help !! can't setup wep .. going nuts

hi all .. i have spent the last 5 hrs trying to setup wep security. my
laptop is a dell inspiron 700m with an on-board intel 2200bg wireless
adapter. the router is a belkin 802.11b wireless/4 port, model # is
F5D6231-4_v2. running win xp, sp2

i have done the same steps over and over and even gone thru many help
forums but i cannot find a solution to my unique problem.

i connect wirelessly to the router. factory default settings. i go to
the encryption settings and there are 5 options (disable, 64 manual, 64
auto, 128 manual, 128 auto)
the difference between what i see and what the manual says is that when
i write a passphrase (64 auto or 128 auto) i do not see any keys being
generated. the boxes where hex keys should have been visible are all
greyed out. so the only option is to enter a key manually

then i go to wireless network properties, select my ssid, click on
properties->association, select open and wep, uncheck "setup the key
automatically" and then enter my key

the wireless network is disconnected. however when i do a site survey
my ssid still shows as an unsecured wireless network. if i go back to
the wireless properties ->association the settings are back to open and
disabled

when i login back to my router ( i was disconnected earlier), the
encryption is back to disabled.

this is truly bizzare. i am ready to toss the belkin router since i
think it is the problem

tia
-S

polaris8030@gmail.com

On 2 Aug 2006 02:06:24 -0700, wrote in
<. com>:

>hi all .. i have spent the last 5 hrs trying to setup wep security. my
>laptop is a dell inspiron 700m with an on-board intel 2200bg wireless
>adapter. the router is a belkin 802.11b wireless/4 port, model # is
>F5D6231-4_v2. running win xp, sp2
>
>i have done the same steps over and over and even gone thru many help
>forums but i cannot find a solution to my unique problem.
>[SNIP]

1. Make sure all devices have the latest firmware.
2. Enter WEP keys manually in _hex_.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

John Navas

Hi John .. there has been no firmware update for either the router or
the wireless adapter. The OS is XP SP2
I can only enter keys in hex manually. For some reason, the form where
I could enter the passphrase and have the router generate keys, has the
key fields greyed out, so nothing is seen in those fields.
i have tried rebooting the PC, reseting the router and as many perms
and combs I can think of, nothing seems to work.

thanks
-S


John Navas wrote:
> On 2 Aug 2006 02:06:24 -0700, wrote in
> <. com>:
>
> >hi all .. i have spent the last 5 hrs trying to setup wep security. my
> >laptop is a dell inspiron 700m with an on-board intel 2200bg wireless
> >adapter. the router is a belkin 802.11b wireless/4 port, model # is
> >F5D6231-4_v2. running win xp, sp2
> >
> >i have done the same steps over and over and even gone thru many help
> >forums but i cannot find a solution to my unique problem.
> >[SNIP]
>
> 1. Make sure all devices have the latest firmware.
> 2. Enter WEP keys manually in _hex_.
>
> --
> Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
> John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
> Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
> Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

polaris8030@gmail.com

hath wroth:

>hi all .. i have spent the last 5 hrs trying to setup wep security. My
>laptop is a dell inspiron 700m with an on-board intel 2200bg wireless
>adapter. the router is a belkin 802.11b wireless/4 port, model # is
>F5D6231-4_v2. running win xp, sp2

Make sure you're using Intel Proset 10.x. Much better than XP
Wireless Zero Config or earlier versions. Unfortunately, the
F5D6231-4 only supports WEP. You really should be using WPA as WEP is
easily cracked.

>i connect wirelessly to the router. factory default settings. i go to
>the encryption settings and there are 5 options (disable, 64 manual, 64
>auto, 128 manual, 128 auto)
>the difference between what i see and what the manual says is that when
>i write a passphrase (64 auto or 128 auto) i do not see any keys being
>generated. the boxes where hex keys should have been visible are all
>greyed out. so the only option is to enter a key manually

This is not the currrent problem but methinks you should know about
this... There's a problem with WEP. Different vendors have different
ideas on what constitutes converting an ASCII WEP key to a Hex WEP
key. If you use an ASCII key, chances are high that it won't work
because of different ASCII -> Hex conversions. There are also some
routers that generate garbage for the Hex key if you use strange ASCII
characters. Stay with Hex keys and it will always work.

>then i go to wireless network properties, select my ssid, click on
>properties->association, select open and wep, uncheck "setup the key
>automatically" and then enter my key

Don't bother. Setup the WEP key manually.

>the wireless network is disconnected. however when i do a site survey
>my ssid still shows as an unsecured wireless network. if i go back to
>the wireless properties ->association the settings are back to open and
>disabled

No clue on that one. Sounds like you're stuck on defaults. Can any
other settings be saved or is it just the WEP configuration?

>when i login back to my router ( i was disconnected earlier), the
>encryption is back to disabled.

Did you save the settings? You probably did, but I thought I would
ask anyway.

I have the exact same Belkin router sitting in its box on a shelf in
my office. I don't have the heart to inflict it on a customer. As I
vaguely recall (not sure), it had a problem with the internal web
server as the web pages had too long an expire time. Instead of
reading the web page from the router, the browser was reading from the
browser cache. Clear the browser cache or force a refresh with
<shift><Reload>. Try with a different web browser or different
machine. If that's not it, then it's simply not saving the settings,
which implies a broken Belkin router.

>this is truly bizzare. i am ready to toss the belkin router since i
>think it is the problem

That's only one reason why mine is on the shelf. I suggest you buy
something that does 802.11g and WPA encryption.


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann

thank you all for the posts. the comment on wpa duly noted and i will
look for a replacement router with wpa capability.

but ....... the real culprit turned out to be the browser .. firefox
1.5.0.5

few minutes ago i decided to use IE instead and lo and behold the
"greyed out" boxes are no longer there in the router web page. it was a
breeze to setup wep.

i am so used to using firefox that i did not think that it could be a
source of the problem.

amazing.

-S


Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> hath wroth:
>
> >hi all .. i have spent the last 5 hrs trying to setup wep security. My
> >laptop is a dell inspiron 700m with an on-board intel 2200bg wireless
> >adapter. the router is a belkin 802.11b wireless/4 port, model # is
> >F5D6231-4_v2. running win xp, sp2
>
> Make sure you're using Intel Proset 10.x. Much better than XP
> Wireless Zero Config or earlier versions. Unfortunately, the
> F5D6231-4 only supports WEP. You really should be using WPA as WEP is
> easily cracked.
>
> >i connect wirelessly to the router. factory default settings. i go to
> >the encryption settings and there are 5 options (disable, 64 manual, 64
> >auto, 128 manual, 128 auto)
> >the difference between what i see and what the manual says is that when
> >i write a passphrase (64 auto or 128 auto) i do not see any keys being
> >generated. the boxes where hex keys should have been visible are all
> >greyed out. so the only option is to enter a key manually
>
> This is not the currrent problem but methinks you should know about
> this... There's a problem with WEP. Different vendors have different
> ideas on what constitutes converting an ASCII WEP key to a Hex WEP
> key. If you use an ASCII key, chances are high that it won't work
> because of different ASCII -> Hex conversions. There are also some
> routers that generate garbage for the Hex key if you use strange ASCII
> characters. Stay with Hex keys and it will always work.
>
> >then i go to wireless network properties, select my ssid, click on
> >properties->association, select open and wep, uncheck "setup the key
> >automatically" and then enter my key
>
> Don't bother. Setup the WEP key manually.
>
> >the wireless network is disconnected. however when i do a site survey
> >my ssid still shows as an unsecured wireless network. if i go back to
> >the wireless properties ->association the settings are back to open and
> >disabled
>
> No clue on that one. Sounds like you're stuck on defaults. Can any
> other settings be saved or is it just the WEP configuration?
>
> >when i login back to my router ( i was disconnected earlier), the
> >encryption is back to disabled.
>
> Did you save the settings? You probably did, but I thought I would
> ask anyway.
>
> I have the exact same Belkin router sitting in its box on a shelf in
> my office. I don't have the heart to inflict it on a customer. As I
> vaguely recall (not sure), it had a problem with the internal web
> server as the web pages had too long an expire time. Instead of
> reading the web page from the router, the browser was reading from the
> browser cache. Clear the browser cache or force a refresh with
> <shift><Reload>. Try with a different web browser or different
> machine. If that's not it, then it's simply not saving the settings,
> which implies a broken Belkin router.
>
> >this is truly bizzare. i am ready to toss the belkin router since i
> >think it is the problem
>
> That's only one reason why mine is on the shelf. I suggest you buy
> something that does 802.11g and WPA encryption.
>
>
> --
> Jeff Liebermann
> 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
> Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
> Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

polaris8030@gmail.com

On 2 Aug 2006 20:15:57 -0700, wrote in
<. com>:

>thank you all for the posts. the comment on wpa duly noted and i will
>look for a replacement router with wpa capability.
>
>but ....... the real culprit turned out to be the browser .. firefox
>1.5.0.5
>
>few minutes ago i decided to use IE instead and lo and behold the
>"greyed out" boxes are no longer there in the router web page. it was a
>breeze to setup wep.
>
>i am so used to using firefox that i did not think that it could be a
>source of the problem.
>
>amazing.

Indeed, because it's almost certainly not a Firefox problem -- 1.5.0.5
has no such problems here.

--
Best regards, FAQ for Wireless Internet: <http://Wireless.wikia.com>
John Navas FAQ for Wi-Fi: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi>
Wi-Fi How To: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_HowTo>
Fixes to Wi-Fi Problems: <http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_Fixes>

John Navas