User's Manual

68 CHAPTER 6: TROUBLESHOOTING

■ Speed of connection: The 802.11a/b/g standards will automatically choose

the best speed depending on the quality of your connection. As the signal

quality weakens then the speed falls back to a lower speed. In general the

closer you are to the Access Point the better the speed. If you are not

achieving the speed you had anticipated then try moving the antenna on

the Access Point or moving the Wireless computer closer to the Access

Point. In an ideal network the Access Point should be located in the centre

of the network with Wireless computers distributed around it. Applications

are generally available with the computer wireless card to carry out a site

survey. Use this application to find the optimal siting for your wireless

computer. Consult your Wireless Card documentation and vendor for more

details.

Alert LED The Alert LED will flash when the Access Point unit is first powered up while

the system software checks the hardware for proper operation. Once the

Access Point has started normal operation, the Alert LED will go out.

■ If the Alert LED does not go out following start up, but illuminates

continuously, this indicates that the software has detected a possible fault

with the hardware. Remove power from the Access Point, wait 10 seconds

and then re-apply power. If the Alert LED comes on continuously again,

then a fault has been detected. Locate the copy of the Access Point

software on the 3Com web site (

http://www.3com.com) and upload it to

the Access Point to see if this clears the fault (refer to “Recovering from

Corrupted Software” below). If this does not fix the problem, contact your

supplier for further advice.

Recovering from

Corrupted Software

If the Alert LED remains permanently on following power-up, it is possible

that the system software has become corrupted. In this condition, the Access

Point will enter a “recovery” state. Follow the instructions below to upload a

new copy of the system software to a Access Point unit in this state.

Ensure that one of your computers has a copy of the new software image file

stored on its hard disk or available on CD-ROM.

The latest software is available on 3Com’s Web site at: