Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN Client Adapters (CB21AG and PI21AG) Installation and Configuration Guide, Release 4.0

Routine Procedures

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This chapter provides procedures for common tasks related to the client adapter.

The following topics are covered in this chapter:

•Removing a Client Adapter

•Client Adapter Software Procedures

•Enabling or Disabling Your Client Adapter's Radio

Removing a Client Adapter

Follow the instructions in this section to remove a PC-Cardbus card or PCI card from a computing device, when necessary.

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Caution These procedures and the physical connections they describe apply generally to conventional Cardbus slots and PCI expansion slots. In cases of custom or nonconventional equipment, be alert to possible differences in Cardbus slot and PCI expansion slot configurations.

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Removing a PC-Cardbus Card

To remove a PC-Cardbus card after it is successfully installed and configured (such as when your laptop is to be transported), completely shut down your computer and pull the card directly out of the Cardbus slot. When the card is reinserted and the computer is rebooted, your connection to the network should be re-established.

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Note If you need to remove your PC-Cardbus card but do not want to shut down your computer, double-click the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the Windows system tray, choose the Cisco Aironet client adapter you want to remove under Hardware devices, click Stop, and click OK to close each open window. Then pull the card directly out of the card slot.

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Removing a PCI Card

Because PCI client adapters are installed inside desktop computers, which are not designed for portable use, you should have little reason to remove the adapter. However, instructions are provided below in case you need to remove your PCI card.

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Step 1 Completely shut down your computer.

Step 2 Remove the computer cover.

Step 3 Remove the screw from the top of the CPU back panel above the PCI expansion slot that holds your client adapter.

Step 4 Disassemble the antenna from the base.

Step 5 Pull up firmly on the client adapter to release it from the slot and carefully tilt the adapter to slip its antenna through the opening near the slot.

Step 6 Reinstall the screw on the CPU back panel and replace the computer cover.

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Client Adapter Software Procedures

This section provides instructions for the following procedures:

•Upgrading the client adapter software, page 3

•Manually installing or upgrading the client adapter driver, page 6

•Uninstalling the client adapter software, page 6

•ADU procedures, page 7

•ASTU procedures, page 11

Upgrading the Client Adapter Software

Follow these steps to upgrade your Cisco Aironet CB21AG or PI21AG client adapter software to a more recent release using the settings that were selected during the last installation.

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Note If you want to upgrade your client adapter software using new installation settings, uninstall the previous installation (see the instructions on page 6); then install the new software (see the instructions on page 3-9).

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Step 1 Make sure the client adapter is inserted into your computer.

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Note If your client adapter is not inserted, the installation continues, but the driver installation is incomplete. You must manually upgrade the driver later using the Update Device Driver Wizard. See the "Manually Installing or Upgrading the Client Adapter Driver" section for instructions.

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Step 2 Use Windows Explorer to find the Install Wizard file.

Step 3 Double-click the file. The "Starting InstallShield Wizard" message appears followed by the Preparing Setup window (see Figure 9-1) and the Previous Installation Detected window (see Figure 9-2).

Figure 9-1 Preparing Setup Window

Figure 9-2 Previous Installation Detected Window

Step 4 Choose Update the previous installation and click Next.

Step 5 When a message appears indicating that you are required to restart your computer at the end of the installation process, click Yes.

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Note If you click No, you are asked to confirm your decision. If you proceed, the installation process terminates.

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The Setup Status window appears (see Figure 9-3).

Figure 9-3 Setup Status Window

The upgrade process begins, and you are notified as each software component is installed.

Step 6 When a message appears indicating that your computer needs to be rebooted, click OK and allow your computer to restart. The client adapter's software has been upgraded.

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Manually Installing or Upgrading the Client Adapter Driver

If you installed or upgraded the client adapter software without the client adapter inserted into your computer, the driver installation is incomplete. Follow these steps to manually install or upgrade the client adapter driver.

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Step 1 Insert the client adapter into your computer.

Step 2 Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Device Manager > Network Adapters.

Step 3 Right-click Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless Adapter.

Step 4 Click Properties.

Step 5 Choose the Driver tab and click Update Driver.

Step 6 Use the update wizard to select the driver from the root\windows\system32 directory (such as C:\Windows\system32) and finish the update procedure.

Step 7 Follow these steps to activate the newly updated driver:

a. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Network Connections or Network and Dial-up Connections.

b. Right-click the wireless connection.

c. Choose Disable.

d. Repeat Steps a and b.

e. Choose Enable.

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Uninstalling the Client Adapter Software

This section provides instructions for uninstalling the software for your Cisco Aironet CB21AG or PI21AG client adapter. This procedure is necessary if you want to remove installed client adapter software from your computer or downgrade to a previous release.

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Note If you want to downgrade to an earlier release of client adapter software, use this procedure to uninstall the current software. Then install the older software.

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Note When you uninstall the client adapter software, any existing profiles and stored PAC files are removed. If you want to save your profiles for later use, follow the instructions in Chapter 4 to export your profiles before uninstalling the software.

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Step 1 Make sure the client adapter is inserted into your computer.

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Note If your client adapter is not inserted, the driver cannot be uninstalled.

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Step 2 Use Windows Explorer to find the Install Wizard file.

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Note If you do not have the Install Wizard's setup.exe file, you can access the client adapter software by clicking Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Cisco Aironet Installation Program > Remove. Then follow the steps below beginning with the Preparing Setup window in Step 3.

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Step 3 Double-click the file. The "Starting InstallShield Wizard" message appears followed by the Preparing Setup window (see Figure 9-1) and the Previous Installation Detected window (see Figure 9-2).

Step 4 Choose Uninstall the previous installation and click Next.

Step 5 When a message appears indicating that you are required to restart your computer at the end of the operation, click Yes. (If you click No, you are asked to confirm your decision. If you proceed, the installation process terminates.)

Step 6 When prompted to confirm your decision, click OK. The process to uninstall the files begins.

Step 7 When prompted to uninstall the device driver, click Yes.

Step 8 When a message appears indicating that your computer needs to be rebooted, click OK and allow your computer to restart. The client adapter software and its program folder have been uninstalled.

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Note This procedure does not remove the Install Wizard file. If you want to remove it from your computer, find the file using Windows Explorer and delete it.

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ADU Procedures

This section provides instructions for the following procedures:

•Opening ADU, page 8

•Exiting ADU, page 8

•Finding the version of ADU and other software components, page 9

•Viewing client adapter information, page 10

•Accessing online help, page 10

Opening ADU

To open ADU, perform one of the following:

•Double-click the Aironet Desktop Utility icon on your desktop.

•Choose Aironet Desktop Utility from the folder in the Windows Start Menu that you chose during installation (the default location is Start > Programs > Cisco Aironet > Aironet Desktop Utility).

•Right-click the ASTU icon in the Windows system tray and choose Open Aironet Desktop Utility.

Exiting ADU

To exit ADU, perform one of the following:

•Choose Exit from the Action drop-down menu (see Figure 9-4).

•Right-click the ASTU icon in the Windows system tray and choose Exit.

Figure 9-4 Action Drop-Down Menu

Finding the Version of ADU and Other Software Components

Follow these steps to find the current version of ADU and other software components.

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Step 1 Open ADU.

Step 2 Choose the About Aironet Desktop Utility option from the Help drop-down menu. The About window appears (see Figure 9-5).

Figure 9-5 About Window

Table 9-1 lists and describes the software components shown in the About window.

Table 9-1 Software Components Shown in About Window 

Software Component	Description
Configuration Utility	Aironet Client Administration Utility (ACAU) version
Application Interface	Aironet Desktop Utility (ADU) version
Authentication Interface	Supplicant version
Authentication Protocol Driver	Protocol driver version
Wireless Device Driver	Windows NDIS miniport driver version

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Viewing Client Adapter Information

To view information about your client adapter, open ADU. Click the Diagnostics tab and Adapter Information. The Adapter Information window appears (see Figure 9-6).

Figure 9-6 Adapter Information Window

Table 9-2 interprets each element of the Adapter Information window.

Table 9-2 Adapter Information 

Status	Description
Card Name	A description of your client adapter.
MAC Address	The MAC address assigned to your client adapter at the factory.
Driver	The filename and location of your client adapter's driver.
Driver Version	The version of the NDIS device driver that is currently installed on your computer.
Driver Date	The date that your client adapter's driver was created.
Client Name	The name your client adapter uses when it associates to an access point. Note Refer to the Client Name parameter in Table 5-2 for information on setting the client name.
Serial Number	The serial number of your client adapter.

Click OK to close the Adapter Information window.

Accessing Online Help

To access the ADU online help, open ADU. Then choose the Aironet Desktop Utility Help option from the Help drop-down menu.

ASTU Procedures

Refer to Chapter 8 for instructions on using ASTU.

Enabling or Disabling Your Client Adapter's Radio

Your client adapter's radio can be enabled or disabled. Disabling the radio prevents the adapter from transmitting RF energy. You might want to disable the client adapter's radio in the following situations:

•You are not transmitting data and want to conserve battery power.

•You are using a laptop on an airplane and want to prevent the adapter's transmissions from potentially interfering with the operation of certain devices.

When the radio is enabled, it periodically sends out probes even if it is not associated to an access point (in infrastructure mode) or another client (in ad hoc mode), as required by the 802.11 specification. Therefore, it is important to disable it around devices that are susceptible to RF interference.

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Note Your client adapter is not associated while its radio is disabled.

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Note If your client adapter's radio is disabled before your computer enters standby or hibernate mode or before you reboot the computer, the radio remains disabled when the computer resumes. You must enable the radio to resume operation.

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You can use ADU or ASTU to enable or disable the client adapter's radio. Follow the instructions below to use ADU or refer to the "Enable/Disable Radio" section on page 8-7 to use ASTU.

If your client adapter's radio is enabled, open ADU and choose Disable Radio from the Action drop-down menu (see Figure 9-4) to disable the radio.

If your client adapter's radio is disabled, open ADU and choose Enable Radio from the Action drop-down menu (see Figure 9-4) to enable the radio.