Dauntless
Admin
+2,249|7009|London

My laptop can almost never connect to my router first time around, it takes sometimes upwards of 10 times trying to connect before it works.

The signal is full, and once it's connected it will stay that way until I turn it off, so it can't be a signal problem or blackspot. The network is encrypted with WPA-PSK (TKIP), and is restricted to certain MAC addresses only, and I'm sure the laptops MAC address has been added to the router, and the Pre Shared Key is correct.

The message it give when it fails to connect is "Wireless authentication failed because of a timeout."

And this is what is in the event log:

Helper Class (L2Sec Helper Class) Event:

For complete information about this session see the Wireless Diagnostic Informational Event.

Helper Class: Layer2 Security
Initialize Status: Success

Result of diagnosis: Problem found

Root cause:
Windows cannot connect to "3Com"
Wireless authentication failed because of a timeout.

Detailed root cause:
Layer 2 security key exchange did not generate multicast keys before timeout


Repair option:
Try connecting to "3Com" again
If the problem continues, contact your network administrator or hardware manufacturer for further assistance.

Information for connection being diagnosed
Interface name: Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100
Interface type: Native WiFi
Profile: 3Com
SSID: 3Com
SSID length: 4
Connection mode: Infra
Security enabled: Yes
Connection ID: 37
Security settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
Profile matches network requirements: Yes
Pre-Association and association status: Success
Security and Authentication:
  Configured security type: Wireless Protected Access with pre-shared keys (WPA-PSK)
  Configured Encryption type: TKIP
  Security connect status: Fail 0x00048005
  Number of security packets received: 2
  Number of security packets sent: 2
  802.1X protocol: No
  Key exchange initiated: Yes
   Unicast keys received: Yes
   Multicast keys received: No


Event Verbosity:0
My XP laptop connects every time without problem, so maybe there's a setting I need to change in vista or on my router?

Is there anything I can change to do with the minimum timeout length?
https://imgur.com/kXTNQ8D.png
max
Vela Incident
+1,652|6834|NYC / Hamburg

double check your mac filtering and PSK.

I hope you're using a good key, because with that SSID it is easy to hack your network
once upon a midnight dreary, while i pron surfed, weak and weary, over many a strange and spurious site of ' hot  xxx galore'. While i clicked my fav'rite bookmark, suddenly there came a warning, and my heart was filled with mourning, mourning for my dear amour, " 'Tis not possible!", i muttered, " give me back my free hardcore!"..... quoth the server, 404.
Dauntless
Admin
+2,249|7009|London

max wrote:

double check your mac filtering and PSK.

I hope you're using a good key, because with that SSID it is easy to hack your network
I am, it's not a dictionary word or anything, just a bunch of jumbled uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.

And I'm 100% sure the mac filtering and PSK is right, I've checked four times. Plus it will eventually connect, even though I haven't changed anything.

This problem also happens on my dad's laptop (also Vista).
https://imgur.com/kXTNQ8D.png
Dauntless
Admin
+2,249|7009|London

This is really starting to grind my gears, now it sometimes disconnects, and won't reconnect for ages (sometimes 15-20 mins).

Even my phone knows how to connect to a WPA network, how could Vista fuck it up this bad?
https://imgur.com/kXTNQ8D.png
killer21
Because f*ck you that's why.
+400|6857|Reisterstown, MD

Does your router have the "Broadcast SSID" (depending on your router's manufacturer) unchecked?  The reason I say is because Vista doesn't like it when the SSID is hidden and you want to connect to the WLAN...sometimes anyway.

Last edited by killer21 (2008-10-17 12:02:14)

Scorpion0x17
can detect anyone's visible post count...
+691|7032|Cambridge (UK)
Just to completely rule out signal/interference issues - put your laptop right next to your router (or your router right next to your laptop (either will do )) - does it still do the same thing?

Last edited by Scorpion0x17 (2008-10-17 12:18:00)

Freezer7Pro
I don't come here a lot anymore.
+1,447|6464|Winland

I've had a way better experience with Vista&WLAN than XP&WLAN.
The idea of any hi-fi system is to reproduce the source material as faithfully as possible, and to deliberately add distortion to everything you hear (due to amplifier deficiencies) because it sounds 'nice' is simply not high fidelity. If that is what you want to hear then there is no problem with that, but by adding so much additional material (by way of harmonics and intermodulation) you have a tailored sound system, not a hi-fi. - Rod Elliot, ESP
Dauntless
Admin
+2,249|7009|London

killer21 wrote:

Does your router have the "Broadcast SSID" (depending on your router's manufacturer) unchecked?  The reason I say is because Vista doesn't like it when the SSID is hidden and you want to connect to the WLAN...sometimes anyway.
Nope, Broadcast SSID is checked.

Scorpion0x17 wrote:

Just to completely rule out signal/interference issues - put your laptop right next to your router (or your router right next to your laptop (either will do )) - does it still do the same thing?
Yeah

Freezer7Pro wrote:

I've had a way better experience with Vista&WLAN than XP&WLAN.
Good for you, but if you google "Wireless authentication failed because of a timeout" and "Layer 2 security key exchange did not generate multicast keys before timeout" you get 40,000 and 90,000 hits, and they all seem to be talking about Vista.

If I change the encryption to WEP it would connect with no problems, but everyone knows any jackass can hack a WEP network.

It would also work (apparently) if I use WPA-2, but my router doesn't have that.

It only has WPA-PSK (no server) - the one I'm using, 128-bit WEP, 64-bit WEP and WPA (with Radius Server).

I haven't tried the radius server option, but I don't think that would fix it, and I don't know how to set that up.

I was hoping there would be something I could change to do with the timeout in the registry or something, it must just be that the router is a few milliseconds slow when sending the multicast keys.
https://imgur.com/kXTNQ8D.png

Board footer

Privacy Policy - © 2025 Jeff Minard