loss of wireless connectivity

Gumbo

Hi guys,

im running a dell inspiron 6000, through a D-Link wireless router in the standar NTL broadband set up.

while surfing, occasionally i will just get a pop up saying "could not connect to your preferred network".

i do all the first steps ie.

go into network connections in my control panel and reboot them, disable them then enable them.
i do wireless searches but it doesnt pick up mine.

9 times out of 10 the laptop will all of a sudden just re-connect but sometime i have to restart and all is well then.

anybody have any ideas?

thanks in advance,
keith.

Lazarus2.0

I'd try changing the channel within the router settings as it could be interference . Is the signal generally strong ?

Overheal

nessyguin wrote: »

I'd try changing the channel within the router settings as it could be interference . Is the signal generally strong ?

if there are other wireless routers operating in your area this is almost always the cause of your poor signal, is that 2 routers will try to operate on the same channel. Switching from the default frequency should cure it.

Mena

Are you running Vista? If so, it's by design... Every 60 seconds or so it rescans for WiFi networks, dropping the existing connection in the process. It's usually not noticeable for normal surfing but can be majorly problematic for sensitive applications like online games etc.

There are a couple of non Microsoft fixes for it but I found none of them to work, I only use a fixed connection now. XP had Wireless Zero Configuration which would prevent this behaviour, however that feature is not present in Vista.

All of the above off course assumes you're running Vista... I'll try dig out the technet articles and other stuff I found online tomorrow. Too late now.

Gumbo

i am running XP,

signal strength is generally strong ie. it says "execellent" but the speed will indicate 36-44 Mbps.

there are 3 other wireless networks in the area that my machine will pick (all locked though)

any advice on how to switch the channel?

thanks.

Overheal

to switch the channel you need to access the router settings. usually the fastest way is to go to http://192.168.1.1 or on some routers ive seen this be http://192.168.2.1 then simply type in name: admin pass: admin and it should get you in to the setup page. there should be a drop-box somewhere to select a new frequency.

Mena I've been using a Vista laptop for a year now in a dozen wireless locations (in 2 countries) - are you sure its not just your wifi setup that is buggy? I would not be quick to blame the Operating System, but rather the wireless signal, or your receiver card, that may be the issue.