Ugh.
U. G. H.
When I selected the wireless network, the "Wireless Security" type is
"WEP 128-bit Passphrase". Neither the router nor (apparently) my
laptop client said anything about hex vs. ascii. Still, it was clear
from the key value that it was hexadecimal. I just assumed it was
doing its thing in the background.
I noticed that "WEP 128-bit Passphrase" was an entry in a drop-down
list. The other options were "WEP 64/128-bit Hex" and "WEP 64/128-bit
ASCII".
With some trepidation I selected the Hex option and entered my key.
Ugh.
The more things I tried to get this to work - the more I feared that
it was because of something dorky like this.
Thanks very much for the reality check, Bill. I'm writing this from
my laptop over my wireless network.
I'm an idiot.
On 01/10/2007, Bill Strosberg <oclug_mail [ at ] strosberg [ dot ] com> wrote:
> C.T. Paterson wrote:
> > Hey,
> >
> > Michael's response notwithstanding - the thundering silence suggests
> > to me that I might have hit across a puzzler...or at least a problem
> > others on the list have not encountered. If there are no objections,
> > I'll continue publishing my results (or lack thereof) to the list for
> > the sake of the archives...
> >
> > I downloaded the Ubuntu Gutsy beta CD today, and tried it out. While
> > the live CD did load on my laptop (unlike Feisty), it did not remedy
> > my wireless issues. Gutsy seems to use version 1.2.2 of the ipw3945
> > driver (feisty had 1.2.0). A colleague who is using the same driver
> > on the same card on another laptop reports having no problems - though
> > he is on a
> > WPA authenticated network. So, I'm left with a few theories - none of
> > which strike me as compelling:
> >
> > 1. It's a problem the driver has with WEP. I have received assurances
> > on various websites that WEP is supposed to work, and I've read many
> > testimonials that ipw3945 wireless "works for me" from the web
> > denizens, although I've read no one who thought to specify that it
> > works with WEP. I've yet to have the opportunity to try connecting to
> > a WPA network - however, I'm starting a new job next week, and
> > visiting someone with a wireless network next weekend; so if I'm
> > lucky, one of them will have just such a network.
> >
> > 2. It's not a problem with the driver at all, but something else on my
> > system. I'm at a loss to know what that might be. I've installed and
> > configured other things on my laptop - but I believe trying a wireless
> > connection was one of the early things I attempted since my
> > configuration often involved downloading drivers and such, and wiring
> > my laptop typically involves me disconnecting one of my other machines
> > from the network. Further to that, I booted from a live Gutsy CD, and
> > tried wireless right away - so if it's a system misconfig, then its
> > happening from the default config.
> >
> > 3. A hardware problem; it's a new card, and works just fine if we
> > dispense with the authentication.
> >
> > 4. A WAP-end problem; I've had this issue in two separate WEP networks
> > that I know other wireless clients (non-Linux) have connected to.
> >
> >
> > So, I'm stumped. In the mean-time, I'm leaving my wireless
> > unencrypted, and I've configured the router to only allow my MAC
> > addresses access to the internet. I've got SMB shares that are
> > password protected, and NFS mounts only to authorized IP addresses. I
> > use SSH to connect between PCs, no telnet. I think I'm reasonably
> > safe from a home network security POV (though if I've missed
> > something, please let me know), you know, given that I've opened the
> > network, but I'm still not crazy about this setup.
> >
> > Still - barring any new ideas on how to deal with the WEP
> > authentication problem, I'm running out of things to try.
> >
> > Cheers
> >
> > On 28/09/2007, C.T. Paterson <i [ dot ] adore [ dot ] my [ dot ] 64 [ at ] gmail [ dot ] com> wrote:
> >
> >> Some progress - but not yet a win...
> >>
> >> The problem seems to be with the authentication. I'm on my wireless
> >> network now, but could only achieve this by turning my encryption off
> >> (a situation I'm not eager to keep up). Both my network, and the
> >> wireless network at work use WEP for encryption. I've had someone
> >> suggest to me that I'd have more success on a WPA network.
> >>
> >> If that's true, then it would go a ways to explaining why some people
> >> seem to have no trouble with this driver, and some have a world of
> >> problems. Until I have a WPA test case, though, it'll have to remain
> >> a theory.
> >>
> >> I've tried both entering my encryption key and essid in the
> >> NetworkManager, on the command line using iwconfig, and in the
> >> /etc/network/interfaces. Nothing seems to work -- although if anyone
> >> has time to kill and feels like explaining the difference between an
> >> open and shared key, I'm interested. There's nothing of the kind
> >> presented when I'm configuring my router.
> >>
> >> Cheers.
> When you are entering the WEP key, make sure you choose ASCII or HEX to
> match your settings in the router. I've seen this type of problem with
> clients entering WEP keys at workstations not checking if the key is
> preset to be one type or the other. Most client configuration will
> happily accept whatever you enter without type-checking the data to see
> if it matches the setting.
>
>
>
--
"My country is the world, and my religion is to do good."
-- Thomas Paine