless connection via the new networking windows, but I got an error message: "Windows could not finish repairing the problem because the following action cannot be completed: Renewing your IP address." 

The items previously listed under Network Connections remain the same, with the exception of Wireless Network Connection, which now says "Limited or no connectivity." Also, disabling the 1394 Net Adapter didn't work before I installed SP2, and since installing SP2 it refuses to disable itself. Not sure if any of this matters. 

What next? Do I have to completely keep XP up to date, or will should SP2 suffice to fix my problem? I ask because most are just security updates (I feel pretty secure) which sound like they do nothing for networking connectivity and my hard drive space is low. 

I know that its not my hardware because I was able to connect to a neighbor's not-so-secure network. :smooch:


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Well, first off, disable the encryption and see if you can connect to your network at that point. If so, we can start to figure out what's going on with the encryption.


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## martini1179 (Feb 22, 2006)

Thanks for your help, but I think I've solved this particular problem. After upgrading to SP2 didn't help, I used common sense and rolled back the wireless card driver, and doing so let me access the network again. Ironically, I had updated that driver so that Windows wouldn't keep disconnecting my wireless connection, but that only made it worse. Yet attempting to fix that solved both of my connectivity problems, since I only needed SP2 in the first place. 

Thank you both for your help, as your advice steered me towards solving my problem. 

Marty K.


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## johnwill (Sep 26, 2002)

Glad we got you going. :smile:


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