Wireless Network Troubles

[Nerelda]

Wow it's been a while I know, but work keeps me terribly busy. >.< Sorry friends. I still think about you all though and hope I'm not yet forgotten.

Anywho...onto the issue at hand.

Quite recently (being about a week or so ago) I've started experiencing a very strange problem with my wireless connection. First, let me just say that the only thing that changed right before this issue is that my brother finally put security on out network and I have no way to get into the router settings to see anything. I did not install any new software nor did I change my settings when this started.

The issue started out as I would lose connection to the router it'self through my wireless adapter at random. For a few days, simply unplugging the adapter and plugging it back in would work. Then that stopped working. Rebooting worked for a day, maybe two. Next thing I knew, the adapter would only reconnect if I used the repair option by right-clicking the Wireless network connection down on my taskbar. No one else in the house with wireless was losing connection, so I knew it had to be on my end. A few days ago, I went to Staples and replaced my wireless adapter with a new one. (Netgear WPN111) For the first few hours, everything ran fantastic, then the issue started again. Now using the repair option does not always doe the trick. We have reset the router and cable modem several times, but that does not seem to make a difference.

Right now, I'm somehow able to stay connected. I can go to most websites, chat on messenger, and cam with a friend on skype all at the same time. Though I have noticed that if I try to attach a file to an email, or if I try to visit some websites for any longer than 2 minutes, my connection drops again.

I have ran virus and spyware scans, but come up with a clean bill of health.

I am working in Windows XP. The wireless adapter is model WPN11. Browser is Firefox - most recent version.

[iccaros]

what type of router,

I have had this happen with routers that are less expensive as they seam to break up packets when encryption is on.

This happened to my Mac Book, where the mac Book was sensitive to this packet breaking, a patch from apple fixed it.

the only suggestion is to try a wireless adapter made by the same company.. but other then that..

[Nerelda]

what type of router,

I have had this happen with routers that are less expensive as they seam to break up packets when encryption is on.

This happened to my Mac Book, where the mac Book was sensitive to this packet breaking, a patch from apple fixed it.

the only suggestion is to try a wireless adapter made by the same company.. but other then that..

I can't recall the exact model, but the router and adapter are both Netgear. The adapter and router are both not bottom of the line. If I remember correctly, the router was a mid-line. Also, both are up to date on firmware.

I think I also mentioned that my machine is the only one that does this. We now have 2 laptops, and 2 other desktops that use the wireless here, but none of them seem to have any troubles.

[TheTerrorist_75]

If this is a USB adaptor try another USB port. The one you are using may be having problems.

[Pete_C]

I would wonder if the actions of your brother and the problem are totally unrelated.

My first suspicion is that on your wlan manager for your wireless adapter you have not selected your router as the default connection and you have it configured to search for better connections (something like that) and one of your neighbors also got a wireless router (Hmm , maybe they were leaching off yours and when you protected it they decided to get one themselves) and at times it has a stronger signal than yours. When this happens , your adapter drops your connection and tries to connect to theirs but if theirs is protected it can't but it keeps trying.

The other probable cause which comes to mind is interference. A new 2.4GHz cordless phone or leaky microwave oven can cause these disconnects.

[Nerelda]

If this is a USB adaptor try another USB port. The one you are using may be having problems.

Thanks for the advice! Though I had tried 3 different ports already. Sorry I forgot to mention that.

I would wonder if the actions of your brother and the problem are totally unrelated.

My first suspicion is that on your wlan manager for your wireless adapter you have not selected your router as the default connection and you have it configured to search for better connections (something like that) and one of your neighbors also got a wireless router (Hmm , maybe they were leaching off yours and when you protected it they decided to get one themselves) and at times it has a stronger signal than yours. When this happens , your adapter drops your connection and tries to connect to theirs but if theirs is protected it can't but it keeps trying.

The other probable cause which comes to mind is interference. A new 2.4GHz cordless phone or leaky microwave oven can cause these disconnects.

I'm not sure about the router thing. I don't think that was it. Will explain in a second though. As far as interference. That did come to mind and I went in search of any of those, but none.

On a very much UP note, I do believe I have resolved the issue. *knocks on wood* Late last night I found a 12 page thread on netgear's forums where people were experiencing the same issues. I got through the first few pages and about halfway through, I noticed something I had not tried yet. Someone else said that for some reason, their adapter did that on their 2.0 USB ports but when the adapter was plugged into their 1.1 onboard ports, they stopped having the issues. After unplugging my adapter from my USB cards, I switched one of my other USB devices and put it into an onboard port. Since about 8 this morning, I've been going to every site I could and playing all games I have to try my hardest to kill my connection, to no avail. Windows says my signal strength is low, but the netgear's program says my signal strength is medium to top notch. Either way, my connection speed is what it should be now and I have not had any problems.

I will continue to test the limits and monitor my connection for the next few days. I hope this is the end of my troubles with this particular issue.

[Pete_C]

If this is a USB adaptor try another USB port. The one you are using may be having problems.

Thanks for the advice! Though I had tried 3 different ports already. Sorry I forgot to mention that.

I would wonder if the actions of your brother and the problem are totally unrelated.

My first suspicion is that on your wlan manager for your wireless adapter you have not selected your router as the default connection and you have it configured to search for better connections (something like that) and one of your neighbors also got a wireless router (Hmm , maybe they were leaching off yours and when you protected it they decided to get one themselves) and at times it has a stronger signal than yours. When this happens , your adapter drops your connection and tries to connect to theirs but if theirs is protected it can't but it keeps trying.

The other probable cause which comes to mind is interference. A new 2.4GHz cordless phone or leaky microwave oven can cause these disconnects.

I'm not sure about the router thing. I don't think that was it. Will explain in a second though. As far as interference. That did come to mind and I went in search of any of those, but none.

On a very much UP note, I do believe I have resolved the issue. *knocks on wood* Late last night I found a 12 page thread on netgear's forums where people were experiencing the same issues. I got through the first few pages and about halfway through, I noticed something I had not tried yet. Someone else said that for some reason, their adapter did that on their 2.0 USB ports but when the adapter was plugged into their 1.1 onboard ports, they stopped having the issues. After unplugging my adapter from my USB cards, I switched one of my other USB devices and put it into an onboard port. Since about 8 this morning, I've been going to every site I could and playing all games I have to try my hardest to kill my connection, to no avail. Windows says my signal strength is low, but the netgear's program says my signal strength is medium to top notch. Either way, my connection speed is what it should be now and I have not had any problems.

I will continue to test the limits and monitor my connection for the next few days. I hope this is the end of my troubles with this particular issue.

That sounds like one of the following issues

1. There are several devices plugged into the same USB host and at least one of them takes up all the resources causing the network adapter to loose communication.

2. The same can apply to PCI cards, if you have multiple PCI cards; sometimes one can cause the network adapter to loose connection. THis is why some motherboards have one PCI slot of a different color for installing network adapters. This special slot has its own dedicated resources and does not get interrupted or disconnected by other devices.

I always recommend having USB networking adapters on a dedicated host which has nothing else connected.

[Nerelda]

Well it seems That did not solve the problem. I started having the same issues happen again suddenly last night. This morning I returned the adapter and got a Linksys adapter. It seems to connect fine to the router, but takes a while to aquire a network address, then tells me it has not internet connectivity (windows says limited or no connectivity). I would LIKE to try recycling the router as well as the modem, but I can do neither until my brother is not home, which won't be until tomorrow afternoon.

[Nerelda]

Tried recycling both the router and modem. I rebooted the computer. No luck.

Also tried MANUALLY setting my IP address (was getting the generic 169.xxx.x.x type of address). I set my IP address to be unique, so it was not the same as any other should be on the network. Rebooted the computer after that. All settings (IP address, Subnet, etc) are all looking proper. Connection is being made to the router, but it says I have no internet connection.

I have been trying to get through to my parents to talk to my brother to give me access to the router's settings. Mom finally says she'll see what she can do, but I have no hope for that. Both my parents don't like any kind of confrontation with him.

Any thoughts? (besides the obvious that my brother is a douchebag) LOL

[Nerelda]

ok, I can get into the router right now, but I don't know how long he'll let me in. So far, all settings on there look correct. Nothing special really set up. Just the WEP encryption.