# Solved: Windows 7 having to reset wireless adapter constantly



## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

Hello,

I just moved into a new place and I've been having a lot of trouble with the wireless connection. There are 4 other people sharing the wireless and none of them seem to have problems, and my phone connects fine, but my laptop will randomly lose internet access while still detecting the network. When I run the troubleshooter it says it has reset the wireless adapter, and the connection will work again, but sometimes only for a few minutes before it craps out. I don't have access to the wireless router itself, so doing anything with that will require asking the landlady (who doesn't speak English well). I had access fine for the first two days after I moved in. I did install a couple of programs after that: 7-Zip and Flash Player 11.2 (since the newest Flash version crashes my Firefox). I don't know if that could have anything to do with it.

I'm running Windows 7 64-bit on an Asus laptop. After searching around the forum a bit, I followed the instructions in this post and will paste the results here. I don't know if the ping address starting with 206 might be invalid since the post is from several years ago.

Thanks so much for any help!

C:\Users\Lindsay>IPCONFIG /ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Lindsay-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR8121/AR8113/AR8114 PCI-E Ethern
et Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 48-5B-39-8F-0D-CF
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 1C-4B-D6-CA-31-30
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::2cba:a1cd:db32:7f64%15(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.14(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : September-07-12 8:59:48 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : September-07-12 9:59:51 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 169626582
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-13-A1-7E-D3-1C-4B-D6-CA-31-30

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 64.59.160.13
64.59.161.68
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter isatap.{E67C750D-02FF-423A-9DB7-79557A30A425}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter isatap.{33813367-FE0F-4835-83ED-354675F0DB0C}:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Microsoft ISATAP Adapter #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::207c:27ea:3f57:fff1%10(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 402653184
DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-13-A1-7E-D3-1C-4B-D6-CA-31-30

NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Users\Lindsay>PING 192.168.0.14

Pinging 192.168.0.14 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.14: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.0.14: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.0.14: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 192.168.0.14: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 192.168.0.14:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

C:\Users\Lindsay>PING 192.168.0.1

Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=95ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=1ms TTL=64
Reply from 192.168.0.1: bytes=32 time=3ms TTL=64

Ping statistics for 192.168.0.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 1ms, Maximum = 95ms, Average = 25ms

C:\Users\Lindsay>PING 64.59.160.13

Pinging 64.59.160.13 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 64.59.160.13: bytes=32 time=59ms TTL=62
Reply from 64.59.160.13: bytes=32 time=16ms TTL=62
Reply from 64.59.160.13: bytes=32 time=25ms TTL=62
Reply from 64.59.160.13: bytes=32 time=14ms TTL=62

Ping statistics for 64.59.160.13:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 14ms, Maximum = 59ms, Average = 28ms

C:\Users\Lindsay>PING 206.190.60.37

Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\Lindsay>PING WWW.YAHOO.COM

Pinging ds-any-fp3-real.wa1.b.YAHOO.COM [72.30.38.140] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 72.30.38.140: bytes=32 time=435ms TTL=56
Request timed out.
Reply from 72.30.38.140: bytes=32 time=381ms TTL=56
Reply from 72.30.38.140: bytes=32 time=548ms TTL=56

Ping statistics for 72.30.38.140:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 3, Lost = 1 (25% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 381ms, Maximum = 548ms, Average = 454ms


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

PING 206.190.60.37 - fails for me too

can we see an xirrus screen shot - see below

also try using google open dns and see if that helps at all - see below

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* Run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector  
Download and install*
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to copy the program across to the faulty PC
Save the file to a USB flash drive or other removable media. Plug it into the working computer with internet access and copy the file and install the program. 
You will now need to take a screen shot and copy that back to the working PC and attach the screen shot in a reply on the forum here.

http://www.xirrus.com/Products/Wi-Fi-Inspector.aspx
Direct link to the program is here http://info.xirrus.com/Wi-FiInspectorConfirmation.html

_{If the above link does not work heres another link http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_download/fid,77196-order,4/download.html}_

Then run and install the program - on a wireless enabled PC/Laptop
if you get an error - You need will need to have NET Framework installed for the WiFi Inspector to function.

Run the program

A user guide is available here http://www.xirrus.com/cdn/pdf/Xirrus-Wi-Fi-inspectorguide-1-2-1-RevB-6.aspx

post a screen shot of the program running.
if there are a lot of networks showing can you click on *"networks"* top lefthand area - so we can see all the network information.

post which *SSID* name is yours, its located in the list, under_ network "Adapter Name" _(1st column) 

To post a screen shot of the active window.
1) hold the Alt key and press the PrtScn key. Open the Windows PAINT application (Start> All Programs> Accessories> Paint) and Paste the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file. 
OR
2) if you are using Vista/Windows 7 you can use the "snipping tool" which is found in Start> All programs> Accessories> Snipping Tool

To upload the screen shot to the forum, open the full reply window ("Go Advanced" button) and use the Manage Attachments button to upload it here.
Full details are available here http://library.techguy.org/wiki/TSG_Posting_a_Screenshot

Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about -70 dBm or better. "A desirable signal level for a robust Wi-Fi connection will be green".
note: the signal level is a negative number, so for example -88 is worst and -40 is better

If you are using the Mac OS then use http://www.istumbler.net/ or
if you want to optimise base station position and signal strength / dead spots use
http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/apgrapher/ which has a graph function to monitor signal
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

* Google public DNS *

Google public DNS
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/

Theres also a link on how to setup those DNS IP address up on a PC
http://code.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using.html

How to set XP here
http://techie-buzz.com/how-to/google-public-dns-on-win7-and-winxp.html

Then once you have set up those DNS entries

* Flush & register DNS *

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* then press *Enter* to open a command prompt box (A new dialogue box - black with white font, will appear on screen ):
In the command prompt window that opens, type the following commands:

*Ipconfig/flushdns
ipconfig/registerdns*

If you receive the message 
*The requested operation requires elevation.*
Then please open the command prompt as administrator 
Start> All Programs> Accessories and then *right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" *to open a command prompt.

now type the command again


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## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

Okay, I will post my Xirrus screenshot and then try the Google DNS. The wireless was not working at the time I took the shot. I took another once I'd run the troubleshooter and it was working again, but didn't see any difference.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

theres a stong signal on the same channel so maybe interference, if google DNS does not resolve the issue - although I would still do the following
but i cant see all the other signals
although xirrus usually displays in strength order 

so i would suggest logging into the router - going to the wireless section and changing the wireless channel to use channel 1 

also do a full display of the networks - by clicking on network


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## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

Okay, I have done all the steps for Google DNS and flushed & registered the DNS, and the problem is still happening. Now when I run the Windows troubleshooter it resets the adapter which gets me connected again, but the troubleshooter says there is still a "problem with wireless adapter or access point." 

Here is my Xirrus networks screenshot. There are a lot of networks around as I'm in a townhouse complex. Would other strong networks on channel 1 make switching to that channel problematic too?


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## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

Hmm, examining the Networks screen a little more, channel 1 is probably still the best option as the 3 strongest networks are on other channels. Now, the challenge is getting the landlady to understand what I'm talking about so I can change the router settings...


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

few things you could try in the meantime

1) install the latest driver from the asus site
2) Goto device manager and right click on the adpater and remove/uninstall , then restart the pc and allow windows to reinstall the adapter and driver
3) do a restore to a date before you started getting the issue 
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*Restore PC to an Earlier Date & Time*

Go *Start*>>*All Programs*>>*Accessories*>>*System Tools*>>*System Restore*


Click in the radio button *Choose a different restore point* 
Click *Next*
put a tick in *Show more restore points*
Pick a *Date before this happened* 
Click *Next *
This should restore the PC to that time & date

*  windows 7 *
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/700-system-restore.html

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


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## leo.li (Dec 14, 2008)

"Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about *-70 dBm or better*"
Maybe you can try to move your laptop to a place that near about the wireless router to make sure the signal is higher than -70dbm.give it a try,Goodluck!


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

run inSSIDer and lets see if that signal is oscillating a lot - inSSIDer is good at showing that on the graphs

http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/


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## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

I switched our router to channel 1, and I thought that had fixed it, but I've had it stop working twice now.

In answer to leo.li: I know the signal is pretty borderline for "robust" here, but the router is downstairs in the living room and I would like to be able to get on the internet in my bedroom upstairs. I am probably the farthest room in the townhouse from the router. I think probably the network that always has a stronger signal than mine (kandfuj) is in the next townhouse over, on the other side of my bedroom wall, unfortunately.

etaf: I already tried uninstalling the adapter and restarting to reinstall before I posted on the forum. I will try going to the asus site and doing a system restore. 

Here is a screenshot of inSSIDer - my network is 81E575, with a yellow band in the graph:


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## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

Well, I went on the Asus website and they didn't have any newer driver versions than what I had. So I clicked the "update driver" button in the adapter properties in Device manager, and it downloaded and installed something. Restarted just in case and haven't had any problems since! It's hard to know if it's completely fixed since it would cut out at random intervals, but I've been surfing around for a couple of hours now with no problems.


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## etaf (Oct 2, 2003)

fingers crossed - but the signal is low and looks like it drops to -80 at points 

you may find moving the router a few feet can help a lot - or if it has an external aerial - turning that 90degrees


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## LemonFresh (Aug 2, 2006)

No problems in the last two days! Marking solved - thanks for all your help!!


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