PCs cannot connect to Internet via public WiFi

[travisruss]

I have installed a public WiFi Hotspot using a Proxim antenna. My PC using Windows XP connects fine, as does my iPod, but visitors with Vista cannot get an Internet connection. This is happening on many different PCs, and because this is a public hotspot, it is impossible to troubleshoot every single PC individually. I have verified that the machines I do have access to are able to connect to the WiFi antenna, but cannot get Internet access. Error messages vary, but seem to all be on Vista machines. How can we provide a trouble free hotspot for Vista users without providing an IT department for this very small business? THis is a campground, and users often are there for only a day or two, and rely on this hotspot for bill paying, etc.

[chicagotech]

Posting the result of Vista ipconfig /all here may help.

[shryke]

A few examples of the error messages you are getting may help as well.
Also are you using any security on the network and giving out the key or passphrase or is this an unsecured network?
I have found that Vista is very uncooperative with 128 bit WEP security (without a wireless network card driver update) and an easy fix is to use WPA instead.
How many computers are accessing the network and how many IP addresses is your wireless device capable of managing?

[travisruss]

I am unable to provide an IP CONfig (no way for me to get it all to another PC for inclusion in this message). I made several attempts including spending several hours trying to type it in manually (only to have it erased when the page timed-out or the wrong key was entered). Nothing unusual in the IP Config and I dont think that is the issue anyway. I think there is an application prveenting access to the Internet.

I can connect to the WiFi antenna with no problem. However the connection manager tells me that I have "No Internet Connection." This is also displayed on the bottom toolbar. If I allow the connection to sit for about 20 minutes, I eventually get Internet connectivity, but am still unable to connect to any Websites (IE says it cannot display the Webpage). I am using an XP machine next to the VISTA machine and can connect with no problem and surf the Web with no problem. I also have been told by others that they are able to cnnect using their XP machines with no problem. It seems only VISTA and Windows 7 computers have trouble accessing the Internet through the WiFi.

I should also note that if I access the DSL modem providing the Internet connectivity, using the wireless on the DSL modem, I am still unable to access the Internet, so this eliminates the WiFi Hotspot. At this point I believe there must be firewall software or something in Vista blocking this PC from the Internet (even though I have disabled both Windows Firewall and McAfee Firewall).

IPConfig does give me this for the wireless:

Windows IP Configuration:

Host Name..................................: Jims PC
Primary DNS Suffix........................:
Node Type...................................: Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled.........................: No
WINS Proxy Enabled........................No

Wireless LAN Adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS suffix...................:
Description..........................................: Dell Wireless 1397 WLAN Mini-card
Physical address....................................: 90-4C-E5-63-F1-D2
DHCP Enabled.......................................: Yes
Autoconfiguration enabled........................: Yes
Autoconfiguration IPv4 address ..................: 169.254.91.11(preferred)
Subnet mask........................................: 255.255.0.0
Default gateway.....................................:
NetBIOS over TCPIP.................................: Enabled

[chicagotech]

IP Address 169.254.91.11 is the problem. That means your computer dosen't get IP from the DHCP. You may try to upgrade the NIC driver or the firmware if you can. These search result may help too.

Troubleshooting ipconfig
Symptom: The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved 169.254.0.0-169.254.255.255 for Automatic Private IP Addressing. ...
www.chicagotech.net/troubleshootingipconfig.htm - Similar

Ipconfig
Symptom: The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) has reserved 169.254.0.0-169.254.255.255 for Automatic Private IP Addressing. ...
www.chicagotech.net/ipconfig.htm - Similar

Vista has 169.254.x.x IP2 posts - Last post: Apr 20, 2008
Autoconfiguration IPv4 Address: 169.254.104.31(Preferred) > Subnet Mask: 255.255.0.0 > Default Gateway: Blank > DHCPv6 IAID: 352329056 ...
www.chicagotech.net/netforums/viewtopic ... 77&start=0