E4200 Connection Problems - Windows 7

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Sidereus
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Aug 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Fri Aug 17, 2012 21:46    Post subject: E4200 Connection Problems - Windows 7 Reply with quote
Hello everyone,

First I will apologize if this has been asked / answered in the past, but after a day of searching I am finally asking.

I am having a weird problem with my new E4200 [v1] router.

I am no stranger to DD-WRT, I have been using it for years with multiple variants of the wrt54g. Firmware rocks.

I followed the wiki and had no problem getting the e4200 flashed to the build I wanted. I did first load the 18777 trailed build, then proceeded to load 18946 big [nv60k].

For the most part it is working. No problem with my wired connections, also no problem [that I have noticed anyway] with my Linux / Android devices.

On the Windows 7 machine however, the connection is not solid. The only time this is really noticeable is when trying to download [or stream] larger files. It will constantly stop downloading / streaming, almost like we moved out of range.

The problem becomes even more noticeable when I try to use a PPTP VPN connection from the Windows machine. Basically the VPN connection will stay connected half as long as if it was not active.

The time to drop varies from anywhere from an hour right down to 5 minutes. Today it was pretty consistent in the 4 - 8 min range.

I have tried the following wireless configurations:

1. Wireless NG Mix / WPA2 - Personal - AES
2. Wireless NG Mix / WPA2 - Personal - AES + TKIP
3. Wireless N / WPA 2 - Personal - AES
4. Wireless G / WEP

Currently I can run my wrt54g with the exact same settings as I tried with the e4200 [wireless g / wep] and it is rock solid, has been for over a year.

Testing from the same room with a laptop, connection stays stable with or without the VPN active, albeit not great speed but that is less of a concern at the moment.

I am at a total loss as to why this is happening, in all honesty I am not sure if it is a router problem or a windows 7 issue, however the fact that the exact same settings can be used successfully with this machine if the wrt54g is operating leads me to think it is the e4200.

I am aware from reading the posts that back in June and before, the reco build for this router was 18000 or 17990, however I have assumed that if 18000 was stable, 18946 would not have broke something that was previously fixed.

Any help would be appreciated. If you need more information, let me know.
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texnnyc
DD-WRT User


Joined: 30 Jun 2012
Posts: 62

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 0:18    Post subject: Reply with quote
I believe there was an article on Tom's Hardware about the Windows 7 "Home Group" causing connectivity problems. Try disabling that on your Windows 7 machine.
Sidereus
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Aug 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 1:28    Post subject: Reply with quote
Thanks for the reply tex.

I will look and see, but I believe I did disable it already as I did not want anything from that machine to be able to connect to others on the network.

But keep in mind, if I change nothing with that machine, the way it is configured works flawlessly if I use my older wrt54g v5 router [micro build].

I have done some more testing, this is what I have seen:

1. Tested 18777 - appears to be better w/o vpn active [however did limited testing], with vpn, it will drop connection.

2. Tested 17990 - appears fine w/o vpn active, still drops vpn.

This same 17990 however is currently [as i type] facilitating the vpn connection to my linux laptop, and connection seems fine, already downloaded 2x the amount of the file I am getting on the windows machine.

I will test some more and report back, however I am trying to figure out what is not being passed / ignored from the wrt54g that allows the windows connection to run, that clearly the 4200 is doing differently.
Sidereus
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Aug 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 16:16    Post subject: Reply with quote
I have reverted back to stock FW for the e4200.

With no modifications to the Win 7 PPTP connection, it is working and staying stable.

Problem definitely seems like a vpn passthrough problem with the dd-wrt firmware.

Does anyone know of a build where they are able to successfully use a PPTP from a machine [pptp connection is not connected w/ the router, just looking for passthrough].


Settings on stock Fw:

2.4 ghz
WPA2 Personal [does not specify aes or tkip]
Mixed network [assuming b/g/n]
Sidereus
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 17 Aug 2012
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 17:06    Post subject: Reply with quote
Anyone have any ideas why the dd-wrt seems to be having an issue w/ the pptp passthrough for a windows machine?
valters
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 24 Aug 2012
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 15:54    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi, wanted to note that I am having similar problem, my Windows 7 PPOE VPN connection to office would go dead after about 4-6 minutes after establishing (but not "drop"), pings would timeout, skype would go offline, nothing responds, etc. I had to disconnect/reconnect VPN again.

So far while troubleshooting this I disabled the options on Security / VPN Passthrough page - all the IPSec/PPTP/L2TP "passthrough" options.

Ping has been going for about 20 minutes now, maybe this has resolved the issue. Let me try to turn the options on, and see if it breaks.

I have Buffalo router, with "DD-WRT v24SP2-MULTI (05/27/11) std" firmware build 17140.


Last edited by valters on Fri Aug 24, 2012 16:08; edited 1 time in total
valters
DD-WRT Novice


Joined: 24 Aug 2012
Posts: 2

PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2012 16:07    Post subject: Reply with quote
Confirmed. If PPTP Passthrough is enabled (Security / VPN Passthrough page), the Windows 7 VPN connection goes dead about 4-8 minutes after establishing.

If the PPTP Passthrough is disabled, VPN connection stays alive. I wonder what does this setting screw up.

(Same thing with DD-WRT v24SP2-MULTI (03/21/12) std - build 18795 firmare)
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