MVP works wired, but not wireless...

[Gibson99]

this one's really got me stumped. i know my wireless works, because i'm typing this post on a laptop hardwired to the same ethernet bridge that the mvp is on. the problem is that the mvp just doesn't get an ip address, and thus doesn't load anything. but ONLY when it's on the wireless.

server: athlon64 3000+, windows 2000 pro, 1.5gb ram, 300gb hdd. no firewall junk, and i've crippled norton antivirus as much as i can without completely uninstalling it. right now i'm just trying to get this working w/ the hauppage frontend first, like it says in the wiki. i've got some other problems with gbpvr i need to fix before i can start using that, but that's another post...

server pc is wired directly (100mb) to netgear WGR614 v3 (54g + 4-port 10/100 switch) router, which is the dhcp server for the lan.

mvp is revision d3a
mvp is connected to netgear me101 wireless B ethernet bridge via crossover cable. i also tried putting a hub in between the bridge and the mvp, but nothing changed (didn't expect it to).

in order to test the wireless bridge functionality, i pulled the x-over cable from the back of the mvp, plugged it into the laptop, and it worked immediately.

right now my mvp doesn't even get an IP address when connected via wireless. that is, i don't see it in the dhcp clients list on the router, but i can see the laptop and all other PCs on the lan. the mvp just sits there on the blue screen, flashing "contacting DHCP server... contacting mediamvp bootserver..." i left it overnight and nothing changed. have tried two different x-over cables, many plain ethernet cables both between hub and bridge and mvp (mvp does not link directly to bridge without an x-over, which is proper operation for a bridge)...

now if i put a x-over cable between the mvp and the router, the mvp works and i can use the hauppage frontend just fine. but if i disconnect that xover and put the mvp back in the other room where my wireless bridge is, it doesn't get past the initial poweron blue screen.

any suggestions?

[Gibson99]

now if i put a x-over cable between the mvp and the router, the mvp works and i can use the hauppage frontend just fine. but if i disconnect that xover and put the mvp back in the other room where my wireless bridge is, it doesn't get past the initial poweron blue screen.

any suggestions?

ok i goofed... i meant to say if i put a REGULAR cat-v cable between the mvp and the router, the mvp will get an ip address. i don't have a tv in the server room where the router is, and no capture card yet, so i don't know if it actually loads... though when i first set up the mvp using laptop, x-over ethernet cable between laptop and mvp, and mvp hooked to a tv, it worked just fine using the (lame) hauppage frontend. so i assume the mvp would also load when hooked to the router.

still stumped on this one though. i even tried making the router reserve an ip for the mvp based on its mac address and device name (which comes up as "--" in the dhcp clients list when hooked straight to router). still no joy on the wireless. any ideas are welcome!

[saintalan]

...

server pc is wired directly (100mb) to netgear WGR614 v3 (54g + 4-port 10/100 switch) router, which is the dhcp server for the lan.

mvp is revision d3a
mvp is connected to netgear me101 wireless B ethernet bridge via crossover cable. i also tried putting a hub in between the bridge and the mvp, but nothing changed (didn't expect it to).

in order to test the wireless bridge functionality, i pulled the x-over cable from the back of the mvp, plugged it into the laptop, and it worked immediately.

right now my mvp doesn't even get an IP address when connected via wireless. that is, i don't see it in the dhcp clients list on the router, but i can see the laptop and all other PCs on the lan. the mvp just sits there on the blue screen, flashing "contacting DHCP server... contacting mediamvp bootserver..." i left it overnight and nothing changed. have tried two different x-over cables, many plain ethernet cables both between hub and bridge and mvp (mvp does not link directly to bridge without an x-over, which is proper operation for a bridge)...

now if i put a x-over cable between the mvp and the router, the mvp works and i can use the hauppage frontend just fine. but if i disconnect that xover and put the mvp back in the other room where my wireless bridge is, it doesn't get past the initial poweron blue screen.

any suggestions?

Gibson Hi, not sure I can help other than I have a very similar set up and mine works, so I will do what I can.

My set up is as follows:-
Upstairs - PC similar to yours with a wired connection to a Netgear WGT624 4-port wireless router.
Downstairs - WGE101 Wireless Bridge wired to an old netgear 4 port switch, off of these 4 ports hang 4 wired units one of which is the MVP

My initial comments would be:-
a) Why do you have a Xover cable between the MVP & bridge? I just checked (best I can - it's a jungle back there!) and mine is NOT Xover. The only time I can remember using the Xover was between the PC and MVP when setting it up! Also the reason why your laptop may work with the Xover is that the Laptops Ethernet is Auto-sensing and it doesn't care. Now perhaps I have got this wrong, as it is a while since I did it and whilst I am fairly technical I am not a LAN expert. I just checked the ME101 spec and see it comes with a Xover cable but mine does not. I guess all you can do is try a straight cable.

b) When I switched to using the WGE101 about a year ago it was because the ME101 was a gaming bridge and in discusion with Netgear support and trying it myself it did NOT work. I have just checked the Netgear site and note they do not mention gaming now so it may have changed but it looks the same.

My only other point is that I have spent ages at times trying to get past the connecting screen! I dread having to remove the power from the MVP as it happens every time. I do not know exactly what cures it but there are some threads on here but I usually power down all my network items and power up. Also I have read that the order you connect the bridge and MVP can have an effect.

Probably not all that helpful other than, as I say, we have a similar set up and mine works! I am in UK so we have a 6 hour time difference but let me know and will help where I can.

Cheers

Alan

[peterh]

It looks like something quirky when your wirless bridge is used. You said you'd tried it with laptop plugged in there; did you reboot it so it picked up an IP address? Is your DHCP server the router? My router doesn't show MVP in the DHCP clients list. Also, your bridge is class B. I'm sure i've seen it said on this group that bandwidth is sometimes a problem even with a 'G'. Don't know how much traffic an MVP generates to boot?

If you try your MVP on the bridge and then move it to a wired connection does it work straight away? Just thinking has the MVP server crashed?

[funkybro_uk]

mvp is revision d3a
mvp is connected to netgear me101 wireless B ethernet bridge via crossover cable. i also tried putting a hub in between the bridge and the mvp, but nothing changed (didn't expect it to).

in order to test the wireless bridge functionality, i pulled the x-over cable from the back of the mvp, plugged it into the laptop, and it worked immediately.

right now my mvp doesn't even get an IP address when connected via wireless. that is, i don't see it in the dhcp clients list on the router, but i can see the laptop and all other PCs on the lan. the mvp just sits there on the blue screen, flashing "contacting DHCP server... contacting mediamvp bootserver..." i left it overnight and nothing changed. have tried two different x-over cables, many plain ethernet cables both between hub and bridge and mvp (mvp does not link directly to bridge without an x-over, which is proper operation for a bridge)...

now if i put a x-over cable between the mvp and the router, the mvp works and i can use the hauppage frontend just fine. but if i disconnect that xover and put the mvp back in the other room where my wireless bridge is, it doesn't get past the initial poweron blue screen.

any suggestions?

Hiya

I'm running the exact same setup to yours with my bedroom MVP, this had me stumped for a while!

So, connect the wireless bridge to your laptop and log into its web config.

1) Ensure the wireless bridge is on the same subnet as the rest of your LAN.

2) Ensure it's set to obtain an IP address via DHCP.

And crucially,

3) Ensure the bridge is set to clone the MAC address of your MVP <-- very important!

Try these and let us know how you get on!

funkybro

[saintalan]

Funkybro Hi

So you have the ME101 working OK?

I have the WGE101 set to address 192.168.0.201 with no DHCP. I have an MVP, a BT NetGem Freeview, an old Laptop and a Slingbox connected to it via 4 port hub, and all work OK.

Cheers

Alan

[funkybro_uk]

Funkybro Hi

So you have the ME101 working OK?

I have the WGE101 set to address 192.168.0.201 with no DHCP. I have an MVP, a BT NetGem Freeview, an old Laptop and a Slingbox connected to it via 4 port hub, and all work OK.

Apologies - not using the exact same equipment, I meant the same type of setup, i.e. wireless router->wireless bridge->MVP.

I think the MAC cloning is the key issue.

funkybro

[wtg]

Get rid of the crossover cable. You should not use a cross-over cable when hooking things up to your router.

Some network cards or routers are smart and can determine when they are hooked up cross-over when they shouldn't be, and compensate. My guess is your router doesn't compensate but your laptop can, so it works that way. The MVP can't detect a cross-over setup and therefore fails.

Good luck,
Tim

[Gibson99]

ok to answer some questions...

yes, my router is the dhcp server. it's handing out IPs and i made sure i hadn't set a cap on the number of IP addresses it could hand out. there's still about 100 IPs left in the pool that haven't been assigned.

the reason i have an xover cable between the mvp and the bridge is the same reason you'd use an xover cable when linking two hubs or switches together - it needs it! the reason saintalan doesn't need xover is because there's a hub between his bridge and his mvp, and most likely, he had to use the uplink port on his hub to connect to the bridge.

my laptop has a 3com 10/100 nic which is autosensing when it comes to 10mbit or 100mbit, but it will NOT work properly unless you're using the right cable. that is, if i connect my laptop to my router or hub via xover cable, it won't talk. use a straight thru and it works properly. connect a straight thru from the bridge to the laptop and it won't link either. same reason.

i dunno if i mentioned it, but i did try several cabling variants to rule out bad cables among other things:

1. crossover directly from laptop to mvp, running hauppage software on laptop: MVP boots and functions. - this establishes that the mvp is not totally defective.

2. straight thru from mvp to netgear router but mvp not hooked to tv set (because the tv is in the other room): server pc running gbpvr and mvp tray status plugin shows that mvp connected and is idle, and i can see the mvp get an ip address in the router's web config util.

(see attached drawing for #3-6)

3. crossover from me101 bridge directly to mvp: no go - stuck on "contacting dhcp server" and "contacting mediamvp server". as if it didn't even have an ethernet cable plugged into it.

4. ME101 bridge to a 4-port 10/100 hub, and a straight thru cable from hub to mvp: MVP still no go just like #3, as if it didnt even have an ethernet cable plugged into it. however, a laptop plugged into the 10/100 hub will get an IP and work just fine. yes, i tried all 4 ports on the hub with identical results. laptop works in all ports, mvp works in none of them (but at least the mvp gets a link light in all of them)

5. straight thru cable from bridge to mvp: no link lights on either device - bridge documentation specifies that when connecting the bridge to a client (PC, xbox, ps2, etc, including hubs/switches) you need to use a crossover cable, which is why it ships with one.

6. crossover from bridge to hub, and straight thru from hub to mvp: mvp still doesn't get an IP - like it's unplugged. again, laptop plugged into same hub at the same time will work. only trick here is that the crossover from the bridge has to be in port 4 so i can use the hub's crossover button to actually make it link.

the bridge is not a router, and cannot clone a mac address like some routers can. there's no need - it's transparent to the lan, and just like a hub or switch, it doesn't count as a hop in a traceroute. really, the only reason the bridge needs an IP address is for the web-based configuration utility.

my bridge is also set up to not get an IP via DHCP, though i spoze it couldn't hurt to try... right now it's 192.168.0.200, which is on the same 192.168.0.x subnet as the rest of the lan, and like i said, another computer connected to a hub behind the bridge works fine.

[Gibson99]

Get rid of the crossover cable. You should not use a cross-over cable when hooking things up to your router.

Some network cards or routers are smart and can determine when they are hooked up cross-over when they shouldn't be, and compensate. My guess is your router doesn't compensate but your laptop can, so it works that way. The MVP can't detect a cross-over setup and therefore fails.

Good luck,
Tim

i think you misread (or i typed something wrong). i do not have a crossover connected to my router. only to the bridge. the only cables (besides power) connected to my router are plain jane straight thru ethernet cables.