I have a network that is connected to the internet via a Linksys router. I have set up the Airport Express to redistribute the signal via WDS. I have a Mac desktop connected to the network and it can see the AE in the Airport Admin, and it can broadcast music via iTunes to the stereo attached to the AE.

However, my Powerbook that is also attached to this network cannot "see" the AE via the Airport Admin or iTunes. In the admin I can manually connect to the AE by typing in the AE's local IP address.

I know there have been other threads on this, and I have read them all and tried the suggestions. I have connected the AE directly to the Powerbook with an ethernet cable and it still does not show up. I have changed the AE's name and rebooted the computer and AE multiple times. Still nothing.

If anyone has more advice, please let me know. This is very odd and frustrating. I do not understand why one computer can see the thing, but the other one cannot.

Thanks,

Bryan

Given your tests so far, it sounds like a configuration issue with the AE. I know it's possible for an Airport to do WDS with another manufacturer's equipment, but it's not supported and there may be some quirks.

Is the extension of the signal range absolutely crucial? If not, I'd try reconfiguring the AE just to join your existing network as a client and see if that works better.

I would also look at "hard Resetting" the Airport Express, configure everything again except for WDS, make sure both your Desktop and PowerBook see the Airport once everything is good, then enable WDS.

I tried that first
 

I did try that first and I had the same problem that I described above: the desktop could see the AE, but the laptop cannot unless you manually search for it by clicking "Other" and entering the IP in the dialogue fields.

Thanks for the idea though. Have any other thoughts?


Bryan

I have done a hard reset and both computers do see the AE. The desktop can see the AE even if it is not connected to the default network that the AE is broadcasting. The Laptop can only see it once it has connected to the default AE network.

Thanks,

Bryan

Wierdness
 

Okay, this really has me baffled... When I woke up this morning and looked at my laptop, the AE appeared in the Admin Utility and as a speaker selection in iTunes. When I tried to select the AE as an audio output in iTunes the application just did not respond. I closed and restarted iTunes and the output selector was no longer there, and when I checked the Admin Utility the AE was no longer in the list.

I decided to not worry about it for now.

So then I logged into my work network via my VPN client. While attached to the VPN I clicked over to iTunes and, lo and behold, the selector is back and the AE is available for audio output. Once again, if I try to select the AE as the output, iTunes does not respond to the selection. The AE is also visible in the Admin Utility while connected to the VPN as well. If I log off of the VPN, the AE disappears from iTunes and the Admin Utility.

Any ideas?


Thanks,

Bryan

Okay,

I figured it out. Apparently there is some conflict between the policies on the SecureClient VPN client on my laptop that would not allow the computer to see or attach to the AE. If I temporarily disable the "security policy" within the client, I can now detect and attach to the AE.

Hope this may help others.

Thanks,

Bryan

Same Issue, Bryan
 

Hi Bryan, for the past three hours I've beeen trying to figure out why my iMac G5 desktop sees the Airport Express network but my two Powerbooks do not. All the computers have used the network without issues previously.

Early in the afternoon, my newer G4 powerbook was on the network as usual; a few hours later, it could not see the device (Airport Express) at all. I've tried resetting the Airport Express box, I've reinstalled the Airport Admin software, etc. I can only pick up the Airport Express network on the G5. It's there as normal.

I'm not using anything with security, such as a VPN (not even sure what that is, but I don't think I have one). The only thing I've added to the system lately is I started using Bonjour printing via the same box on Friday, but I disconnected that for now, in case it was interfering. I am not using iTunes through this device. I'm just using it as a wireless router.

However, none of this explains why my old Powerbook does not see the network either. Seriously confused. Thanks for your help.

Eric Francis
Brussels

Testing Extreme
 

Okay so. Mac store opened. I took my G4 notebook in to test that its Airport card works. Seems fine -- many networks, has no problem logging in. Can we conclude the card is working from that experiment?

That narrows it down, in theory, to the Airport Express box. I replace that. Take it home, plug it in and -- same EXACT problem. The G5 desktop sees the new network quickly; neither of the Powerbooks see it. Invisible. Not there. Note that the two notebooks have little in common except that they both work. They are two years apart in age and about a year apart in system software. No recent modifications to the old one.

So it seems to be something that is a) restricted to notebooks only or b) local to my space. Those are the two things that the problem has in common, since it only affects notebooks attempting to log into an Airport Express network; and it only happens here -- though I have not taken the AE boxes outside to try them somewhere else.

However I tried one last test of moving the router across my apartment using a long ethernet. Lots of cable; no joy. This is starting to sound like a project for Apple engineers. The workaround is a router and using the notebook with Ethernet while I am here. I can think of nothing else.

e

Download "iStumbler" (www.istumbler.net) and check if it can see the network from your powerbook.

Hello Hayne,

Nice gadget there! Now I feel like the NSA, I can watch my neighbors bits go by. As for my situation...

The first break in the weirdness came with an idea. How about try something irrelevant: go to my old powerbook, change accounts, and see what I can see? Voila, that was the first time I saw one of my local airport networks on a powerbook in two days.

Then, emboldened by the success of that idiocy, I made a new account on my new powerbook...and looked at airport...and it could indeed see the network. Was this entirely a coincidence -- did I do this at the exact moment that the network came back on? Ummmm maybe. Probably. How can I know?

Do computers read Arthur C Clark novels and,,,um...learn? And think?

But - mystery persists - it could only see the OLD as in original Airport Express box (I had both plugged in at this point). So I moved the ethernet cable to that box and encore voila, I was back kind of where I started before all this began. However, the new Airport Express box remained invisible to the both powerbooks.

Eventually they both showed up. Both are now visible (or were, till I unplugged one) in all modes - airport admin, airport and istumbler. The evidence points to some external factor. Such as a martian ray beam, a random piece of equipment like my iPod picking up a sunspot and amplifying it, somebody leaving the a cordless phone off the hook for two days, psychic interference, little kids inventing dangerous technoshit in the attic next door, the nonlethal weapons program, or one of several hundred trillion possibilities.

I would still love to know The TRUTH.

Glad to have found this board. I'll be checking in regularly.

Eric Francis
mac user since 1989 solid...
from the Mac Plus to the II CX to the G5...a fan and not a geek

PS this is only the second dumbest Mac riddle I've had, the other, fortunately, was nearly five years ago and involved simm chips.

Very same problem
 

Hope someone is reading this, after this long time.

I have the very same problem whith my airport express, whitch have worked for almost a year now, whith no problems at all. After updating my system to 10.4.7 it went bad. I can connect to my network, but my Airport Admin Utility and my iTunes cannot see the AE. Now you are talking about something called secure VPN... What is that? Where is that? How did you solve your problem? Please help...

No need
 

Fixed the problem with help from another tread. Verifyed and repaired disk permissions with disk utilily and rebooted. Now its as good as new... Wonder if it might work with other mysterius problems some other time...