I hate wireless internet!!

[imported_Lucifer]

Hi,

Here is whats going on. My sister owns a 1.6GHz Pentium 4 Fujitsu Laptop with Windows XP Pro. We have a netgear Wireless router and a Wireless PCMCIA card. Ok, she is surfing the web. Then, her internet cuts off. So to get it to work again, I have to double click the little television icon on her system tray, and click Rescan. This disconnects the Wireless card. I then go to My Network Places, and double click the Wireless icon thing. Then a dialogue box comes up. I click a check box so I can try to reconnect to the internet. Sometimes it reconnects, and she is surfing again. Other times, it refuses to reconnect at all. I have to keep doing the same thing over and over for it to connect at times. Sometimes, pulling out the card and putting it back in works, but most of the time it doesnt. This is very frustrating. Is this just a common bug in Wireless? If not, how do I keep this from happening? Everytime it happens, I have to keep trying to reconfigure it, and it gets very irritating.

Help anyone?

 

[Mrvile]

Try the latest drivers. My D-Link wireless card did that all the time until I updated my drivers.

 

[boyRacer]

Is it on the same channel?

 

[winterlude]

I don't have wireless, so my advice may be completely useless, but can't you set XP to reconnect automatically on loss (99 times) in the connection properties?

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Hi,

The drivers are up to date. What do you mean is it on the same channel? And how do I get to the connection properties? Im sorry, I dont use XP frequently. Sorry for the ignorant questions.

 

[Rhin0]

Wireless routers and access points usually have channels to select from they are all slightly different frequencies. I could pick any that I wanted on my WRT54GS but I never had to pick one for the card, it was automatic.


Also are we talking A, B, or G here? or mixed network? How's signal quality? Tried any other wireless network management besides XP's? I use Linksys's (came with hardware)

Is WEP on? What are your other settings?

 

[Googer]

Go to your routers configureation setup. Usualy it is done through a web browser after entering the ip address of the default gateway. Find the page that lets you change channels and choose channel 11 since it has the least amount of interferance.

 

[Googer]

are you using a pc or a mac?
Seriosuly make sure you are not using a microwave oven or cordless phone, if you have a cordless phone unplug it for a day or so and see if the problem goes away. With wireless setups there are soo many cause of disruption. This is just the start.

 

[WackyDan]

Originally posted by: Googer
Go to your routers configureation setup. Usualy it is done through a web browser after entering the ip address of the default gateway. Find the page that lets you change channels and choose channel 11 since it has the least amount of interferance.

Really depends on his environment.

 

[Mik3y]

i'm on wireless all the time. it may be the location of your system from where the router is. wireless is very picky about hot spots.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Hi,

I believe its a mixed network, if you mean that we have other computers on the network, two Macs, the PC and my sisters Laptop. Now here is the thing. The signal quality will say "Excellent" but it wont connect to the internet. Very confusing. We have only used XP's network management. The Netgear router didnt come with any network management, i dont think. It didnt have a software install CD. WEP, I think is on. Everytime I double click the wireless card icon in Network Places, it gives me a dialogue box. I then clicked the advanced button, and I believe I turned WEP on in there. Those are the only settings, I think.

As for Googers suggestion, I will give that a try.

 

[WackyDan]

Depending on what you are using for a connection manager, (ie; XP, Intel proset, etc) make sure that the laptops card is not trying to roam if it gets a weak signal. You may want to delete any un-used profiles that are setup for the card, apply new firmware to both router and card if available, (not drivers), check for 2.4GHZ devices that could cause interference, and see if it's a range issue by working close into the AP then work your way further out. It can be something simple... or it can be just flaky hardware.

Try multiple channels as well.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Originally posted by: Googer
are you using a pc or a mac?
Seriosuly make sure you are not using a microwave oven or cordless phone, if you have a cordless phone unplug it for a day or so and see if the problem goes away. With wireless setups there are soo many cause of disruption. This is just the start.

The Laptop is a PC. We just bought a new cordless phone, a GE, but I know its not the problem causer, because the problem was there even when the phone wasnt there.

Originally posted by: Mik3y
i'm on wireless all the time. it may be the location of your system from where the router is. wireless is very picky about hot spots.

My sisters room is not that far from the router. Her room is very close. She has the door closed most of the time, but the internet is still connected. But once it disconnects, it disconnects.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Originally posted by: WackyDan
Depending on what you are using for a connection manager, (ie; XP, Intel proset, etc) make sure that the laptops card is not trying to roam if it gets a weak signal. You may want to delete any un-used profiles that are setup for the card, apply new firmware to both router and card if available, (not drivers), check for 2.4GHZ devices that could cause interference, and see if it's a range issue by working close into the AP then work your way further out. It can be something simple... or it can be just flaky hardware.

Try multiple channels as well.

There may be something with the laptops hardware, thats where my brother is getting at. The reason he thinks so is after we did a second reinstall of Windows, the Laptop still ran very slow, as if we didnt even reinstall the OS. The 600mhz HP Kayak runs better most of the time. Firmware is up to date though.

 

[SickBeast]

It could be the router. Are the other people using it experiencing these stability problems?

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Ok, now something else. My netgear router did not come with any software whatsoever. I typed in the router IP address in the address bar, and it asks for a User name and Password. How am I supposed to know this if all we did was connect the computers to the router?

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
It could be the router. Are the other people using it experiencing these stability problems?

Everyone on the direct connection is not experiencing the problem. The only problem we have however, is that our SBC DSL modem decides it can disconnect everyone. I have to reset the modem to get everything working again. But even if we (us on direct connection) are all surfing the web with no problems, my sisters wireless is experiencing problems. I am surfing Anandtech while she is asking me to get her internet working again.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: Thin Lizzy
Ok, now something else. My netgear router did not come with any software whatsoever. I typed in the router IP address in the address bar, and it asks for a User name and Password. How am I supposed to know this if all we did was connect the computers to the router?

So in other words your network is not secured... :Q

I have no experience with Netgear stuff but your username should be: admin

and your password should be: password

if you left it at default... from there on hopefully you can access your routers settings.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Unfortunatly, that password and username didnt work. I dont get it. I never ever messed with the router settings, because I didnt know how. Would I have been able to set a password and username if there was a software install cd?

 

[winterlude]

Try right-clicking on your connection icon in Network Connections. There you should see a dialogue box with different tabs (General, Options, Secutity etc.) Under Options, there are Redialing options e.g. redial if line is dropped, redial 999 times etc. Like I said, this info may be useless to you, or it may help. Good luck.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Useless? Of course not!! You trying to help me is very helpful, and therefore is not useless!!

Going to do it right now.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Redialing is done. But now I have to figure out how to access my router through the IP address.

 

[Malak]

I have a netgear wireless NIC and router, maybe I can help. Let me go look for the manual and see what it says the default password is.

 

[imported_Lucifer]

Originally posted by: malak
I have a netgear wireless NIC and router, maybe I can help. Let me go look for the manual and see what it says the default password is.

Awesome!! Thanks so much!

 

[Malak]

Which model is it? For the NIC and router.

I have had nothing but trouble with the NIC, it's always having issues. The router has been fine so far though.