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This article describes the Windows Vista Feature Pack for Wireless which contains a number of components and features that improve wireless support in Windows Vista. Keep reading →

Consider the following scenario.

• You are running a Windows Vista-based computer.
• You use a wireless access point that is configured to use Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) and shared-mode network authentication.
• In the properties of the wireless network connection, you click View Wireless Networks, and then you click Choose a wireless network.

When you double-click the WEP-shared mode access point in this scenario, you cannot connect to the access point. Instead, you receive the following error message:

Windows cannot connect to access_point.

On a Windows Vista-based computer, you change a wireless connection from a wireless access point that uses a valid Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key to another wireless access point that uses an invalid WEP key. Then, the connection status may incorrectly display a “Connection Successful” message. However, the wireless connection is not connected.

In this scenario, either of the following messages should be displayed:

Connection Unsuccessful
Windows cannot connect to Wireless Access Point

Consider the following scenario:

• You are running a Windows Vista-based computer.
• You enter the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS), and then you change the Internal wireless device setting to Hidden.
• You restart the computer.
• The computer enters hibernation.
• You resume the computer from hibernation, and then you enter the BIOS again.
• You change the Internal wireless device setting to Enabled.

When you try to restart the computer in this scenario, you receive the following error message:

*** Hardware Malfunction
Call your hardware vendor for support
NMI: Parity check / Memory Parity Error
*** The system has halted

On a Windows Vista-based computer, consider the following scenario:

• You use Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) together with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption to access wireless networks.
• A computer certificate is configured correctly on the computer.
• The computer has the correct permissions to access wireless networks.

In this scenario, you can see that a wireless network is available in the Connect to a network dialog box in the Network and Sharing Center. However, you cannot connect to the wireless network.

When you configure a wireless connection in Windows Vista, the Service Set Identifier (SSID) information may display the wireless profile name instead of the actual SSID.

When using a Broadcom Wireless network adapter in Windows Vista, you may experience latency every 30/40 seconds. You can verify latency by using the PING -t command. Every 30/40 seconds, you will see a packet whose response time is around 1000ms.

If you use the same adapter in Windows XP, this issue does not occur.

On a Microsoft Windows Vista-based computer, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms in a wireless network environment.

Symptom 1
IEEE 802.1X authentication that is based on Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) switching may fail.

For example, you try to use computer authentication and user authentication to switch the client computer to different VLANs. However, the client computer does not obtain the correct IP address during VLAN switching.

Symptom 2
In a wireless profile, the information about the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) method that is selected in a user interface may be incorrect.

For example, if different vendors provide more than one EAP method, the EAP method that is displayed in a wireless profile is not the EAP method that is actually selected.

Symptom 3
A wireless profile that an independent hardware vendor (IHV) provides may be corrupted after you use the wireless profile user interface to edit the profile. When this problem occurs, you may receive an error message that Windows Explorer has crashed.

Symptom 4
Every time that you roam to a different wireless access point, you are prompted to provide a user credential. This problem occurs even if you have saved the user credential.

Symptom 5
You registered a Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) method that the IHV provided. When you try to authenticate against an Internet Authentication Service (IAS) server, the server may reject the authentication, and the IAS server may send an error message that the authentication has failed. The Onex.dll file crashes when this problem occurs.

When you open multiple Properties windows for the wireless connection in Windows Vista, you may receive the following error message:

Windows has encountered an error saving the wireless profile.
Specific error: An attempt was made to establish a session to a network server, but there are already too many sessions established to that server.

For example, this problem may occur if you open the Network and Sharing center, and then you click the network icon for the wireless connection many times.

Note: If you have multiple Properties windows for the wireless connection open, and you make changes in more than one page, the only the changes that are retained are the ones that you make in the last window that you close.