Copyright: Help for Wireless Client Miniport driver v 6.10
Citation: Copyright (c) 2000 IBM Corp., All Rights Reserved


Display the Wireless Client parameter settings
Display the  ORiNOCO PC Card  settings

1.	Click here [image] to open the Windows Control Panel

2.	Double-click the icon "Wireless Network" icon to display the settings of your  Lucent Technologies  ORiNOCO PC Card .

3.	Select the Configuration Profile of which you would like to view or modify the configuration settings.

•	Click the Edit button to view/modify the settings of the selected profile.

Hint:

•	For context-sensitive help about the various tab menus or items, click the "Help" button or drag the ? icon over the item of your choice.

•	If you do not wish to change parameter settings, use the "Cancel" button to close the properties windows.


Configuration Profiles

If you plan to use your  ORiNOCO PC Card  in multiple networking environments that require different configuration settings, you can use this tab to define dedicated profiles for each environment.

For example you can create separate profiles for:

•	Your office head quarters

•	A branch-office

•	Your home or SOHO network

Each profile will store the different Network Names and/or encryption keys that might apply in such environments.

When moving between the various office/home network locations, you can quickly adjust the settings of your card by selecting the radio button that corresponds with a user-defined profile.

Your initial configuration will be stored in the 'Default' profile.

If you wish to create and use multiple  profiles, you can assign your own names to each profile to allow easy recognition.

See also:

•	Display the  ORiNOCO PC Card  settings

•	Basic Settings

•	Encryption Settings

•	Advanced Settings


Select Access Point Type
Select Connection Type

To connect your computer to a wireless network, you will need to identify via which infrastructure access point you wish to connect to that network.

Subject to the network environment, a connection can be established either via:

•	An Access Point (typical for corporate networks)

•	A Residential Gateway (typical for small office/home office networks)

Consult your LAN Administrator for the right type of device, or check the information printed on the unit or packaging of the device.

Alternatively you may choose to connect to a Peer-to-Peer workgroup, in situations where no infrastructure is available, except for the computers with which you would like to share files and printers.


Edit Configuration Profile
Select a Configuration Profile

Select the radio button to enable a Configuration Profile.

You can use the text fields to enter a name for each profile, like for example "office" or "home".

To view/modify the settings of a profile click the "Edit" button.

Note:	The tabs displayed in the Edit Configuration Profile may differ according to the selected connection type.


Basic Parameters

Use this screen to determine your type of network connection.

•	Select "Join existing Network" if you wish to connect to a network that includes  Lucent Technologies  ORiNOCO  access points.

•	Select "Join Peer-to-Peer Mode" if you wish to setup a 'peer-to-peer' network.

If you select to join an existing  ORiNOCO  Network, you will also need to enter the correct "Network Name ".

See also:

•	Display the  ORiNOCO parameter settings

•	Advanced Settings

•	Encryption Settings

•	Configuration Profiles


Ad Hoc Mode
Peer-to-Peer Mode

The ‘Peer-to-Peer Workgroup' is a configuration option that enables you to setup a wireless network that contains wireless computers only. This type of network, also referred to as 'ad-hoc' networks, typically does not include access points.

To enable the Peer-to-Peer Mode, select the corresponding option in the Configuration Profiles window.

•	In Peer-to-Peer Mode your computer will try to connect to a  ORiNOCO  workgroup with the same name.

•	If it can not find such a network, your computer will start a network with that name, allowing other workgroup participants to join its Peer-to-Peer workgroup.

Please Note:

•	If your computer starts a  ORiNOCO PC Card  Peer-to-Peer workgroup, it will set its radio to operate at channel 10.

•	The  ORiNOCO PC Card  has a preference for Infrastructure Networks. To avoid unintentional connection to the wrong network, you are advised always to select different Network Name values for networks based on Access Points/Residential Gateways and Peer-to-Peer workgroups.


Network Name
Join Existing Network

If you wish to connect your computer to a network that includes Access Points, you will need to identify the name of that network.

•	If you do not know this name, or when you operate your computer in multiple LAN infrastructure environments enter the name 'ANY' (use upper-case only).

•	If you would like to connect to a specific network, enter the Network Name of the LAN Infrastructure to which you would like to connect your computer.

Consult your LAN Administrator for the Network Name that applies in your network.


Connect to 'ANY' Network

This setting will allow your computer to connect to any IEEE 802.11 network infrastructure it can find.

•	When multiple IEEE 802.11 networks are operational within the vicinity of your wireless computer, the   ORiNOCO PC Card  will attempt to establish a network connection to the network that provides the best level of communications quality.

•	In situations where your wireless computer detects both Independent Networks and LAN Infrastructures your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will always prioritize a connection to the LAN Infrastructure.

Please Note:

•	For security reasons LAN Administrators may have decided to "close" their wireless infrastructure using a special setting in their Access Point devices. "Closing" a wireless infrastructure is a feature that allows them to deny access to computers that either use the Network Name "ANY" or a blank value in the Network Name. This means that only computers with the correct Network Name will be allowed to establish a wireless connection with the infrastructure.

•	The  Lucent Technologies  ORiNOCO  RG device is a "closed system" by nature. As such it  does not allow you to connect client computers using the Network Name "ANY".

If you encounter difficulty connecting to the network using the value "ANY", you are advised to consult the local LAN Administrator for the correct Network Name.

See also:

Network Name.


Network Name

Valid values are any alphanumeric string with a maximum of 32 characters, in the range '0-9' or 'A-Z' or 'a-z'. The Network Name is case-sensitive.

Note:	When you set the station to connect to a Peer-to-Peer Network the value in this field will be ignored.

See also:

Connect to 'ANY' Network.


WEP Encryption
Encryption Settings

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption enables you to encrypt all data that will be transmitted via the wireless LAN medium.

To use WEP within your network all access points and wireless stations must:

•	Be equipped with wireless network cards that support  WEP data encryption.

•	Have been configured to use identical encryption keys.

To enable encryption, select the "Enable Encryption" check box, and

•	Enter up to 4 different keys to decrypt data received via the wireless interface

•	Select one of these keys to encrypt wireless data that is to be transmitted via the wireless interface.

Note:	Enabling WEP) encryption on wireless stations, does not affect the ability of your computer to interpret non-encrypted data traffic: i.e. when you enable encryption, your computer will be able to receive both non-encrypted data and messages encrypted with one of the listed WEP Encryption Key Values.

See also:

•	Display the  ORiNOCO PC Card  settings

•	Basic Settings

•	Advanced Settings

•	Configuration Profiles


WEP Encryption Key Values

If you select to enable encryption you may choose to enter up to four encryption keys that can be used to decrypt WEP encoded messages as received from other wireless devices.

Subject to the type of profile you selected you can enter up to 4 encryption keys.

The key values may either be:

•	alphanumerical values , or

•	hexadecimal values

Valid values are either:

Silver Cards	• 5-digit alphanumerical value in the range of "a-z" and "0-9"  Example: SECU1 • A 10-digit hexadecimal value  Example: ABCD1234FE
Gold Cards	• 13-digit alphanumerical value in the range of "a-z" and "0-9"  Example: SECURITY12345 • A 26-digit hexadecimal value  Example: ABCDFE1234567890FEDCBA4321 Alternatively you may enter the valid values as defined for the Silver Cards, for example when operating your device in a network where both Silver & Gold PC Cards are in use.
Note:	The WEP key values you enter will remain visible only when you enter the character strings. As soon as you close the "Encryption" tab, the values will be stored in hidden characters: i.e. a next time the "Encryption" tab will be displayed, it will not be possible to read the WEP key values anymore. You are advised to write down the values you enter, prior to closing the window.

See also:

•	WEP Transmit Key value


WEP Transmit Key value

If you enable WEP encryption, you can select one key for wireless data transmissions from the list of WEP Encryption Key Values.

You can only select a Transmit Key that has a correct WEP encryption key value assigned.

In case you specified no more than 2 key values, you can only select the Transmit key from these two values.


Advanced Settings

You can use this tab sheet to set the following parameters:

•	Card Power Management

•	Interference Robustness

•	RTS/CTS Medium Reservation

Note: 	The Advanced settings are only available for Configuration Profiles that have been set to connect via an Access Point.

See also:

•	Configuration Profiles


Power Management Settings

To extend the battery life of (mobile) wireless devices, you can use this button to adjust the power consumption behavior of your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

•	To enable card power management, select the corresponding button.

•	 To disable card power management, clear the corresponding button.

See also:

•	Considerations to Power Management

•	Working with  ORiNOCO  Power Management


Considerations to Power Management

 ORiNOCO  Power Management on mobile devices requires support from the  ORiNOCO  access points, as the access points will need to buffer messages for wireless computers in "sleep mode" (see also Working with Power Management).

In power management mode, all access points will "explore" the wireless medium actively to determine which access point would be most suitable to store the messages for a  ORiNOCO  computer in sleep mode.

This will impose a more active use of the wireless medium, which might lead to more frequent transmission delays for your wireless stations, experienced as slower network response times when engaged in active file transfers over the network. Subject to the type of network communication of your wireless devices, you may need to wager wireless performance versus battery-life:

•	Transaction Processing

•	File Transfers

When you experience a performance degradation in network response times for your wireless computer,  this typically implies that your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will spend more time in operational mode, resulting in less effective power management.

In such cases you may wish to consider if disabling power management might result in better throughput performance.

See also:

Working with  ORiNOCO  Power Management


Working with Wireless Client Power Management
Working with  ORiNOCO  Power Management

When Power Management is enabled, your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will go to "Sleep" mode to minimize power consumption.

To allow network communication, the  ORiNOCO PC Card  will "wake-up" at regular intervals to verify whether there is network traffic addressed to your Wireless device.

Typically this traffic will be buffered in the access point via which your wireless device is connected to the network:

•	If there is no traffic addressed to your station, the radio of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will return to the power-saving sleep mode

•	If there is traffic buffered at the access point your device will collect the buffered messages prior to returning to sleep mode again.

If your card would not scan for these beacons and multicast messages, it might lose its connection to the network during power save mode, and risk to be disconnected by the network operating system (subject to the settings of watchdog timers at the network servers).

As the wake-up interval is factory-defined in slots of milliseconds,  it is normal behavior of the power LED  to flicker while in power save mode.

If you disable Card Power Management, the Power LED will be continuously green again to indicate continuous power consumption.

See also:

Considerations to Power Management


Power Management and Transaction Processing

Transaction Processing type of applications will hardly show any difference in network performance when using power management. Examples of this type of applications are:

•	Hand-held scanners, or

•	Mobile clients that use the wireless connection only to send and/or receive email.


Power Management and File Transfers
Power Management and File Transfer

When using a wireless computer to transfer (large) files over the network, such as copying and/or moving files from network drives to your local station and vice versa, you may experience longer network response times when you enable power management as well.

The impact of power management on the throughput performance of your station will also depend on:

•	The size of the transferred files

•	The recurrence of the file transfer, like for example "auto save features" in Word Processors.

•	The number of other wireless stations operational within the vicinity of your wireless computer.


Interference Robustness

This option should only be used in exceptional cases upon advice of a  ORiNOCO  expert.

For example when you suspect that reported slow performance of the  ORiNOCO  network could be related to in-band interference from Microwave ovens.

To determine whether this is the case in your situation, you can perform diagnostic measurements using the  ORiNOCO Client Manager tool.  Microwave oven interference will usually show a poor Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) that is based on:

•	Good Signal Quality, AND

•	High Noise level (interference), where the noise is typically perceived as "random bursts of interference".

See also:

•	Interference Robustness - How it works

•	Auto Transmit Rate Select Mechanism


Interference Robustness - Details

In most network environments, the Auto Transmit Rate Select Mechanism will prove most efficient, as the  ORiNOCO PC Card  will try to send its data at the maximum speed whenever possible.

In special circumstances however, you may encounter that your unexpected throughput behavior of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  even though the Signal level is Excellent.

In such situations, your  ORiNOCO  system might suffer from recurrent 'bursts' of in-band interference, that affect your network response times.

This behavior is often also typically perceived on specific stations, where

•	the "trouble" station or access point is close to a microwave oven, or

•	a microwave oven is located in the signal path between the "trouble" stations and the access point.

In network environments where microwave ovens are operational, such recurrent 'bursts' of in-band interference, might cause loss of wireless data messages.

•	Normally your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will always try to retransmit these 'lost messages'.

•	When a retransmission fails again, the  ORiNOCO  radio in Auto Transmit Rate Select mode will attempt to retransmit the message again at a lower data speed.
However as data transmissions at lower speeds may take longer, such retransmission make the communication even more vulnerable to new bursts of interference.

In a situation where recurring 'bursts' of interference keep forcing your  ORiNOCO  devices to switch to lower Transmit Rates this might cause congestion on your wireless network, that will be experienced as 'long network response times'.

The option Interference Robustness will enable fragmentation of data frames when the automatic transmit rate selection switches to a lower transmit rate.

The level of fragmentation differs for the various supported transmit rates, and is designed to apply an identical frame length at each transmit rate. This fragmentation will avoid increased vulnerability due to longer frame lengths of transmissions at lower data speeds.


Auto Transmit Rate Select Mechanism

In most network environments, the Auto Transmit Rate setting will prove most efficient for your wireless data communication. Your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will try to send its data at the maximum available Transmit Rate whenever possible.

•	In case a communication fails, it will retransmit the 'lost message' at the same data speed.

•	When the second attempt fails as well, the  ORiNOCO PC Card  will automatically switch to a lower data rate  to attempt the transmission again.

Transmissions at lower data speed may provide a larger range of the wireless message, which may help in getting the message across.

Your  ORiNOCO PC Card  supports the following Transmit Rates:

•	11 MB/s

•	5.5 MB/s

•	2 MB/s

•	1 MB/s

See also:

Transmit Rates and Range


Transmit Rates and Range

Communications at the highest data speed may not travel as far as transmissions at lower transmit rates.

That's why the  Lucent Technologies  ORiNOCO  system provides an Auto Transmit Rate Select Mechanism to extend the range of   ORiNOCO PC Card  equipped computers that roam throughout the networking environment.

•	When working close to the  ORiNOCO  access point, your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will communicate at the highest transmit rate as supported by the card.

•	When moving a way from the access point, the  ORiNOCO PC Card  will decrease its transmit rate automatically, but only if required to maintain the wireless connection.
When moving closer to an access point again, the  ORiNOCO  Auto Transmit Rate Select Mechanism will automatically increase its transmit rate again to the highest possible Transmit Rate that will provide reliable communications with the network.

If you use the Auto Transmit Rate Select Mechanism your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will dynamically determine and select the right Transmit Rate for optimal communications.


Transmit Rate in mixed environments

If you are using  ORiNOCO  products in "mixed" wireless environments, i.e. networks that include wireless LAN products from multiple vendors or manufacturers, your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will automatically adjust its Transmit Rate.

Your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will

•	Operate at the highest possible transmit rate (11 Mb/s) if the third party wireless LAN product also comply with the:

•	Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) certification as defined by the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility  Alliance (WECA).

•	IEEE 802.11 standard for high-speed wireless LANs

•	Switch back to the highest compatible data rate (typically 2 MB/s) as long as the third party product complies to the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless LANs.

See Also:

Transmit Rates and Range


RTS/CTS Medium Reservation

This parameter controls the deferral behavior of  ORiNOCO  stations that would like to transmit wireless messages.

With the default (disabled), your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will first sense whether the wireless medium is available (i.e. detect if there is not another wireless device using the medium for network communication). If it detects such communication, your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will defer transmissions until the medium becomes available again to avoid a collision of the wireless data frames.

The default setting will work just fine in most networking environments.
You should enable Medium Reservation only in special situations, for example in environments that suffer from the so-called 'Hidden Station' problem.

•	To enable Medium Reservation, select the Medium Reservation RTS/CTS button.

•	To disable Medium Reservation, clear the Medium Reservation RTS/CTS button.

Consult your LAN Administrator for the setting that applies in your networking environment.

See also:

Hidden Station Problem

Medium Reservation: RTS

Medium Reservation: CTS


Medium Reservation: RTS

When you enable Medium Reservation, the  ORiNOCO  computers and  ORiNOCO  access point will use a ‘Request to Send (RTS) /Clear to Send (CTS) protocol, based on the length of the wireless message that is to be transmitted.

•	When a message is shorter than a system-defined threshold, your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will transmit the message when it senses that the medium is free.

•	When a message is longer than the system-defined threshold your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will send an RTS to the access point and defer transmission until the access point has responded with a CTS message.

See also:

Medium Reservation: CTS


Medium Reservation: CTS

When you enable Medium Reservation, the  ORiNOCO PC Card  and  access point will use a ‘Request to Send (RTS) /Clear to Send (CTS) protocol.

When the access point receives an Request to Send (RTS) request, it will return a Clear to Send (CTS) response to all wireless computers within range of the access point.

This CTS message will announce that all stations should defer transmissions until the station that sent the RTS request has finished its transmission.

See also:

Medium Reservation: RTS


Hidden Station Problem

The figure below illustrates an example of the ‘hidden station’ problem.

Both stations are within range of the Access Point, however the station on the right ‘can not hear’ the station on the left: i.e. the left station is a so-called ‘hidden station' for the one on the right.

When one of these stations would like to start communications with the Access Point, it might not notice when the other station is already using the wireless medium: i.e. the messages of both stations might collide when arriving simultaneously at the Access Point.
This collision will most certainly result in a loss of messages for both stations.

Enabling Medium Reservation may provide a solution in this type of situation by handing over ‘transmission control’ to the Access Point.

See also:

Medium Reservation: RTS

Medium Reservation: CTS


Administrator Settings

This tabsheet should only be used by LAN Administrators in special network environments that require specific settings.

•	MAC Address

•	Distance between Access Points


MAC Address

All networking devices, including the  ORiNOCO PC Card , have a unique factory-set Universal MAC Address value.

This MAC Address (sometimes also referred to as Station Address) is used to identify the device on the network.

Some network operating systems use a 'Local MAC Addressing Scheme' that requires that each device will be identified by a 'Local MAC Address' value.

•	When your network does not require 'Local MAC Addresses' (which is common for most network systems), leave the setting to "Use Universal" (default).

•	When your network system requires Local MAC Addresses, consult your LAN Administrator to retrieve a 'Local MAC Address', select the option "Use Local" and enter the address value in MAC Address field.
The value you enter here will override the Universal MAC Address.


Access Point Density
Distance between APs

This parameter controls the roaming sensitivity of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  station.

You must set this parameter to a value that matches the configuration of the Access Points in your network. Consult your LAN Administrator for the appropriate setting of this parameter.

•	Large (default)

•	Medium

•	Small

Please Note:

Setting this parameter to a non-matching value may have unpredictable results on the roaming performance of your wireless station.


Adapter Settings

On computers running the Windows NT 4.0 operating system, you must identify the parameters listed below to  allow your computer to work properly with the various devices and adapter cards installed:

I/O Base Address

Interrupt

•	Operating systems that support 'plug & play' will be able to allocate the correct values automatically. On such systems, you will not see the tab "Adapter" on the driver configuration panel of your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

•	On computers with an operating system that does not support 'plug & play' your computer will prompt you to confirm the factory-set defaults or to select an alternative value using the pull-down boxes.

Please Note:

When installing your  ORiNOCO PC Card  on a Windows NT operating system, run the Windows NT Diagnostics program prior to the driver installation to investigate which values are available for your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

If you did not do so yet, abort the driver installation of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  and run the Windows NT Diagnostics program now.

For more detailed information please consult:

•	The documentation that came with your Windows NT System

•	The Online version of the  ORiNOCO PC Card  User's Guide that is stored on the CD-ROM that came with your PC Card.

See also:

•	Display the  ORiNOCO PC Card  settings

•	Configuration Profiles


Operating System Related Parameters
Your Computer's Operating System and  ORiNOCO

Even though the user interface of the various Microsoft Windows interfaces looks similar, the engine running under the hood is quite different. Even when the operating system is identified by the same name, the behavior of the computer may be quite different than you might notice when comparing different computers.

The most significant difference between the various flavors of Windows is:

•	Systems that support 'Plug & Play'

•	System that do not support 'Plug & Play'


Systems that support 'Plug & Play'

The following operating systems support 'Plug and Play' for the  ORiNOCO PC Card :

•	Microsoft Windows 95

•	Microsoft Windows 95 OSR2

•	Microsoft Windows 98

•	Microsoft Windows 2000
(the beta versions of this operating system are also referred to as Windows NT v.5.0)


System that do not support 'Plug & Play'

The following operating systems do not support 'Plug and Play' for the  ORiNOCO PC Card :

•	Microsoft Windows NT v3.51

•	Microsoft Windows NT workstation v4.0

•	Microsoft Windows for Workgroups (v3.x)

These operating systems are not able to dynamically allocate system resources such as I/O Base addresses and/or Interrupt Request (IRQ) values to your new hardware.

This means that prior to installing new hardware on such systems, you will need to determine which system resources have been claimed by other devices prior to selecting the resource settings for your  ORiNOCO PC Card . Failing to do so might lead to an I/O Base address conflict and/or IRQ conflict which might prevent your card or the other device from operating properly.

To determine which resource settings are available:

•	Run the Windows NT Diagnostics program prior to installing the  ORiNOCO PC Card  driver.

•	Verify the contents of your computer's BIOS or CMOS to see whether they contain


Running Windows NT Diagnostics

This program that is included with the Windows NT operating system, is a tool that enables you to determine which system resources are used hardware installed into your computer.

Running this program will help you to find out whether the factory-set defaults of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  have already been claimed by other hardware devices. If so, this program will also help you to determine which alternative values supported by your  ORiNOCO PC Card  are available.

To minimize the risk of hardware conflicts, you are advised always to run this program always prior to installing new hardware.

 Running Windows NT Diagnostics

 Troubleshooting Windows NT Diagnostics

See also:

Trouble running Windows NT Diagnostics


Troubleshooting Windows NT Diagnostics

Unfortunately, Windows NT Diagnostics does not always show a 100% accuracy in displaying which resources were claimed by other hardware. In exceptional cases you may encounter difficulty installing your  ORiNOCO PC Card  despite the fact that you ran the Windows NT Diagnostics.

In this case you might run into a hardware conflict even though you selected values for your  ORiNOCO PC Card  that according to the Windows NT Diagnostics did not seem to be used by another device. When this is the case you may notice one of the following events:

•	The radio of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  seems to communicate with other radio devices, but does not succeed in actually connecting to the network (i.e. the power and radio LED show activity).

•	Your  ORiNOCO PC Card  does not work at all (no LED activity).

•	Another device appears to be failing after the installation of your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

To remedy this type of conflicts you may wish to explore the  Basic Troubleshooting Hints to see whether these might help you  solving your problem:


Hardware Conflicts
Basic Troubleshooting

If your  ORiNOCO PC Card  does not work, the first troubleshooting hint is to verify LED activity. The LEDs may show the following behavior:

•	Power LED on, Transmit Receive LED off

•	Power LED on, Transmit Receive LED flickers

•	Both LEDs blink once every 10 seconds

•	No LED activity

If there is LED activity, run the Client Manager diagnostic tool to:

•	Run the Link Test to verify the quality of  ORiNOCO PC Card  radio communications with the network.

•	Run the Card diagnostics to investigate and/or resolve version mismatch of the various  ORiNOCO PC Card  software components installed on your computer

Please Note:

To isolate a potential conflict without unintentionally creating another one, you are advised to change only one value at the time.


My Wireless Client card can not connect to the network
My  ORiNOCO PC Card  can not connect to the network

The radio of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  seems to communicate with other radio devices, but does not succeed in actually connecting to the network (i.e. the power and radio LED show activity).

This problem may be related to one of the following causes:

•	An 'out of range situation', where your  ORiNOCO  computer is out of range of the access points that provide access to the wireless infrastructure, or out of range of the computers that belong to the same "Peer-to-Peer" workgroup. This problem should be diagnosed and solved using the  ORiNOCO Client Manager tool, that is shipped on the installation CD-ROM.

•	Configuration mismatch, like for example an incorrect Network Name. This is usually perceived as both LEDs flashing at an interval of approximately 10 seconds. The flashing of the LEDs identify that the card sends out a "probe" message to locate the network with the name identified in the  ORiNOCO PC Card  settings . Consult your LAN Administrator for the correct Network name.

•	A conflict of the Adapter Settings of your  ORiNOCO PC Card  with another device in your computer. In most cases you will not see this problem on Computer systems that support 'Plug & Play'. On computers running Windows NT v4.0 you may perceive this problem running the  ORiNOCO Client Manager  tool. The "Status/Functions" window of this tool will display:

•	The radio communications are good, but

•	The Access Point (AP) is not displayed with its proper name, but is identified by its MAC Address only.

When you would select the Link Test diagnostics, you will see that all dynamic indicators are blank.


Network Protocol settings

In situations where your  ORiNOCO PC Card  radio connection appears to work fine, you may still encounter difficulty accessing the network.

If this is the case in your situation, you may need to verify whether your operating system installed the correct networking protocols, like for example:

NetBEUI	a protocol typically used for sharing files and printers across a peer-to-peer network
TCP/IP	a protocol typically used in most of today's networks such as: • a Microsoft Windows NT Domain in for example a company network,  to connect to the company network domain, its mail server(s), and  intranet and/or internet. • small peer-to-peer networks for sharing files and printers across a peer-to-peer network • A connection to an Internet Service Provider to access the internet via a telephone line or company or SOHO network.
IPX/SPX	a protocol typically used in Novell Netware environments.

Subject to the type and version of your Windows operating system, the correct protocol may or may not be installed automatically when installing the  ORiNOCO PC Card .

To verify your network protocol settings:

1.	Click here [image] to open the Network Properties window.

2.	Display the list of network components installed protocols for your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

•	When using Windows 95/98, scroll down the list of items.

•	When using Windows NT, select the tab “Protocols”.

3.	Contact your network administrator for information about:

•	Which protocols should be included in the list

•	What property settings should apply for each of these protocols

4.	(Optional) Click the:

•	"Add" button to add a missing protocol

•	"Properties" button to view/modify the Select one of the items listed below for more information about the corresponding tabs of the  ORiNOCO PC Card  properties window:


No connection
Hardware Conflicts

Hardware conflicts usually do not occur on Systems that support 'Plug & Play'.

If you encounter difficulty in connecting your computer using the  ORiNOCO PC Card  in a Windows NT environment, the cause is often related to hardware device settings, which prevent the driver from loading properly.

In such situations you are advised to explore the following hints, prior to contacting  ORiNOCO  Technical Support.

•	Verify the settings of the BIOS that is loaded when you (re)start your computer.

•	Try alternative I/O Base Address values for your  ORiNOCO PC Card

•	Try alternative IRQ values for your  ORiNOCO PC Card

An I/O Base address conflict is most often perceived as no LED activity at all. In some cases an I/O Base conflict might result in hanging the system with a "blue-screen" error.

An IRQ conflict is most often perceived as little LED activity: Power LED on, Receive/Transmit LED off. When running the Client Manager  diagnostic tool, this error often shows communications in the first screen, but when selecting the Link Test option, all dynamic indicators turn blank and the connection appears lost.

In most cases selecting either a different I/O Base Address or IRQ value will help you resolve the issue.


Power LED on, Transmit/Receive LED off

This LED status indicates normal operation:

•	The  ORiNOCO PC Card  is powered on

•	The Transmit/Receive LED indicates there is no activity on the wireless network.

This status indicates that your  ORiNOCO PC Card  was able to either:

•	Establish a connection to the wireless infrastructure identified by Network Name you specified in the Basic Parameters menu.

•	Started "stand-alone" operation because the driver has been set to "Peer-to-Peer Mode" as identified in the Basic Parameters menu.

The absence of activity on the wireless network might be related to the fact that:

•	You moved out of range of the Access Points that provide access to the infrastructure.

•	There are no  ORiNOCO  stations in the vicinity of your computer to participate in your Peer-to-Peer network.

You are advised to move back within range of the access points, or adjust the  ORiNOCO  parameter settings of your card to match the values of the network to which you would like to connect your computer.


Power LED on, Transmit/Receive LED flickering

This LED status indicates normal operation:

•	The  ORiNOCO PC Card  is powered on

•	The Transmit/Receive LED indicates activity on the wireless network.

Note: 	The Transmit/Receive LED will flicker whenever it senses activity on the wireless network. This activity does not necessarily indicate that the card inserted into your computer is actively involved in the sensed wireless communications.


Both LEDs blink once every 10 seconds

This LED indicates that the  ORiNOCO PC Card  is powered on and working properly but not able to establish a wireless connection to the wireless infrastructure.

Possible causes might be:

•	Your computer is out of range of all Access Point that could provide you access to the selected network infrastructure.

•	You identified an incorrect Network Name

•	The LAN Administrator of the network infrastructure to which you wish to connect your computer has "closed" the network to stations to deny access to stations that use the value "ANY" as their Network Name.

•	The network infrastructure to which you wish to connect your computer uses WEP data encryption and denies access to wireless stations that have been configured with incorrect WEP key values, or that have the encryption feature disabled.

Contact your LAN Administrator for information about the correct values of the  ORiNOCO  parameter settings that apply in your network.


No LED Activity

If there is absolutely no LED activity on the Power LED and Receive/Transmit LED, this may be due to one of the following reasons:

•	The cards is not properly inserted into the PC Card slot.

•	No driver was installed to allow communication between your computer and the  ORiNOCO PC Card .

•	You are perhaps using the  ORiNOCO PC Card  in combination with an ISA adapter card, but you did not yet "introduce the ISA adapter" to your computer using either:

•	(Windows 95/98) The "Add New Hardware" option on the Control Panel

•	(Windows NT) The "Devices" option on the Control Panel to enable the "Start PCMCIA device at boot" option.

•	(Windows NT only) You inserted the card after you started the computer.

•	(Windows NT only) You may have run into a hardware conflict that prevents you from operating your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

To resolve the errors listed above, explore one of the following solutions. You are advised to explore one option at a time.

•	Open the Control Panel and display/verify the adapter settings of your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

•	(Windows NT) display the device settings of other hardware components installed to detect potential hardware conflicts

•	Consult the troubleshooting section in the documentation that came with your  ORiNOCO PC Card .


Power LED is Flickering

A flickering Power LED identifies that you enabled Card Power Management Settings in the driver settings of your card.

See also:

Display the  ORiNOCO PC Card  settings

Considerations to Power Management


Another Device does no longer work

In case another device does no longer work after you installed the  ORiNOCO PC Card , you may also have run into, a hardware conflict. You can verify whether this is caused by the  ORiNOCO PC Card , simply by removing the card again and rebooting the computer:

•	When the problem persists, the problem is not caused by the  ORiNOCO PC Card .

•	When the other device functions properly again after removing the  ORiNOCO PC Card , one of the following two causes may apply:

•	The resources were already claimed upon booting the device, by a resource setting in the BIOS or CMOS of your computer, or

•	The driver software of the conflicting device did not notify the Windows NT operating system of its claim upon specific resources.

This means that if you selected resources that appeared to be available according to the Windows NT Diagnostics  program, these settings were already claimed by the conflicting device.

In both cases you are encouraged to try alternative values for your  ORiNOCO PC Card  to see whether these new values might help solving your problem. Upon doing so, you are advised to change only one parameter at a time.


I/O Base Address

This specifies the I/O base address to be used by the adapter.

You can select an address from the range of I/O Base addresses in the pull-down list.

Default value is 0400-0437.

Please Note:

To determine which resource settings are available, run the Windows NT Diagnostics program prior to installing the  ORiNOCO PC Card  driver. If you did not do so yet, abort the driver installation and run the Windows NT Diagnostics program now.

See also:

Interrupt

Adapter Settings (Windows NT only).


Interrupt Request (IRQ)

This specifies the interrupt number to be used by the adapter.

You can select a IRQ value from the range of Interrupt Requests in the pull-down list.

Default value is 10.

Please Note:

To determine which resource settings are available, run the Windows NT Diagnostics program prior to installing the  ORiNOCO PC Card  driver. If you did not do so yet, abort the driver installation and run the Windows NT Diagnostics program now.

See also:

I/O Base Address

Adapter Settings


Driver Type

The settings for the driver (16 bits or 32 bits), are controlled by your operating system: The information displayed on this tab is "For Your Information", you can not change the settings for your driver type.

This tab on the  ORiNOCO PC Card  Parameters window is used only by Windows 95 and Windows 98 operating systems. Computers running Windows NT (v4.0) will not display this information.


Bindings

When operating your computer in a networking environment, together with the installation of your network adapter card, you will also have installed one or more networking protocols. The most common protocols for network client stations in a Microsoft Windows environment are:

•	IPX/SPX

•	NetBEUI

•	TCP/IP

On  this tab you can identify which of the protocols installed should actually be used in combination with your  ORiNOCO PC Card .


TCP/IP

A networking protocol that is often used in large networking environments. This protocol is mandatory when the computer is to be connected to the internet using:

•	A  ORiNOCO PC Card  to connect the computer to a network that provides access to the internet, or

•	A modem  that provides access to the internet via a dial-up networking connection.


IPX/SPX

A networking protocol that is commonly used in networking environments that use the Novell Netware network operating system.


NetBEUI

A Microsoft proprietary protocol that is often used in small networking environments. It allows end-users to share resources on their computers by providing 'peer-to-peer' access. This protocol is required to use 'disk-sharing' or allow other users to print files on a printer connected directly to your computer.


Wireless Client Website
 ORiNOCO  Website

You can download the latest news, documentation and software from the  ORiNOCO  website at:

 http://www.lucent.com/orinoco


No Help  Available for this Topic

No help information is available for this item.

Please consult the index of the  ORiNOCO PC Card Driver Help system, by clicking the tab 'Index' on the top of this screen.

Alternatively consult the user documentation that came with your  ORiNOCO  product.


BIOS

Basic I/O System (sometimes also referred to as CMOS)

This system is loaded first each time you (re)start your computer. It usually contains basic information about devices and ports installed into your computer. Examples of such settings are:

•	System clock, which determines the date and time settings on your computer

•	Type and number of Hard Disk Drives

•	Type and device settings of Parallel and Serial ports

•	Type and device settings of "on-board" audio cards and/or Ethernet interfaces

The number of settings defined in the BIOS and/or the ability to view or modify these settings may differ from one computer to another.

To access the BIOS or CMOS you typically need to press a specific key when (re)starting your computer. For most computer systems this is either the F1 function key, or the "Delete" key, other systems may use a custom key. Consult the user documentation that came with your computer for more information about accessing the BIOS, and instructions for viewing/modifying settings for your computer.


Trouble_Conflict_list
Devices that may conflict with your  ORiNOCO PC Card

Typical examples of devices that may cause conflicts could be:

•	Parallel ports, configured to use either:

•	I/O Base address 0378 and IRQ 7

•	I/O Base address 0278 and IRQ 5

•	(On-board) Audio devices configured to use:

•	 I/O Base address 0224 and IRQ 5

Please Note:

The examples and values listed above may vary from one computer to another. The devices and values listed above should be used primarily as settings that deserve special attention when selecting available values for your  ORiNOCO PC Card .

These settings are often defined in the BIOS of your computer. Subject to the type and brand of your computer you can change such settings either in the:

•	The BIOS of your computer, or

•	The operating system of your computer using the:

•	The system files "config.sys" and/or "autoexec.bat"

•	The properties tab of the "My Computer" item on the desktop of Windows 95/98 systems.


Trouble running Windows NT Diagnostics

When you try to launch the Windows NT Diagnostics from a Windows 95 and/or Windows 98 computer using the mini-buttons in this help system, you are likely to run into an error message like "Cannot find or run the file or program "xxxxx\winmsd.exe."

Reason for this error is the fact that the "Windows NT Diagnostics" is a special tool that is supported by Windows NT operating systems only.

When you would like to display device settings for Windows 95/98 computers, use the "Device Manager"

1.	Click here [image] to open the Windows Device Manager.

2.	Double-click the icon "System"

3.	Select the tab "Device Manager"

4.	From the list of device displayed, select the item of your choice

5.	Click the button "properties" to display the resource settings of the selected device.
For some devices you may need to expand the list of device settings first, by clicking on the + sign.

6.	(If applicable) Select the tab "Driver" or "Resources" for more details.


Wired Equivalent Privacy

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is an IEEE 802.11 compliant encryption scheme based on the RC4 algorithm.


Hexadecimal Value

A hexadecimal number is a numeric value that can include both numeric and a limited number of alphabetical characters.

Hexadecimal values can be selected from the following sequence:

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F

Where 0 identifies the lowest value, and F the highest value of the hexadecimal range.

In most occurrences where hexadecimal values apply, you will be able to distinguish the hexadecimal values from standard numerical values.

For example:

•	3F2C will identify a four-digit hexadecimal value

•	1234 will most probably identify a four-digit numerical value.

In case of doubt, consult the user documentation or online helpfile of your product, to find out which h type of value applies in a specific situation.


Alphanumeric Value

An alphanumeric value is a value that can include both:

•	Numeric values in the range of '0-9' and

•	Alphabetical characters in the range of 'a-z'.

For example:

•	JohnDoe3E-2

Usually alphanumeric values are applied to specify a name or password, where the use of both alphabetical and numerical characters expands the flexibility to enter a name or value of your choice.

When used for passwords,  alphanumerical characters expand the number of possible code-combinations for each single character.

For example:

•	Numerical values would allow you to select from 10 different values per character only, in the range of '0-9'.

•	Alphabetical values would allow you to select from 26 different values per character only, in the range of 'a-z'. or maximum 52 when the characters would be case-sensitive: 'a-z', and 'A-Z'.

•	Alphanumerical characters enable you to select from 36 different values per character,  in the range of '0-9' and 'a-z'.  When the field value would be case-sensitive, the number of values per character would be 62:
Per character you could select from a value in the range of '0-9', 'a-z', and 'A-Z'.


SOHO Network

Small Office/Home Office network.

Typically a relatively small network that comprises up to 10 wireless and/or wired computers.

Occasionally a SOHO network uses a shared connection to an Internet Service Provider to provide internet access to the individual workstations.

This shared connection can either be via a :

•	regular telephone line, or

•	dedicated cable or xDSL modem


Windows Operating Systems

Microsoft has released various variants of its Windows operating system.

Although similar in appearance, the behavior of the different variants may differ significantly when trying to install/operate a network adapter card.

The various Windows variants are listed below. To verify the version of your MS-Windows operating system

1.	Click here [image] to open the Control Panel.

2.	Double-click the icon "System"

3.	Select the tab named "General" and read the information next to the computer monitor icon.

• MS-Windows 95	Often referred to as MS-Windows 95 Retail. This version typically relates to version of the MS-Windows 95 operating system that was purchased as a new license on a Microsoft CD-ROM  In the System Properties window, this version is indicated as Windows 95
• MS-Windows 95 OSR 1	Often referred to as MS-Windows OEM Service Release 1. This version typically relates to a special version of the MS-Windows 95 operating system that was installed on a new purchased computer by the computer manufacturer.  Typically the start-up windows include the company logo or brand name of the computer manufacturer. In the System Properties window, this version is indicated as Windows 95 A
• MS-Windows 95 OSR 2	Often referred to as MS-Windows OEM Service Release 2. This updated version of the OSR1 variant is the one that you will encounter most often on computers manufactured between 1995 and 1998.  This version typically relates to a special version of the MS-Windows 95 operating system that was installed on a new purchased computer by the computer manufacturer.  Typically the start-up windows include the company logo or brand name of the computer manufacturer. In the System Properties window, this version is indicated as Windows 95 B
• MS-Windows NT 4.0	A computer operating system that is most often used in larger company networks that are serviced by LAN Administrators. This version of the MS-Windows does not support "plug & play".  In the System Properties window, this version is indicated as Microsoft Windows NT.
• MS-Windows 98	Successor of the Microsoft Windows 95 operating system that was released in 1999.  In the System Properties window, this version is indicated as Windows 98
• MS-Windows 98 SE	Recent update of the Windows 98 operating system that includes a few extra features such as sharing a single modem line with multiple workgroup computers to access the internet. In the System Properties window, this version is indicated as Windows 98 Second Edition
• MS-Windows 2000	A computer operating system that is most often used in larger company networks that are serviced by LAN Administrators. This version also referred to as MS-Windows NT 5.0, is the updated and improved version of the Windows NT 4.0 system.  This operating system that was released in February 2000 typically appears on computers designed for the professional market.


Fragmentation

When transmitting data via the wireless network, your  ORiNOCO PC Card  will automatically split up the file or message in a number of different packets, that are re-assembled again by the communication partner.

 ORiNOCO  products use standard IEEE 802.11 compatible frame lengths, where different lengths apply for each transmit rate.

The option Fragmentation will apply alternative (usually shorter) frame lengths to split and reassemble the wireless data frames.