Issue re: Nintendo Wi-Fi USB dongle and Virgin Media connection

[Karl8472]

Hi all. Apologies that my first post here is going to be a technical support one but I figured it might be worth a shot asking here before I went to the support lines.

I own a Nintendo DS Lite and am currently running a 2MB Virgin Media broadband connection (ex-NTL). In order to play online with the DS, I purchased their Nintendo Wi-Fi USB connector, which is basically a Wi-Fi device that sits in the USB port and communicates with the DS, while sending any traffic that needs to go across the Internet down the user's standard wired connection. It's advertised as something for people who don't have access to a wireless network.

Well, I've installed the software and plugged the USB device in, the computer detects it, the DS detects it when you select "Connect to your Nintendo Wi-Fi USB Connector", so they're communicating OK, but when it comes to the Connection Tests, it seems to connect for a few seconds, probably about 5 to 8 seconds, while it shows full signal strength and a green icon, but then the connection seems to suddenly break, the signal drops down to 0 and everything goes red, before the Error Code : 52103 comes up, indicating that it's "Unable to connect to Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection". I've turned Windows Firewall off to test this so I know it's not that interfering, and as far as I know there's nothing else that could be the problem. My connection is via a SACM (according to the stickers on the bottom, an NTL:home 120) and by all rights, it SHOULD be working. Has anyone else here come across these sorts of problems and if possible, could you let me know how to fix it? I'd hate to think I've wasted £25 on this thing.

Thanks in advance

[southwell]

You are connecting the DS via your pc? If so i would think you would have to turn on internet connection sharing for it to connect properly.

[Uncle Peter]

ICS is installed by default as part of the adapter configuration.

I had a similar problem in the short period of time I used one of thise and it was due to Zonealarm (Pro) blocking DNS requests issued by the DS. The solution was of course to create an allow rule for the internal DHCP range issued by ICS. As the OP has already stated that he was using windows firewall which has now been disabled I doubt that this is the problem (I would strongly advise switching this back on asap!).

[Karl8472]

I tried turning the ICS on, and now it takes longer to disconnect, just saying that it can't actually assign an IP address. It's a different error code at least but I'm not entirely sure if it's a step forward or a step back. I noticed you mentioned you used one of these Peter, how did you get it working?

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by Karl8472

I tried turning the ICS on, and now it takes longer to disconnect, just saying that it can't actually assign an IP address. It's a different error code at least but I'm not entirely sure if it's a step forward or a step back. I noticed you mentioned you used one of these Peter, how did you get it working?

When I installed the wi-fi adapter application from the bundled CD it configured and enabled ICS so in theory it was just a case of attempting a connection from the DS then allowing the console to connect via the wi-fi adapter application - I assume you have already done this step?

The problem I experienced was due to the fact that Zonealarm Pro firewall was blocking DNS requests issued by the DS. I don't think this is relevant in your case as you have stated that you're using Windows firewall which you have disabled. Do you have another firewall application running on your PC?

Also, here is a link which you may find useful

http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/wfc...sp#need_to_use

[Karl8472]

Aha, I seem to have got it working. Did a completely clean install of newer drivers found on another forum after wiping out every last trace of it. It now seems to work perfectly. Thanks for the help anyway, was much appreciated

[Valerie]

where did you find the drivers? I've had problems with the dongle in the past and gave up. Are you using wep or wpa? Any info on how you set your pc up would be appreciated.

[Karl8472]

Not using an actual router, merely connecting via the "Connect via Nintendo USB Wi-Fi Connection" button (as opposed to the 3 manual connections). Have the USB dongle attached via the supplied extension cable in one of my front USB ports.

The drivers are the 1.04 version, and they WERE on Nintendo's forums until they took the forums down for maintenance, I obtained them via a Rapidshare link which links to a file containing the updated software.

Drivers in RAR format
Drivers in ZIP Format

Once I got these, I then proceeded to delete all traces of the dongle from my system by doing the following (I use Windows XP) :

# Check Local Area Connections to determine what the Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) options are set to.
Which option is correct will depend on how you have your computer set up.

Unless indicated otherwise, make sure the USB connector is connected to the computer throughout these steps.

To perform the following steps, you will need to access your computer's Local Area Connection screen. To do this, click the Start button, select Control Panel and click on the Network Connections option.

1. Adjust the ICS options as needed:

If one Local Area Network is listed on the Local Area Connection screen, other than the USB Connector:
* Right click on that connection, select Properties, and then the Advanced tab.
* If the ICS options are enabled, uncheck all boxes under the ICS area to disable them.
* If the ICS options are disabled, check all boxes under the ICS area to enable them.|

If two or more Local Area Networks are listed on the Local Area Connection screen, other than the USB Connector:
* Right click on the "Network Card," select Properties, and then the Advanced tab.
* Uncheck all boxes under the ICS area to disable them. (If you are getting an Internet Connection Sharing error, the ICS settings were most likely enabled (checked).)

2. Uninstall the USB connector through the Device Manager.

* Make sure you have the USB Connector plugged into your computer.
* Click the Start button and select Control Panel.
* Click "System" and select the "Hardware" tab. Choose "Device Manager."
* Next to "Network Adapters," click the "+" to expand the list.
* If the Nintendo USB Connector is in the list, right-click it and choose "Uninstall."

3. Perform the DEVREMOV process.
* Make sure you have the USB Connector plugged into your computer.
* On your computer, click on the "My Computer" icon (found in the Start menu or sometimes on the desktop), and right click on your CD drive containing the Nintendo Wi-Fi connection Installation CD, and choose 'Explore.'
* Open "NintendoWFCReg/SoftAP." Within there, double-click the DEVREMOV.exe application.

During the course of running the DEVREMOV program, you will see three windows pop up successively.
* The first will have a series of question marks. Click "Yes."
* The second will have a picture of wires and lights moving on it while the DEVREMOV utility uninstalls the internet connection sharing for the Nintendo Wi-FI USB Connector. This will disappear on its own.
* The third will also have several question marks on it. Just click "Ok."
* At this point, remove the USB connector from your computer.

4. Check the "Programs" list and, if the "Uninstall" option for the connector is there, run this process.

* Click the Start button , and select "Programs."
* If the Nintendo USB Wi-Fi Connector is listed, click on the "Uninstall" program to remove it.

5. Check Add/Remove Software on the computer and, if listed, remove the USB connector.

* Click the Start button, and select Control Panel.
* Open "Add/Remove Programs."
* If listed, select the Nintendo Wi-Fi connector from the list, and click "Remove."
* Follow the prompts to uninstall the program.

6. Remove the installation CD, power down your computer, and disconnect the USB connector if it is still connected. Being sure to leave the connector disconnected, power on the computer.

Once I made sure it was definitely gone and I'd restarted the computer, I went into the Network Setup Wizard and set up the ICS. Made sure that my computer (which is the only one net connected) was sharing the cable modem connection. I then reinstalled the Wi-Fi connector using the UPDATED software found in the RAR/ZIP file (depending on which you download). I didn't expect it to make much of a difference considering what I'd done before but lo and behold, it both found the Wi-Fi Connector and THEN did a successful connection test. I've since tested the same connection with a game (Pokemon Diamond) and it works fine.

Hopefully it will work OK for you too, as I saw your post earlier when searching for the problem, but thought you may have found a solution by now

[Uncle Peter]

Glad you got it sorted. Didn't you get a setup CD with the dongle? I did

[Karl8472]

Yeah I did too, but it was apparently an older version, these drivers are newer and it appears they actually work. I'd thought it odd too, but a few other people have noticed improvements from these drivers.

[Uncle Peter]

Originally Posted by Karl8472

Yeah I did too, but it was apparently an older version, these drivers are newer and it appears they actually work. I'd thought it odd too, but a few other people have noticed improvements from these drivers.

Understandably.... I didn't actually have to setup ICS though as it was done by the installation. It's not a particularly easy bit of kit to setup or troubleshoot when you have problems though and I doubt that the majority of people (with all due respect) who bought this are firewall or network troubleshooting experts!