Windows 7 All PCs connect to new router except W7 machine that set router up

[ScottHK]

My old Netgear wireless router died over the weekend. Monday I got a D-Link DIR-615 HW E1 FW 5.00 NA and used the directions, a direct Ethernet connection, and the install CD to configure the router from my Windows 7 computer. I then moved the cable modem and router to a central room so both ends of the house can get a good signal, leaving no PC attached to the router. Now the Vista machine on one end of the house connects fine wireless and the XP machine on the other end (right next to the Windows 7 machine) connect fine wirelessly but the Windows 7 machine that I used to set up the router, which sees the network as well as a second one in the area, will not connect. It fails pretty much immediately and when I let it do it's little troubleshooting routine it says it is resolving (unspecified) issues and tests afterward and still fails, saying "Windows was unable to connect to Xxxxx network" - the one it connected to fine via a direct connection - though of course giving me no details. I've tried matching it to the connection parameters used by the XP machine right next to it as well as all the available variations, plus re-entering the password at least five times in case I had a typo.

I notice when I run ipconfig on the Windows 7 machine I get "Media Disconnected" responses for everything so maybe it is a LAN card or configuration issue but I don't think I changed anything on the PC during the router setup. Does the machine not have or get an IP address until it connects to a network? Maybe the PC is still trying to use the ethernet connection, though it says it is disabled as there is a "cable disconnected"? Any other ideas or things to check, please?

 

[Trouble]

The first obvious question, and I mean no disrespect, but are you certain that the netgear was in fact dead to all wireless client machines, or just yours.
Second, do you suspect that using the "install CD" may have added any type of proprietary third party software that may now be conflicting with built in WLAN AutoConfig service in Windows 7.
Third and depending on the Rev. number of your router (I'm guess E, but there's a tag on the bottom that should tell you) D-Link has a firmware update to bump you to 5.10 it says something about "Hardware Change from E-1 to E-3. I won't even pretend to know exactly what that means but it may be helpful. Go here Link Removed click the link for support resources, choose your REV,and then firmware link and see what's available. Read the warnings and notes carefully to avoid any potential damage to the router.
Keep us posted.

 

[Mike]

As a troubleshooting mechanism, you may want to try disabling IPv6. This may be creating a problem with your wireless network interface card (NIC). To disable IPv6 in Windows 7:

Start -> View Network Connections
Double-click on your WiFi card
Under the connection list, uncheck "Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6)"
For simplicity, hit OK and restart the computer.

You may also want to ensure that all information is being acquired automatically from DHCP under the "Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)" settings in the same area. If this fails to solve the connection problem, you will want to re-enable IPv6 the next go-around.

It is possible that you are having difficulties if your router is only broadcasting in either Wireless-N or Wireless-G mode. It is important that it is using a mixed mode signal if you have only Wireless-N network cards (newer with better range and throughput), or a single-mode Wireless-G output if you have older WiFi devices on your systems. If either is the case, you may want to try adjusting these settings until you acquire the correct ones for your network. The problem is unusual, but it has been seen before and requires diagnostic testing. If changing the settings on the client machine doesn't work, you may need to re-adjust the settings on the router itself to comply with WPA, WPA2, or WEP encryption. Depending on the method you are using, this could be causing the complexity. Either way, the IPv6 problem seems to be common on many WiFi devices and the transmission mode you are using could also be causing the difficulty.

 

[ScottHK]

Thanks very much for responding, no one on the D-Link forums has, and they had an extra day to ponder it.

The Netgear router had no lights when plugged into multiple outlets so I think the power supply and possibly more were dead.

The D-Link software may have added some software but I have found nothing in the programs list called D-Link or that jumps out as being connected (so to speak) to the new hardware. And Windows 7 hasn't highlighted anything as a recently installed program. Now whether they changed something already there, I don't know.

My current firmware is E1 and I'll look into that E3 rev. tonight. I remember seeing something about new beta firmware on their forum but I think that referred to a different hardware revision. I'll double check tonight.

If that doesn't bring any joy my plan is to temporarily turn off the security or password in the router, if I can, and see if the Windows 7 machine will at least connect that way.

Thanks again for giving me some hope and pointers.

 

[ScottHK]

Sorry, Mike, I did not see your post until I posted my reply to Trouble's post.

I tried disabling IPv6 and restarting the PC, then the router, and that did not help. I checked the IPv4 section and it is still set to acquire it's IP automatically, I just wish it was actually doing it.

None of the three computers in our house have Wireless N cards so the router is either in G or lower mode or is already in mixed mode.

 

[ScottHK]

When I ran the Network Troubleshooter a few minutes ago, the end of the resulting log shows:

Result of diagnosis: Problem found

Root cause:
Windows association failed to "kfeldnetwork" for unknown reason

Detailed root cause:
802.11 connection failed due to status code 1: unknown failure

Again, this computer was working fine with the old router so I don't think it's a LAN card issue but maybe the install CD changed something that is preventing the wireless card from connecting properly? It looks to be a RealTek 8185, if that tells anyone anything.

 

[ScottHK]

When I ran the Network Troubleshooter a few minutes ago, the end of the resulting log shows:

Result of diagnosis: Problem found

Root cause:
Windows association failed to "kfeldnetwork" for unknown reason

Detailed root cause:
802.11 connection failed due to status code 1: unknown failure

Again, this computer was working fine with the old router so I don't think it's a LAN card issue but maybe the install CD changed something that is preventing the wireless card from connecting properly? It looks to be a RealTek 8185, if that tells anyone anything.

 

[Trouble]

Thanks very much for responding, no one on the D-Link forums has, and they had an extra day to ponder it.

The Netgear router had no lights when plugged into multiple outlets so I think the power supply and possibly more were dead.

The D-Link software may have added some software but I have found nothing in the programs list called D-Link or that jumps out as being connected (so to speak) to the new hardware. And Windows 7 hasn't highlighted anything as a recently installed program. Now whether they changed something already there, I don't know.

My current firmware is E1 and I'll look into that E3 rev. tonight. I remember seeing something about new beta firmware on their forum but I think that referred to a different hardware revision. I'll double check tonight.

If that doesn't bring any joy my plan is to temporarily turn off the security or password in the router, if I can, and see if the Windows 7 machine will at least connect that way.

Thanks again for giving me some hope and pointers.

Sounds like a plan, if there is in fact a firmware update and you decide to flash the router let us know if that provided any solution to your issue.
Using the reset button on the back of the router (read documentation some are a bit different) should reset the router to factory defaults and wireless security to open and if the machine connects, use Mike's suggestion of experimenting with different encryption levels to see which works best some have reported problems with WEP but report that WPA works fine, other have reported WPA2 works well, but you may need to tweak PSK using AES instead of TKIP or vice versa

 

[ScottHK]

So this morning I configured the router for WEP authentication and all three PCs are willing to talk to the router that way. When I installed the new router I set it up with the same encryption and passcode as the old router and I don't understand why 2 machines were fine with the new router but one (the Windows 7 machine) wasn't but there you go. So the original issue isn't really resolved but I found a workaround and now I'm so far behind in work done on the W7 machine that I don't really have time to mess with it anymore, I just need to move on start catching up, I assume you know how that goes. I will check back in to see if you have further thoughts or comments but for now I'm basically closing or at least shelving the core issue. Thanks very much for all your help.