# Laptop Drops Wireless Connection - Vista.



## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

For some reason my laptop drops the connection every so often.... i know its not the router because my other computers dont drop the connection... any ideas?


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

Are the other computers wireless too?


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

How about the make/model of the wireless router, and the answer to Candy's question?


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## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

one is yes ...

and the router is a lynksys wrt54g


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

One thing that comes to mind is upgrading the firmware on the router. That will sometimes address these issues. If that doesn't do it, maybe we can extract the make/model of the laptop and wireless adapter. Also, the version and patch level of Windows would be nice to know...


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## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

*update* 

ok i followed your advice john and yes it seems i had version 1.00.9 the current version is 1.02.0 so i upgraded.

i just got home and read the post so i wont know for a while if the problem continues 

i will give you the laptop info maybe there is something you heard about that causes this issue its a HP Pav DV4000
wireless adapter is Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG 

as far as the vista version its 32bit but i am not sure where i find out whats the latest patch info if you tell me the steps i will gladly get the info for ya 

thx again for all the help


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

No problem, Vista 32 is sufficient, I'm assuming you're running the latest updates, correct?

For sure you want to make sure you have the latest drivers for that Intel wireless adapter, they're somewhat infamous for having problems with outdated drivers.


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## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

yes sir its updated to date 

i did check the intel site and found that they released a new driver 5/25 so i installed it 

i hope with the driver and firmware upgrade the problem has been fixed but only time will tell..

thx again for the great advice!


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Time will tell.


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## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

well i am still getting drops.... not as often but they are still happening 

one thing i was thinking and maybe you have an idea..

right now i have no WEP or WPA set up on the network only mac filtering.... reason is one of the computers on the network doesnt support WPA and when i tried WEP it drops the connection every 2-3 minutes so i left only mac filtering...

i wonder if maybe someone is trying to get on or causing some sort of issue that makes the wireless drop 

any ideas?


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

Have a 2.4Ghz cordless phone? Some people have found that such a phone can cause more problems (wireless interference) with an encrypted network than with an unsecured one.


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## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

not here i dont but i do live in an apartment complex maybe someone close has one.........


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

That's probably a bit far away  I think Terry meant like right beside


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

Actually, in an apartment, it's likely that a number of things could cause wireless interference. For apartment use, I sometimes suggest 802.11a equipment. here's an example:

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?sku=438567&srccode=cii_9324560&cpncode=07-26537717-2

Of course, you'd then have to get an 802.11a network adapter for the laptop, but this is just another way to go if all else fails.


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## kama64 (Apr 23, 2007)

You could try changing the wireless channel on the router to something..other than the standard 1, 6, 11.

And then change to the same channel on your wireless adapter setting on your laptop.


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## JohnWill (Oct 19, 2002)

The laptop channel will be automatically set when you search for the wireless connection, you don't manually set it.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

"... I think Terry meant like right beside"

Actually there's no reason why a 2.4Ghz cordless has to be in the same apartment to cause mischief. Kinda hard to get proof though unless somebody is willing to go knocking on doors and asking.


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

"You could try changing the wireless channel on the router to something..other than the standard 1, 6, 11."

If this is to avoid other wireless networks I'd suggest first trying to determine what channels the strongest other signals were using. Unfortunately some people disable their SSID broadcast and not all adapters/utilities detect them. If to avoid a 2.4Ghz cordless probably channels 1 and 11 give the best chance.


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## ~Candy~ (Jan 27, 2001)

TerryNet said:


> "... I think Terry meant like right beside"
> 
> Actually there's no reason why a 2.4Ghz cordless has to be in the same apartment to cause mischief. Kinda hard to get proof though unless somebody is willing to go knocking on doors and asking.


REALLY 

That is interesting..........thanks for the correction


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## Guillermojm (Oct 27, 2005)

all good ideas but maybe if i got rid of the old computer this wouldnt happen...but its the father in laws so i am screwed there...... should i go door to door and say "hey the guys at TSG told me if you have a 2.4ghz phone shut it down for good!!!" heh 

i might try the channel thing and keep you posted.....


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## invalidusername (Apr 29, 2007)

2.4 Ghz phone normally interferes when activated (i.e. phone call in progress). To see if your problem is caused by interference, get closer to the router see if the problem goes away.


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## Lipl1 (Jul 20, 2007)

If the time from connect to disconnect is reasonably short try going to a local hotspot and try connecting to that and see if the connection drops or not. If it does it a Laptop problem if not then it's has something to do with the AP. At that point try moving the AP to another area and see if you still get a connection drop.


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## macsdad (Aug 2, 2007)

My new HP a6110n system with Vista drops internet connection thru Linksys WRTP54G router and will reconnect when I power off & on reset the router. My other system, Windows XP remains connected to the same router when the Vista system drops connection. Looks like we have the same problem!

Turning off the Firewall did not help.


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## Lipl1 (Jul 20, 2007)

Does the Linksys have a log. Maybe that log and the system log may show a clue. If the unit is a Laptop and there is a hotspot available where you live see if it drops the connection to the hotspot as well.


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## macsdad (Aug 2, 2007)

I went into Network and Sharing and selected Local Area Network, then went to Status and Properties and disabled Internet Protocol Ver 6. 
Then selected Internet Protocol Ver 4 and changed IP Address from Auto to Use 192.168.15.100, 255.255.255.0, 192.168.15.1

This seems to have fixed my problem of the router dropping the Vista system.

:up:


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