x51v network settings

binister · 11-07-05, 02:03 AM

I was messing around with my new x51v and it looks like I made a network settings change I wasn't aware of. Every 5 minutes or so my x51v pops up a window saying something to the effect of "Pocket PC network could not obtain an IP address. Please try again later."

So my question is, I may have changed the setting under the 'Remote-NDIS Host' network adapter. Can someone with a fairly standard network setup check to see if that adapter is set to 'Use server-assigned IP address' or 'Use specific IP address'?

Thanks!

binister · 11-07-05, 03:06 PM

bump for weekday crew

ikehiker · 11-07-05, 05:12 PM

These messages are usually an email account that's set to check for mail on a regular schedule but then cannot because the device is not connected to a network. I'm not sure if it still works, but selecting activesync as the active account before exiting the inbox used to prevent this message otherwise, you can just turn off the regular checks for email. If you have troube finding the setting, post back and I'll look for it.

Tarheel1998 · 11-07-05, 07:11 PM

I did the same thing, and it was definitely set to 'Use specific IP address'. Unfortunately, I never could figure out what IP address it should be, so I had to hard reset. Hope you have better luck.

soulmirror · 11-07-05, 07:24 PM

When I went to this preference pane, it said specific IP, but it had none set. Odd. I tried to click OK and it gave me an error message, saying I needed to specify the IP address. But there wasn't one there already, and my wireless connection worked! :o

So, I changed it to server-specified, and quit, and after turning WiFi off and then back on, it seems to continue to work. I don't think this should be set to "specific IP" on most networks...usually you should just let DHCP give you an IP address.

WM5 needs a sort of lock button for the preferences, like I have in system preferences on my notebook, so they can be viewed without accidentally changing them!

And also, what exactly is the difference between the small army of network adaptors listed in this preference pane? It's insane! :(

ikehiker · 11-07-05, 07:28 PM

Actually, unless you have a reason for setting it to a static IP, normally you would select 'Use server-assigned IP address.' Setting it to a static IP will make it difficult to connect elsewhere without changing it back.

binister · 11-07-05, 07:42 PM

Ok, this gets even more interesting.

I chose the 'Use specific IP address' and entered the IP address that appeared in the previous screen.

Then I placed the x51v back in the cradle and the message has not appeared since.

However, when I have my x51v in the cradle and do an ipconfig /all on my XP box, I show a new network adapter and the description is 'Windows Mobile-Based Device.'

Lo and behold, the default gateway of that interface on my XP box is the x51v! So my x51v is acting as a gateway and DHCP server for my XP box. The IP address it handed out to my XP machine is one IP number away from the IP address I specified for the Remote-NDIS Host on the x51v.

Every time I try to change the Remote-NDIS Host back to server-assigned IP address I get that error.

soulmirror: I agree, I wish there was some explaination for what all of those adapters are for. I think the Remote-NDIS Host adapter is used when connecting the x51v to a computer via the cradle. It is not used for wireless connections (afaik).

Tarheel1998 · 11-07-05, 08:11 PM

And for that matter, why are there no "Cancel" buttons on the adapters? That was my mistake, I wanted to check things out, but you have to "OK" (and thereby "saving" a change) to get out of these screens!

soulmirror · 11-07-05, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by binister

Lo and behold, the default gateway of that interface on my XP box is the x51v! So my x51v is acting as a gateway and DHCP server for my XP box. The IP address it handed out to my XP machine is one IP number away from the IP address I specified for the Remote-NDIS Host on the x51v.

Insane!

Wait, so there's a wireless router in this setup somewhere, right?

Try setting that adapter back to the get an IP address from the router setting, and then check the entry in that settings pane for the WiFi card.... which should also have the same setting.

binister · 11-08-05, 12:20 AM

It looks like the x51v automatically grabs IP address 169.254.2.1 and assigns the PC 169.254.2.2. It doesn't look like this can be changed (perhaps through a registry setting?). These IP addresses are in the zeroconf range which makes sense.

So I guess the moral of the story is if you receive a message on your x51v stating "Unable to obtain a server-assigned IP address. Try again later or enter an IP address in Network settings." check your Remote-NDIS Host settings. You must select "Use specific IP address" and enter 169.254.2.1 as your IP address. This should get rid of that error message.

beernutz · 11-14-05, 04:30 PM

FWIW, I tried the suggestion made by binister and it seems to work.

It may have been a coincidence, but this IP address dialog message started appearing on my unit after I set in a static IP address and DNS information to connect to and test a wireless access point that required static addressing. After I changed the network wireless adapters settings back to dynamic addressing I starting getting the above mentioned error dialog.

Ragart · 11-17-05, 12:53 AM

help! I tried your solution for setting a static IP address to fix this ****ing "Pocket PC Netowkring" problem, but when I set the static IP my x51v stops connecting to ActiveSync...

I just would like to be able to dock my axim and not get interrupted by idiotic networking errors when I'm not even online.

soulmirror · 11-17-05, 08:20 AM

Mmmm...if you changed the settings because of a wireless host that required static IP addressing (God..why would anyone do that?

), then don't you need to change the IP configuration scheme in the wireless adapter (Dell Axim X5x WLAN Wireless Adapter) setting and not just the Remote-NDIS Host setting?

binister · 11-17-05, 12:59 PM

Originally Posted by soulmirror

Mmmm...if you changed the settings because of a wireless host that required static IP addressing (God..why would anyone do that?

), then don't you need to change the IP configuration scheme in the wireless adapter (Dell Axim X5x WLAN Wireless Adapter) setting and not just the Remote-NDIS Host setting?

soulmirror is correct, I don't think you ever need to change any settings in the "Remote-NDIS Host" network adapter. Change this adapter back to use a static IP (the one I listed in a previous message).

If you are trying to configure your Axim for 802.11b wifi then you only need to modify the 'Dell Axim X51 WLAN Wireless Adapter.'

Ragart · 11-17-05, 06:15 PM

I believe you misunderstood me.

I'm getting the network error when I dock whether wifi is on or not. I only get it when I dock.

You said the moral of the story was to set an IP of "169.254.2.1" in the Remote-NDIS Host to get rid of this network docking error.
I did that, but then I when I docked the axim it wouldn't even sync with activesync.