Laptop + Wireless Connectivity + Major Issues

sysengrnz

sysengrnz

New Member
Ok, here is the situation:

The below issue is reference to Wireless Connectivity to the Internet:

FYI : OS is Windows 7 on one of the laptops and Windows Vista is the other laptop which is having issues. Everyone else on the network can access via Wireless and Ethernet, so services on the server are working correctly.

I CAN
------
1. Ping external IP addresses via command prompt.
2. Utilize the NSLOOKUP command and both local and external IP addresses are resolved.
3. Ping all internal IP addresses and external IP addresses, ones that aren't ICMP disabled of course.
4. Via Ethernet, I can access the web, and do all of the above as well as remote the ISA server which we're running through. Thus confirming that the proxy settings and credentials are right as well as the server are doing the correct things to get out to the internet.

I CAN'T
-------
1. Access the internet via Internet Explorer, Firefox or Google Chrome
2. Tried the automatically configure proxy settings (enabled) and
(Disabled)
3. Remote the ISA server which we're running through even though we can physically ping and resolve its hostname.

WHAT I'VE TRIED (On Wireless)
------------------------------
1. I've tried the ipconfig /release /flushdns /renew command's - same problem.
2. I've tried the netsh interface ipv4 delete commands for all DNS related information within the PC itself.
3. Disabled IPV6 to confirm that it wasn't conflicting with the adapter.
4. Disabled and Re-Enabled the Wireless Adapter.
5. Disabled all firewall software thinking it was a port forwarding issue within the OS itself.
6. Remoting to the ISA server using MSTSC which failed. (Worked on Ethernet)

CONFIRMED:

1. That it's not the ISA server causing the issues.
2. That DNS is operating at the Command Prompt level and that the network layer of the OSI layer is working correctly.
3. That all proxy information entered into the web browsers is correct as ethernet connectivity is working correctly.

I'm basically out of ideas on what may be causing this issue but for some reason, it seem's like the Application Layer isn't working correctly with the lower levels of the OSI model.

I've got the understanding that the Command Prompt works at an adapter level when issuing web commands, but calls on the upper layers of the OSI model to get the responses that we require for engineering purposes.

On a side note: My laptop is working fine through both Ethernet and Wireless. This issue is similar to an issue I've had with VMWare version 6.5.1 in regards to NAT where you could ping, resolve dns and issue other internet engineering functions, and get an ideal response, but have the web browser fail to connect to the internet every time.

Has anybody experienced this issue before, and if so, how did you resolve it?


Thanks in Advance,


Andy
 
If you hook these computers that are having issues with a wired connection does this problem still exist?

Do you have the ISA proxy client installed and running on the computer?
(It has been a while since I have used an ISA server)
 
re:

The issues do not exist when on Ethernet, only when using the Wireless Adapter.

The clients do not need to use the ISA client, as all the server is utilized for is "data collaboration and auditing".

Basically all PC's configure the proxy information in there web browser to point to the ISA server, but do not require the ISA firewall client as they are personal computers utilizing the service, not corporate computers.

On a side note, the firewall client only works when utilizing the LAN NIC, it does not support wireless NICs, VPNs or Dial Up connections, so installing that on the clients will more than likely make no difference to the issues that we're currently facing.

Just a piece of additional information: When on the wireless, we cannot access anything on the network I.E...Shares, Remote Management but from the Command Line we can ping and confirm layer 3 connectivity.
 
re:

No, I do not use any type of tokens or authentication besides the standard WPA-2 to the AP.

On a side note, I found the solution to the problem and will mention it below as a lot of people with Wireless issues may stumble across this post and it may help them.

1. The problem was the ISA-TAP and Pseudo-Tunnel virtual adapters that Windows 7 and Vista usually create when connecting to a network.

I noticed that on the two clients that were having issues, that both clients had around 10 - 20 instances of ISA-TAP/Pseudo-Tunnel interfaces in the command prompt when running IPCONFIG /all.

I then endeavored to find out how to delete them, and I figured it out.

In "Device Manager" --> Selected "View" then "Show all hidden adapter settings".

I then went to "Network Adapters" and uninstalled all ISA-TAP, Pseudo-Tunnel and 6to4 adapters.

Then disabled IPv6 on my wireless adapter also to prevent any type of V6 to V4 DNS conflicts.

I then removed the wireless network from the list of old networks, reconnected, and now I finally had Internet Connectivity, Remote Desktop, and Windows Shares.

If someone can some how explain why this fix worked, go a head and fire away because I'm definitely stumped.

A. Version 6 should not interfere with Version 4.
B. 6to4 adapters should only work when trying to forward IPv6 packets across a IPv4 network.
C. I do not understand why WIN 7 and VISTA laptops create multiple instances of these virtual adapters. It seems to me like every time you connect to a wireless network, it creates one for that session, but some how doesn't know how to remove it when that particular session closes.

I did notice that when I connected to the AP, a new ISA-TAP interface was created, but it didn't re-create any additional ones.

COMMON TREND on both laptops : Atheros Wireless Card in both.

Maybe a little nugget to store in the back of your heads in the event a similar thing happens to you.

Hope this helps,

Andy
 
Yeah I don't understand why IPv6 would cause an issue like that if you aren't using IPv6 in your network. I think the more obvious culprit was the 10-20 instances of the isa tap
 
re:

I did some further research and the problem is still there, a lot of other computers have come back with the same issue.

The common denominator from what I can tell is the Atheros Wireless cards that they're using. The APs are both DLINK working in Master/Slave mode to allow roaming.

I removed an Atheros card from one of the guys laptops and put in an Intel Wifi 5300. Problem was resolved and he can access the internet fine. As for the other users with the Atheros chipsets, still no joy. I was also given a Mac OS laptop, (which I believe uses atheros chipsets in there wireless cards also). This one cannot access the net, but authentication to the AP is fine.

Are there any settings I can force on the laptop wireless adapters which could potentially correct this problem?

... ... One of the weirdest faults I've ever seen.
 
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