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MIXZ1
join:2001-01-02
Mexico
 ·Prodigy Infinitum
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Do you have the original drivers? Although our machine configurations are very different, my ThinkPad T61p lost wireless connectivity immediately after installing SP3. Rolling back the drivers for the wireless NIC solved the problem, leading me to believe MS thought it had better drivers, but they were wrong | |
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Thanks for the idea. That's what I should have tried. Instead I removed SP3 entirely and the symptoms disappeared. The wireless has been connected for a solid six hours since I rolled back SP3.
I understand that SP3 installs some additional networking drivers for compatibility with Vista and maybe that's the problem. Also I should probably check with LinkSys to see if they have released new drivers for compatibility with SP3.
Thanks again.
--
If America has an official philosophy, it surely includes the belief in individualism, competition, private property, democracy, freedom, and a deep faith in education. This social philosophy is called "liberalism." GKM (1936) | |
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Thanks That's good to know as it will save troubleshooting.
I noticed that SP3 installs a DOT3SVC.DLL service which is something like Windows Vista Wired Networking. One source indicated that it included WLAN AutoConfig. Is that true?
I suspect that something in SP3 was screwing with the authentication on my wireless card and right now DOT3SVC.DLL is my prime suspect.
Am I close?
--
If America has an official philosophy, it surely includes the belief in individualism, competition, private property, democracy, freedom, and a deep faith in education. This social philosophy is called "liberalism." GKM (1936) | |
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bcastner
Premium,VIP,MVM
join:2002-09-25
Chevy Chase, MD
clubs: 
·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Lets start here:
List of Fixes Included in XP Service Pack 3
»support.microsoft.com/kb/946480/
You can find two service packs dealing with 802.1x authentication to a RADIUS server on wired networks. XP SP2 added the service features for wireless authentication to an 802.1x server or certificate based authentication. Beginning with Vista and now with XP SP3, a formal service was added to XP to allow RADIUS authentication for wired networks as well. The wired authentication supplicant for 802.1x was called for a short time "Vista Wired Networking", as I am not completely certain that Microsoft intended originally to provision this supplicant for XP. But large corporations speak loudly at Microsoft as customers, so it was added in Service Pack 3 as a new service, now called "Wired AutoConfig Service".
This is not to be compliant with Vista per se. But because wired 802.1x authentication for XP was missing previously, although available from PSS if requested.
RADIUS level authentication is often used in large Domain settings to provide two factor authentication for wireless clients. The inclusion of wired clients is primarily to support NAP. One common request from large Window Domain administrators was to increase the enforcement side of NAP violations. With Vista, and now XP SP3, a Domain using RADIUS authentication for wireless and wired clients can add enforcement policies such as denying DHCP, subnetting violators automatically to a VLAN to keep them off the main network, or barring their access completely.
With 802.1x authentication in place, writing such enforcement policies for NAP becomes easy to do. Particularly with Server 2008 as the NAP validator server, NAP approvals and denials can happen at a rate of 10,000 per hour on a single server.
But this is all in the realm of big Domains. You will only see RADIUS authentication in place at sites with a large number of clients.
For small LANs of under 5,000 or so clients, it is very rare to see at the moment the use of RADIUS. NAP could well change that, however, as it is such a desirable feature after its implementation improvements in Server 2008.
--
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MS-MVP 2004 - -2008, ASAP Member
Users Helping Users
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| | | | | MIXZ1
join:2001-01-02
Mexico
·Prodigy Infinitum
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Thanks for the informative reply, bcastner. Nevertheless, re-installing the drivers for the wireless NIC (Atheros/Lenovo ABG, in my case) solved the problem without having to roll back the service pack. Several others have reported the same solution.
Obviously a driver re-install carries some other components, beyond the actual driver files, and by some deductive reasoning, if the re-install of a driver package fixes something that broke immediately after the service pack was installed, the service pack overwrote some key component needed by the device with its own "updated" version. | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | MIXZ1
join:2001-01-02
Mexico
·Prodigy Infinitum
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Once again, thanks for the succinct reply. By "key components" I meant the other baggage that sometimes accompanies a driver package, such as a configuration utility, with the dlls needed for it.
You said "The reason an uninstall/reinstall is recommended is to rebind the third-party network adapter driver with the XP network stack." Not to muddy the waters, but I didn't see this recommenation in the SP3 documentation, and when it's rolled out via automated updates I doubt those users are going to see any such recommendation either.
And, since I am learning a lot here, why did the "netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt" fail to rebind the adapter? That was the first thing I tried when my connection went belly up.
Thanks in advance for your continued input. | |
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bcastner
Premium,VIP,MVM
join:2002-09-25
Chevy Chase, MD
clubs:
·Verizon Online DSL
1 edit | Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Your originally stated XP SP3 introduced new device drivers. Then you shifted to claiming it overwrote portions of third-party network adapter drivers. Now you are blaming Microsoft because it does not write up instructions for third-party network adapters?
The end user support of your network adapter is its manufacturer and not Microsoft. Wireless adapter issues under XP SP3 installations have been minor; the responsibility for supporting these third-party products is their manfacturer. Some have released post-SP3 versions to handle issues. Most have had no issues.
Finally, you blame Microsoft because a netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt does not rebind the third-party network adapters? To determine what exactly netsh int ip reset does is easy enough. Open the file created, resetlog.txt, with notepad and read. Netsh.exe is essentially a kind of scripting host, and its directives and their results are easily viewed. The new network stack introduced with XP SP2 is pefectly modular, with explicit hooks for a third-party to use. If the driver does not conform, or does not reliably hook, these would have to be rebuilt. In most cases you can use netsh to do this by rebuilding the winsock Catalogs (netsh winsock reset catalog) without any driver reinstallation; or at least that has been my experience. I have never had to reinstall a drive under Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 for XP.
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MS-MVP 2004 - -2008, ASAP Member
Users Helping Users
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| | | | | | | | | MIXZ1
join:2001-01-02
Mexico
·Prodigy Infinitum
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 I seem to have upset you here. If I have I apologize. I have not "blamed" anything on MS. I have expressed my beliefs, based on what, as I clearly stated, happened to my computer.
In my attempt to compliment you on the clarity and informative nature of your replies, you have somehow misconstrued this as an argument. No argument was inteneded, and again I apologize.
Since it seems I can't post any conjecture without irritating you, I'll just withdraw from this thread. | |
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| bcastner  ,
The technical information you have offered has been substantial. I hope you do not think we are blaming Microsoft or anybody else for some of these issues. We are just reporting our problems and guessing at possible causes or solutions and trying to help each other.
To get back to basics. I have one system in which I rolled back (removed) SP3 and that fixed the unstable wireless connection problem.
1. Should I leave well enough alone (SP2 is fully updated) or should I try another SP3 install? If so, should I install in safe mode or take other precautions?
2. If I install again and the problem returns what steps should I take to fix it.
I have a laptop which also has a wireless connection using the same vendor (LinkSys). Because of the problems I had with the desktop, I have not yet installed SP3 on that laptop.
For the laptop I have the same two questions as for the desktop.
Any practical guidance would be most appreciated.
--
If America has an official philosophy, it surely includes the belief in individualism, competition, private property, democracy, freedom, and a deep faith in education. This social philosophy is called "liberalism." GKM (1936) | |
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bcastner
Premium,VIP,MVM
join:2002-09-25
Chevy Chase, MD
clubs:
·Verizon Online DSL
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 jmoralan,
Are you using the Linksys Client as well? In other words, you have XP's Wireless Zero disabled, and all configuration is done through a Linksys utility?
1. This is not preferred. It would be better to use only the drivers from Linksys, and allow XP to natively configure the adapter and all Network associations.
2. If you do not wish to do this, use your Laptop as the test case. I would download the Stand-alone XP SP3 Redistributable, or the ISO. (See the first response in this very thread).
Next, head to the Linksys site and be sure you have the most recent driver release.
Next, Use Add or Remove Programs, and Uninstall the Linksys client software.
Next, using the ISO or standalone Network Installation Package, install SP3.
Reboot twice when done.
Finally, install the Linksys adapter client software, just as if it were a brand new installation of the adapter.
======================
My guess is that you are seeing Authentication failures. There are some bugged reports from the Beta period on certain Broadcom chipset based adapters. Linksys went back and forth between Broadcom and Atheros chipsets, so what is in yours is tough to say.
See if the following helps:
• Run the command “Netsh ras set tracing * enabled”
• Reproduce the problem
• Run the command “Netsh ras set tracing * disabled”
• The logs will be at %windir%\tracing
Open the log file with Notepad. What I am looking for is a repeated sequence that resembles the following:
3660] 14:54:26:121: Interface {DCC9F2F1-DF04-4A97-92E9-6F264781F65C}:
[3660] 14:54:26:121: IP Address: 192.168.30.43
[3660] 14:54:26:121: HrAddIPCharacteristics {DCC9F2F1-DF04-4A97-92E9-6F264781F65C}: HrDHCPAcquiring=1 (Done), dwRetryTime=345597, NonZeroAddress=1, bDhcpEnabled=1, dwCharacteristics=NCCF:0x00101009
[3124] 14:54:26:137: NETMAN: GetProperties-WZCQueryGUIDNCSState (NETMANNCS=NCS_CONNECTED WZCNCS=NCS_AUTHENTICATION_FAILED hr=0x00000000 fZeroConfEnabled=0)
-- OR -- like this:
3124] 14:54:26:293: Interface {DCC9F2F1-DF04-4A97-92E9-6F264781F65C}:
[3124] 14:54:26:293: IP Address: 192.168.30.43
[3124] 14:54:26:293: HrAddIPCharacteristics {DCC9F2F1-DF04-4A97-92E9-6F264781F65C}: HrDHCPAcquiring=1 (Done), dwRetryTime=345597, NonZeroAddress=1, bDhcpEnabled=1, dwCharacteristics=NCCF:0x00101009
[3124] 14:58:33:053: INetConnectionRefresh: ConnectionStatusChanged call [NCS_AUTHENTICATING]
[2480] 14:58:33:053: NETMAN: LanEventWorkItem (Type = CONNECTION_STATUS_CHANGE)
[1560] 14:58:33:053: INetConnectionRefresh: ConnectionStatusChanged call [NCS_AUTHENTICATING]
[2480] 14:58:33:053: NETMAN: LanEventWorkItem-WZCQueryGUIDNCSState (NETMANNCS=NCS_CONNECTED WZCNCS=NCS_AUTHENTICATING hr=0x00000000 fZeroConfEnabled=0)
[2480] 14:58:33:053: NOTIFY: Notifying ConnectionStatusChange... (pSink=0x0576241C) [NCS_AUTHENTICATING]
[2480] 14:58:33:162: HrWZCDLGNotify: Not sending status to WZC, because fZeroConfEnabled is FALSE and ncs is NCS_AUTHENTICATING
Here you have a third-party Wireless configuration service being used instead of the native service. Authentication with the router/AP is clearly failing intermittently.
1. Start Services.msc; be sure the new service "Wired AutoConfig" is set to Manual or Disabled.
2. Be sure that "Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication" on the client adapter settings is Disabled.
3. Re-enter the WEP/WAP key for the Network Connection. (This is a theory of mine about the changes in the Cryptographic services of XP3). This will force a new write of the key to your registry.
Reboot and test.
If you could, after doing all of the above, and still no joy, let me know. Be sure to re-enable logging to capture a small log, and send back to the Forum a small snippet where it shows a connection failure.
But at the moment, at least from bugged reparts on XP SP3, there is not a lot of complaints about intermittent wireless issues.
I promise to review any logs you submit.
Best wishes,
Bill Castner
--
============
MS-MVP 2004 - -2008, ASAP Member
Users Helping Users
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jmorlan
Hmm... That's funny.
Premium
join:2001-02-05
Pacifica, CA
·Pacific Bell - SBC
| Re: [XP Pro] Erratic wirless connection after SP3 Thank you again for the detailed analysis and suggestions. The laptop was using a LinkSys (Odyssey) client with Wireless Zero disabled which was recommended by LinkSys. I got rid of the LinkSys software and enabled Wireless Zero and that works much better in my opinion. Unfortunately that configuration is unsupported, but I don't care.
After that I installed SP3 on the laptop with no issues.
Then I tried SP3 again on the wireless desktop which had the original wireless connection problems. That system was using XP's Wireless Zero already as recommended by the manufacturer. I updated the driver for the wireless adapter first and then installed SP3 from a CD with no antirvirus running. I am please to report that the wireless connection has been solid for the last several days.
I've printed out your last post in case the issue arises in the future. At this time I am unable to reproduce the problem or provide you with any logs.
Thanks again.
--
If America has an official philosophy, it surely includes the belief in individualism, competition, private property, democracy, freedom, and a deep faith in education. This social philosophy is called "liberalism." GKM (1936) | |
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