Configuring UVM Wireless on Windows XP

For best results, ETS recommends that you upgrade your computer to Windows 7 or later before using the UVM Wireless Network. If you must use XP, the installation of XP Service Pack 3 is required before connecting to the UVM Wireless network.  To determine your current Service Pack level and install Service Pack 3 if necessary, see Installing Service Pack 3 in this document.  UVM Wireless will work with XP Service Pack 2, but several hotfixes or third-party software components will be required for reliable connectivity to the network.

Many systems will have third-party wireless card management software installed (such as "Intel ProSet Wireless" or "Dell WLAN Configuration Utility").  ETS strongly recommends disabling or uninstalling this software.  Information on disabling Intel ProSet can be found in the XP Configuration with Intel ProSet section of the UVM Wireless documentation pages.  The remainder of this documentation assumes that you have disabled third-party wireless management tools.

Installing XP Service Pack 3

Microsoft has added many enhancements to XP's wireless capabilities since the release of the Operating System in 2002.  To ensure maximum compatibility of XP with the UVM wireless network, it is recommended that you install Service Pack 3 before proceeding.

  1. Verify the current Service Pack level of your system:
  2. Launch the Internet Explorer web browser.  Under the "Tools" menu, select "Windows Update":
    1. Several prompts may appear requesting that you approve the installation of update-related components.  You must approve these installations:

       
    2. You may also be prompted to update Windows software for compatibility with the Windows Update site.  You must allow these updates to take place:

       
    3. It is recommended that you perform a "custom" installation to ensure that all possible updates will be displayed by the web site, but an "Express" install should still prompt you to install Service Pack 3 (in most cases).

       
    4. When prompted, select the "Download and Install Now" option for installing Service Pack 3:
      XP Serice Pack Installation query
       
    5. Once you accept the license agreement, installation should complete without further prompting.  You will be required to reboot your computer after the Service Pack installs:
      XP - Service Pack license prompt

    3. Configure a UVM Wireless Profile Manually:

    1. If you have not already installed Service Pack 3 on your system, follow the instructions in the "Installing XP Service Pack 3" section of this document before proceeding.
    2. Go to the "Start" menu, select "Control Panel":

       
    3. Select the "Network and Internet Connections" Control Panel group, then select the "Network Connections" Control Panel icon. (Or, if you see a list of Control Panel items, select the "Network Connections" item directly.):
       
       
    4. Locate your wireless network connection from the list of available network adapters. Right-click the adapter and select "Properties":
    5. Select the "Wireless Networks" tab from the connection properties dialog. Click "Add" to start configuring a new wireless network:

       
      1. Under the "Associations" tab of the new "Wireless network properties" dialog, enter the following values:
        Network name (SSID): UVM
        Network Authentication: WPA2
        Data Encryption: AES
      2. Under the "Authentication" tab, enter the following values:
        EAP type: "Protected EAP (PEAP)"
        Authenticate as computer when computer information is available: Not selected
      3. Additional EAP properties need to be specified:
        1. Click "Properties" under the "EAP type" menu and provide the following additional values:
          Connect to these servers:  Select this box, and enter "radius.uvm.edu" as the server name.
          Trusted Root Certification Authorities: Select "Equifax Secure Certificate Authority".  If it is present          , also select "GeoTrust Global CA".
          (Note: If "Equifax Secure Certificate Authority" is not available in the list of certificates, you will need to manually install these certificates. Download and install the Equifax Root Certificate from the Utilities page, then return to this document.)
          Select Authentication Method: Secured password (EAP-MSCHAP v2)


          You will need to select additional authentication settings:
          1. Click "Configure" next to the "Select Authentication Method" menu.
          2. In the "EAP MSCHAPv2 Properties" dialog, make the following selections:
            • If you will be connecting to the WPA2 network from a system that is joined to the "CAMPUS" domain, and you log in to your workstation using your UVM NetID and passoword, you should leave the "Automatically use my Windows login name and password" selected.
            • If your computer is not joined to the CAMPUS domain, clear the "Automatically use my Windows login name and password" box.
          3. Click "OK" to close the MSCHAPv2 Properties.
        2. Click "OK" to close the "Protected EAP Properties"
      4. Click "OK" to close the "Wireless network properties"
    6. Click "OK" to close the properties dialog for your wireless network connection adapter.
    7. If you select to use "passthough authentication" in 5.1.2.1, you should now connect automatically to the WPA2 network whenever it is in rage of you system.  If you are not using passthough authentication, at this point a message should appear in your system tray that states "Additional information is required to connect to WPA2.".  Click this alert bubble:

       
    8. A "Enter Credentials" dialog should appear.  Provide the following information, then click "OK":
      • User name:  [Your UVM NetID]
      • Password: [Your UVM NetID password]
      • Logon domain:  [leave blank]

         
    9. You should now be connected to the UVM wireless network:

    A Note On Password Caching:

    When you provide your username and password to the XP Wireless Connection Manager, this information will be cached in the Windows registry for future use by the currently logged in account.  This behavior cannot be disabled.  If users of a shared computer log into the same local account, they will end up sharing this wireless password cache as well.  Thus, if you are sharing a local account on a Windows XP machine, you likely will not want to connect to the UVM Wireless network.

    If this situation cannot be avoided, it is possible to delete the Wireless password cache.  It is recommended that you configure shared systems to run the following registry update on each logout or reboot:
    delEAPCache.reg
    (The utility "reg.exe", which is included with Windows XP Professional, can be used with the "/import" switch to automate this registry update.)

    More information on this issue can be found here:
    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/823731/