Microsoft DHCP bugs make Windows lose networking By Scott Spanbauer
Numerous perplexed Windows users have discovered that attempting to connect their PCs (especially Vista) to their existing networks or Wi-Fi hotspots results in flaky or nonexistent connections. One reason: a change by Microsoft in Vista's Dynamic Host Control Protocol (DHCP) is causing conflicts with some networking hardware, which can require a Registry edit to fix. The many reports of Vista networking snafus range from the gravest of symptoms no Internet connectivity at all to occasional connection drops: § No-Fi when in power-saving mode. Microsoft acknowledged last year that wireless connections on portable computers running Windows Vista would slow down or disconnect completely when battery management kicks in. The culprit is that, unlike Windows XP, Vista assumes that all wireless routers correctly implement Wi-Fi's power-save protocol. Unfortunately, many access points don't support this spec. The solution? Plug your laptop into an AC outlet or modify the notebook's power-saving plan, as described in Knowledge Base article 928152. § Vista insists on the "broadcast flag." The same skewed reasoning led the wizards of Redmond to another infuriating decision, which Microsoft only belatedly explained. You bring home your new Vista computer, or you upgrade your XP system to Vista, only to discover that the machine won't connect to your local network or the Internet. You try everything to fix the problem. You waste hours days, even tweaking settings, plugging and unplugging, resetting, rebooting, and rehashing, but to no avail. The problem? Windows Vista assumes that your router's DHCP server the one that hands out dynamic IP addresses to computers and other devices on the network supports the DHCP broadcast flag. Again, many routers don't support this flag. The solution requires a Registry edit to toggle off Vista's broadcast-flag expectations. Refer to the Resolution section of KB article 928233 for step-by-step instructions. § Two network adapters spell trouble. Yet another kind of network malfunction afflicts PCs running Vista or Windows Server 2008 that have more than one network adapter installed. The multiple adapters befuddle the Network Location Awareness service in those OSes. This causes the service to disable Internet access to both adapters and label them as Local only. KB article 947041 explains the problem but provides no solution. The only cure at this time may be to disable one of the network adapters. Thanks, Microsoft. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Adobe® ColdFusion® 8 software 8 is the most important and dramatic release to date Get the Free Trial http://ad.doubleclick.net/clk;207172674;29440083;f Archive: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/message.cfm/messageid:282472 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/groups/cf-community/subscribe.cfm Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
