Pairing memory not retained, ipaq/PC internet sharing

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › Pairing memory not retained, ipaq/PC internet sharing

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#1016 3-Feb-2004 10:57

Many thanks for the BT articles on this site - with them, I managed to get my iPAQ 2210 connected to my home LAN internet.
I have one problem, which I can't find any reference to in this forum: every time I switch on the PC I have paired with, I have to start all over again with the password pairing process. I thought this should be retained in the memory somewhere.
I assume I've done something wrong - can anyone help me on this, please? Perhaps other people have the same problem.
Set up: the computer I'm connected to is an XP, part of my home LAN and configured as 10.0.1.201 fixed IP, from a router (Airport Extreme, IP 10.0.1.1). I configured the BT connection in 'my network places' as 192.168.0.1, with the DNS as 10.0.1.1.
The BT dongle is using WIDCOMM 1.4.2 Build 10.
It all works super as long as I don't ever turn off my PC.
I'm not even up to average ameteur status on this networking game, but I'm sure someone out there knows what I have done wrong - please help.

Nick (Paris)

freitasm

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#3183 3-Feb-2004 11:10

I think it's not pairing... The newer versions of Widcomm software have security ON by default, and it requires you to enter a PIN every time you connect to the LAN services. You can change this using a registry change on your computer.

Let me know if this is the case.

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3203 3-Feb-2004 20:41

Thanks, Freitasm (and Uncle Enzo), but changing the registry doesn't solve the problem - I still have to pair on each fresh start-up of the XP computer. I have double-checked my registry and Services/0002 (network) is now definitely on '0' for both authorisation & authentication.
Is this a common problem? Perhaps there are some more registry tweaks to do?
Nick

freitasm

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#3204 3-Feb-2004 20:44

It's not something that I've heard of before. does it make difference if creating the pair from your Pocket PC or from your computer?

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3209 4-Feb-2004 05:35

No, if I initiate the connection from the PC or the iPAQ it's the same. If I soft reset the iPAQ and not the PC, the pairing password is retained, it's only a problem if I switch off the PC.
Another thing I've noticed is that the PC sometimes doesn't recognise the name of the PDA device ("IPAQ") and tries to connect with a device called "", even though in Explorer it shows as "IPAQ".
Another clue may be this: I tried using at first a Sitecom bluetooth dongle on the PC, and I couldn't get it to work at all. The Widcomm software supplied with it refused to save any information about the name of my PC: I would fill in the details, click on save, but each time I returned to the config screen it was blank again. I downloaded the latest version of Widcomm from the Net, but it was the same problem. Just to test the hardware, I tried the Sitecom dongle on my iMAC OSX (no software required) and it worked fine. I took the dongle back and exchanged it for a cheap 'generic' brand, and at least this time everything installed correctly using the Widcomm software supplied with it.
I suspect that my PC is naff...I've already had to reinstall XP once because it stopped recognising the CD ROM drives.
Any ideas, please? - if the only answer is to reinstall Windows, then I'll stay with my battery-draining WiFi CF card connection. WiFi was a breeze to set up compared with BT! (why doesn't someone make a very-low power WiFi card with just 10m radius - like BT- so the battery lasts longer??)
Nick

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3210 4-Feb-2004 05:42

Just a point on my last reply, the name of the device sometimes detected by the PC is 'no name', with 'greater than...' & 'less than..' signs before and after. I put the actual text with these symbols in the message above but it got zapped from the reply (I guess because this type of bracket is used for e-mail aliases).
Nick

freitasm

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#3213 4-Feb-2004 08:12

Is the Bluetooth device a USB adapter? If so, is it connected directly to your computer or to a USB HUB? IF to a USB HUB, please move it to connect directly to your computer.

Also, check the power management options for your USB controller. IT should not have the option to be turned off by the system. Access this via the System Properties, Hardware tab, Device Manager button:

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3220 4-Feb-2004 10:10

I tried both ideas: the dongle was on a USB 2 PCI plug-in card, so I changed the position to one of the four original USB 1 slots; I found 7 different root hub entries in device manager, and all of them were ticked for power saving, so I unticked the lot.....still the same problem, I have to re-pair after each PC shutdown.
I decided to deinstall Widcomm and reinstall everything: now I can't get the connection to work on my iPAQ at all (using 'Internet Connection') - the connection arrows in the bar at the top of the iPAQ show me that it's trying to connect, but it justs tries forever until I cancel the attempt (trying to connect to "BT Network Null Modem"). It worked fine when I tried it on the first installation attempt, and I'm sure everything is configured as it was before.
It will connect using the "Local Network" configuration (again it did this as well before), but I can only use this connection for Activesync: it says the parameters aren't right for e-mail or Internet: all I can see that is wrong is that the network card entry on the iPAQ (in connection manager) is configured for "Work"; if I change it to "Internet" it flips back to "Work" the next time I view this menu page.
I could plug the BT dongle into the iMAC OSX instead - it's right next to the PC and on the same network, but I guess this is even more complicated.....
Nick

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nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3243 5-Feb-2004 06:44

I've solved the connection problem mentioned above (BT Network Access hangs...won't connect, but won't stop trying to connect). I've noticed elsewhere in this forum that people have had the same problem, so I thought it worth mentioning: I sorted it out by deleting the BT LAN access server driver in device manager, then deleting and reintialising the internet share option in the network card settings.
That still leaves me with the original problem of having to re-pair each time I restart the PC: I've tried all the tips kindly passed on to me:
1. changed the Widcomm registry settings to value 0 for authorisation & authentification for the network connection (service 0002)
2. unchecked the power saving option box in device manager root hub entries
3. plugged the dongle into the main PC USB port rather than into a hub or USB PCI card extension
Any other ideas, please?

Nick

freitasm

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#3245 5-Feb-2004 07:58

Hmmm. It's not clear so far if the pairing is not retained on your computer or Pocket PC. You say that sometimes the computer shows the Pocket PC without a name. So it could be a problem on your computer, or your Pocket PC has a problem and it broadcasts bad information.

There's a trick that works when you install the software but no services show up at all, and you can try it:

unplug the Bluetooth adapter

create a new Administrator type user

remove the Bluetooth software

reboot

install the Bluetooth software

reboot

plug the Bluetooth adapter

try now...

If it retains now, it was on the computer.

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3249 5-Feb-2004 08:34

I'm sure you're getting close: before I go through a second round of anguish by deleting things and then finding it won't connect when I reinstall, can I first check with you on a few things?:
1. My iPAQ has no problem staying paired with other devices like my phone (serial and dial-up connections), whereas I tried pairing my BT phone headset with the PC, and, just like the iPAQ, the pairing isn't retained if I turn the PC off and on again.
2. I don't actually have a profile on the PC: it has just a single Administrator configuration, without a log-on sequence and password when you switch on. Is this the problem?? - meaning you can't retain pairing if you don't have a password-configured profile?
3. I looked in the event log on the PC and I'm finding lots of entries in the 'Application' tab: it is recording 'information' events from a source called 'btwdins', which I believe is connected with BT. I'll translate, because it's in French: it says (approximate translation):
"The description of the event ( 0 ) in the source (btwdins) cannot be found. The local computer possibly doesn't have the Registry information or the database required to show the messages coming from the remote device. Try the option /AUXSOURCE= to recover the description...."
May I please have your comments on this before I try setting up the new profile and zapping Widcomm again?
Thanks,
Nick

freitasm

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#3251 5-Feb-2004 08:43

Ok... Let's see what we have here then:

1. It seems it's a problem on your computer then...

2. It probably means that you've used the option to always log in and the password is spaces. No problem here.

3. I have these too, just checked. But my Bluetooth functionality works fine.

After using the new user to reinstall the Bluetooth software you can go back and use the Administrator user for your normal day-to-day use. It's just that sometimes Windows corrupts the profile information and the software gets mad...

nick123

8 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3254 5-Feb-2004 10:26

I followed your instructions, created the second Admin profile, deleted Widcomm, reinstalled, etc.
It's the same problem as before in both profiles (I changed Widcomm service 0002 values with regedit to 0): sometimes iPAQ, sometimes 'No name' is shown as the remote device name, never retaining the pairing info, and I'm back to the mess of not being able to connect and it hanging at the 'connecting to BT Nullmodem' step.
Ecch!
I give up! - but thanks for your help in trying to resolve this.
Nick