Monday, December 25, 2006

ASUS R2H - WiFi

Labels:
The first thing I tried when I got my R2H was to connect it to my wireless network, and after a few unsuccesull attempts I realized that my router was configured to use channel 13, which is allowed in Europe but not in US. Once I changed to a lower channel (1 to 11), it connected just fine.

The second thing I noticed was the low signal if I was connecting from the ground floor (my 3Com wireless router is on the 1st floor). My Vaio notebook (Intel 2200BG chip) gets excellent signal from the same position - I'll contact ASUS on the issue.

Finally, it used to disconnect quite often, but once I have updated the Intel chipset drivers (especially the USB drivers) the issue was gone, although the signal is still low, but much more stable. See related article on how to update chipset drivers.

As a last note, I'm using Windows Zero Configuration tool to manage the wireless networs, not the one that ASUS provided.

38 comments :

  1. AlexDecember 28, 2006 at 8:06 PM

    Did you hear back from ASUS regarding the 'low signal' issue?

    I'm going to attempt the intel driver update. Please keep us updated!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dan DragutDecember 28, 2006 at 8:16 PM

    Alexander,

    Asus R2H has a wireless module WL-159G, I don't see the Intel drivers working - but if you try it let us know how it goes.

    What you can try is use NetStumler to detect the other wireless around, and configure your wireless router/access point to avoid using the same channels. Also, some wireless have antennas that can be oriented in different positions, see if helps.

    I'll keep you posted when I get a reply from Asus - they were quick to reply on the temerature inquiry.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AlexDecember 28, 2006 at 8:38 PM

    Apologies for the confusion

    I meant I was attempting to update the intel chipset drivers.

    Tried Halo on it yet? =) I got WoW running on it.. better than I have expected.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Dan DragutDecember 28, 2006 at 9:15 PM

    lol - I'll stick to hangman on this one :-) I've seen WoW on a Samsung Q1 on YouTube and it was running ok...

    ReplyDelete
  5. AlexDecember 28, 2006 at 9:53 PM

    I found some older ZD1211BU drivers that the Asus WL-159g uses.. but no luck.

    We have 6.4.6.8 drivers

    I found a 6.3 and a 5.2 maybe those would help if they install. It comes with its own ZyDAS wifi utility as well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AlexDecember 28, 2006 at 10:06 PM

    Sorry for multiple posts.. i found the 6.17.0.0 drivers for this chipset..

    Now.. just the how to manually/force install these drivers part

    ReplyDelete
  7. Dan DragutDecember 28, 2006 at 11:14 PM

    No problem - can you post a link to the new driver?

    ReplyDelete
  8. AlexDecember 28, 2006 at 11:34 PM

    you can find them here:
    http://www.atheros.com/RD/ZyDAS/web_driver/ZD1211B/Windows/

    I used DEVCON.exe (Microsoft's Command Line Device Manager) driverfiles to list the files being used by the WIFI.

    Located OEM10.inf and ZD1211BU.sys

    Replaced OEM10.inf and ZD1211BU.sys with the latest 6.17.0.0 versions

    Could be just me, but on reboot, i had problems with DEVCON listing the driverfiles for the WLAN. So modified some of the headers from the latest inf file to that of the original. Now it lists properly.. but i don't detect any wifi's could be because i don't have any wifi's here at work.. but i swear i detected 2 wifi networks here with the old drivers..

    I backed up my OEM10.inf and ZD1211BU.sys to OEM10.org and ZD1211BU.org respectively b4 replacing the files

    ReplyDelete
  9. AlexDecember 28, 2006 at 11:50 PM

    *NOTE: OEM10.inf is what Windows registered my WLAN device under. It could be different from yours.

    Anyway.. I doubt replacing the INF and SYS is doing it for me.. as the registry is left unchanged. So the options for the latest drivers (eg. IBSS Wireless Mode, IBSS Protection Mode) isn't available under the "Advanced" Tab.

    I also didn't see any options for power save mode. That's all I have time for for now. Keep me updated if you find anything =)

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  10. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 12:16 AM

    Ok, I have gotten it to install. Once again, backup your original INF and SYS files.

    DEVCON driverfiles *PID_171*

    that should list all driver the files associated with the device. Back those up.

    So now under my "Advanced" Properites tab I get:

    CoalesceBuffers
    IBSS Protection Mode
    IBSS Wireless Mode
    IBSS_G_Mode
    IBSS_PureG_Mode
    PreambleMode
    PSPXLinkMode
    Qos TagPolicy
    Radio Enable/Disable
    ReceiveFrameDescriptors
    TransmitControlBlocks
    Use_G_Mode_in_sb1.1
    WMMQosSupport

    Can you post what you got so that we can compare?

    I'll be home in about 3 hours.. I should know if i can detect wireless by then. Do you have somewhere to which I can upload the file or send to you?

    Alex

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 12:33 AM

    Hi Alex,

    thanks for devcon tip, found it on Microsoft site - nice skills I might add ;-)

    Slightly different method - installed the Zydas package, stopped the unsigned drivee installation (that was just me :-). I took the original Asus drivers (C:\Program Files\ASUS\WLAN Card Utilities\Driver\WL-159g), copied them in a temp folder, copied the Zydas drivers on top of the Asus ones. Noticed that the Asus ZD1211BU.INF was defining PID_171B and PID_171C, while Zydas wasn't (I guess that's why it didn't recognized them when I tried the advanced driver update in the first place :-), brought them over in the new inf and now the diver update worked just fine.

    I got the new options, I see what you mean - you might wanna play with the IBSS settings - I changed all to G and it connects for me now, although still low signal...

    ReplyDelete
  12. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 12:36 AM

    yes.. i got the PID_171B thing going as well. My head must've went blank when i was going through it.

    Still low eh? oh well.. we tried :D

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 12:39 AM

    oh wait, I've got a No signal although I refreshed a webpage and it came back in a couple of seconds :-)

    Nice try though (Y)

    ReplyDelete
  14. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 12:45 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  15. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 12:47 AM

    I also noticed in the .inf the:

    EnableAntennaDiversity
    DefaultAntenna
    DefaultWirelessMode
    RFSwitch
    FastRoaming
    EnableFastRomaing
    FwRadio

    options. I wonder what the:

    PHY_A_6M_Setpoint_Value
    PHY_A_6M_CR129_Value
    PHY_A_1dBm_Value

    's are.

    Maybe we can play around with these settings in the registry or the inf too.

    I left that EnableFastRoaming option as "0" vs "1" in the older driver, and set DefaultAntenna to "1" vs "0" as per older driver.

    I'm guessing EnableFastRoaming would be the similar option as what the Asus Utility changes (mentioned in the other forum)

    ReplyDelete
  16. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 12:57 AM

    You might have to set DefaultAntenna to 1 as some Atheros modules supports multiple antennas.. Let me know how you find this driver and if you decide to keep it. I received the R2H around the same time as you, but have been out of town for 5 days, so I didn't really get to set it up or try out the WiFi aspect of things

    ReplyDelete
  17. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 1:49 AM

    Tried your advice and also found using Regmon during installation where in the registry are these settings kept:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002bE10318}\0004

    ReplyDelete
  18. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 1:53 AM

    Hmmm... changed the DefaultAntenna to 1 (inf and reinstall driver) and now I get good signal at 35Mbs, although that may change...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 1:55 AM

    I wonder if changing the CountryRegion (16) might help me access channel 13...

    ReplyDelete
  20. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 2:11 AM

    low signal again... I guess that means back to the drawing board :-) but that would be another day. Thank for your help Alex, I'll keep the driver anyway to see how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  21. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 4:59 AM

    I don't know, but try to set SupriseRemoveOK to false and DefaultWirelessMode to "1". I'm getting very good connection for now.


    I'm just trying whatever. Anyway, that's it for today. :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Dan DragutDecember 29, 2006 at 2:50 PM

    Changed SupriseRemoveOK to 0 directly in registry and rebooted, now it shows the device in the Safely Remove Hardware area, but still low signal (testing from the same location as yesterday).

    ReplyDelete
  23. AlexDecember 29, 2006 at 7:45 PM

    yeah.. I was seeing things.. oh well

    ReplyDelete
  24. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2007 at 3:05 PM

    I don't have a signal strength problem in my R2H but using WPA I get too many disconnects. I have found the newer ZyDAS 6.17.0.0 drivers but am reluctant to install them after seeing all the problems Alexander went through to get them to install. I would like to know a) if the WPA disconnects get cured and b) a step by step procedure to follow.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Dan DragutFebruary 2, 2007 at 9:07 PM

    Hi Vic,

    First of all, the Zydas drivers won't install without "preparing" first the inf file, i.e. copying some lines from the original Asus inf file, to get the driver to install.

    I know I've tried once to use WPA but it was disconecting a lot, I don't remember if I tried with both drivers though.

    ReplyDelete
  26. AnonymousFebruary 3, 2007 at 2:16 PM

    Thanks Dan,
    Are you using the ZyDAS driver or the ASUS one ? Is it wortwhile to fight to install the ZyDAS one ? Did you get any response from ASUS re WPA problem in WiFi ?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Dan DragutFebruary 3, 2007 at 10:25 PM

    Hi Vic,

    I tried the Zydas 6.17 drivees at the time, I haven't noticed any improvements and I went back to the original Asus drivers.

    I just got a reply from Asus - I mentioned channels above 11 not working in Europe,low signal strength and often disconnects. They recommended I should try the new 205 BIOS, and if it doesn't fix it, I should send it to a service center for a complete check-up.

    I'll give it a try with the new BIOS and I'll let you know how it goes.

    ReplyDelete
  28. AnonymousFebruary 6, 2007 at 5:02 PM

    Dan,
    After a lot of Googling I found a possible solution which I tested and seems to work for me. Apparently the culprit of frequent disconnections of WPA WiFi is Windows Zero Configuration (WZC) which periodically keeps trying to get a better signal and in doing so disconnects, searches and reconnects. The solution is to disable WZC after the initial connect by issuing a net.exe stop. I created a small battch with the above and placed it on my desktop. I tried it and seems to keep connected. So until ASUS updates its WiFi utility to support WPA, I'll use this.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dan DragutFebruary 6, 2007 at 6:21 PM

    Hi Vic,

    Interesting workaround, thanks for posting back.

    Have you seen this before?
    The ASUS Utility has an auto-roaming feature that's enabled by default, you can deselect that and then get back to WZC.

    http://origamiproject.com/forums/2/13291/ShowThread.aspx

    ReplyDelete
  30. AnonymousMarch 29, 2007 at 4:52 PM

    Dan,

    I have noticed my R2H cannot connect wirelessly when no SSID is broadcast, otherwise WEP works fine using WZC. Is there a fix for this to allow usage when no SSID is broadcast? Intel drivers and BIOS are all up to date.
    Can you post a recent link to the Zydas 6.17 drivers?

    Thanks for your help,
    John

    ReplyDelete
  31. Dan DragutMarch 29, 2007 at 7:41 PM

    Hi John,

    What I found is that if you are the only wireless network around, you can set your SSID to no-brodcast, but when another wireless network is detected, then WZC will disconnect you and will say that is not able to connect to your preffered network (hidden).

    I don't think there is a fix for this, I haven't even been able to find reports about it.

    I had a link to the Zydas drivers, but doesn't seem to work anymore, but if you want I could send you the drivers I downloaded a while ago. As soon as I get home I'll post them somewhere if you want to play with them.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Dan DragutMarch 29, 2007 at 10:58 PM

    Hi John,

    The are the Zydas addreses I had, but none of them seem to work anymore:

    http://www.atheros.com/RD/ZyDAS/web_driver/ZD1211B/Windows/
    http://www.atheros.com/RD/ZyDAS/downloads/download-1211.asp

    See if you can download the Zydas 6.17 drivers from here:

    http://www.sharebigfile.com/file/125768/Zydas-ZD1211BU-v6-17-zip.html

    ReplyDelete
  33. AnonymousMarch 31, 2007 at 3:41 AM

    Hi Dan,

    Thank you for the links. The Zydas 6.17 driver produces a flaky, poor connection - I had to revert back to the earlier drivers. Also, even though I am the only access point around, the R2H will still not connect if the SSID is not broadcast. My laptop has no problems connecting with the SSID not broadcast with WZC, so I guess it's this particular R2H wireless adapter. Would ASUS be looking into this for updated drivers?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Dan DragutMarch 31, 2007 at 11:42 AM

    Hi John,

    I see - I doubt Asus will be releasing a new wireless driver soon, unless there is something that they really want to fix. I would suggest logging a technical inquiry (as you log on htpp://member.asus.com, on the left side).

    We could ask Zydas, but technically they can send us back as ut's their chip but it is Asus' productv (WL-159G).

    ReplyDelete
  35. Dan DragutMarch 31, 2007 at 12:54 PM

    Hey John,

    I found a couple of other Zydas drivers on Softpedia.

    I've managed to "loose" the wireless device while playing with 6.20, luckily it still works in Vista.

    http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDownload/ATHEROSZIDAS-ZDB-USB--bg-Download-21519.html

    Haven't tried the 6.3 version yet:

    http://drivers.softpedia.com/progDownload/ZyDAS-ZDB-Download-16176.html

    if your going to try them I think you don't need to install the whole thing (+ utility), the driveers should be in the archive.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Dan DragutMarch 31, 2007 at 4:24 PM

    I managed to bring back the wireless by adding the device with the Add Hardware wizard, selecting the 6.4.2.8 Asus driver, which won't work, but will show now in Computer Management. Use the uninstall device icon, reboot and it will detect it now and it will work correctly.

    And I can tell you, low signal is much better then no signal :-)

    ReplyDelete
  37. AnonymousApril 1, 2007 at 1:31 PM

    Hi Dan,

    I also lost the device with the 6.20 drivers. I regained it by rolling back one restore point. Oh well, it seems we can only log a request with ASUS and hope they fix it at some stage.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Dan DragutApril 1, 2007 at 1:44 PM

    Hi John,

    It's probably best - although they won't have to, the more Vista will catch on and less R2H users staying with XP the less pressure they'll get to fix this problem.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )