K-Wood

I apologize if this has been asked and answered, but although my searches turned up a few things to try, I still have not been able to get a reliable LAN and Internet connection on my Axim.

My system: 2 desktops running WinXP Pro, SP1; Netgear MR314 Wireless Router (4 ethernet ports and wireless), Netgear MA701 CF card for the Ax. The network is up and running flawlessly on the PCs, but I'm having trouble getting and staying connected with the Ax.

On the Ax:
In the MA701 configuration utility, it show that I have a valid connection to the router and under IP Status it shows that the Ax has been assigned a valid IP address.

In Settings/Connections, everything is set to Work.

In Work Settings, I've checked "This network connects to the Internet."

In Settings/Network Adaptors/NETGEAR MA-701 Card/Properties, I've checked "Use server-assigned IP address."

Problems:
In the past, I've been able to obtain a successful connection to both the LAN, the computers on it, and the Internet. But recently the connection is dropped and I am unable to connect, even though I've not made any changes to the above settings. Could it be that they connections are somehow not "sticking"? Or that it is somehow misconfigured?

Any advice on these issues would be appreciated, esp. on how to dissect the connection settings. Please be gentle -- I have only passing familarity with network terminology and am not an IT expert.

thanks,
Ken

TSB8C

I would try a few simple ping tests to start with. This will confirm if your network connectivity is really lost or not. If connectivity is still there, perhaps there is another problem (DNS, firewall, etc). Start by determining the IP address of one of the other networked PC's. To do this, start a command prompt on one of them by clicking START - RUN and then typing "cmd" (no quotes) and hitting ENTER. At the prompt type "ipconfig" and hit ENTER. This will show the IP address assigned to the PC. Then on the Axim, start the Netgear MA701 utility and tap the "Ping" tab at the bottom. In the "Host" box, enter the IP address of the other PC and then tap the "Ping" button at the bottom. If you see replies come back then you have network connectivity. You can also ping the other way. On the Axim in the MA701 utility, tap the "IP Address" button on the first tab and see what address was assigned to it. Then on one of the other networked PC's, start a command prompt and type "ping xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx" (no quotes) and insert the IP address of the Axim in place of the x's. Again, you should see replies come back confirming if connectivity is really there or not.

K-Wood

Well, its all working now. I have no idea what I did differently, but it's stayed connected to the LAN continuously for more than 24 hours, despite several soft resets.

Thank you for the explanation of pinging -- I'd heard the term, but now I understand how to do it. I was able to ping all of the PCs on my network from the Axim, and I've been able to sync wirelessly.

One thing I'd noticed while it was not working was that the Axim's IP address was something unexpected -- like 198.192.300.xxx. If the router/DHCP server is doing it's thing properly, all of the connected PCs will be assigned IP addresses sequentially, like 192.168.0.xxx.

So perhaps the problem was with the router -- who knows.

Thanks,
Ken

nomar05

I've been experiencing a very similar problem, but it ONLY occurs when I sync wirelessly. My sync options are set to synchronize Calendar, Contacts, Favorites, and AvantGo. It always drops my LAN connection during the sync of AvantGo. If I remove AvantGo from my sync list, I never have a problem. After my LAN connection is lost, I can not ping my other machines.

I can restart my Lan connection on my Desktop PC (WIN2000) by choosing Settings > Network Connections > LAN Connection > Disable / Enable.

If I put my Axim back in the cradle and sync it that way, it seems to fix it for a while. Then it will synch ok via my wi-fi card (D-LinkAir DCF-660W) for a while. Then it’s breaks all over again.

I can’t figure this one out. It’s been driving me nuts for days now.

Again, it ONLY occurs when I sync wirelessly.