Trouble with wireless internet connection.

Jessica

New Member
We have a wireless modem, but one of our computers (a desktop) didn't have a wireless adapter, so I bought the card and installed it. No big deal. The problem is that the connection is not very reliable. Even when the connection strength is supposedly "Good" and the adapter is reading from the access point, there are times when the computer won't connect to the internet. The only way to get back online is to restart the computer. This can happen several times a day, and it's getting to be quite a hassle. We have other computers that read from the same modem, and never have any problems, so the problem must be with the desktop itself.

I was wondering if there was a problem with the way I set up the wireless settings. I just went through the generic Internet Connection Wizard. Do you think something needs to be reconfigured? I apologize for all of my stupid questions. I'm not very computer savvy. If you can talk me through this I'd be very grateful.
 
Jessica,

Welcome to the world of wireless, it can be at times a pain even when it is implemented properly. You can always start by right clicking the little wireless icon at the bottom right hand of the computer and choose repair, it will try to reconnect to your wireless AP.

What type of wireless modem/router do you have? What is the brand and model name?

Another option to try as well is from the command line.

Click Start > Run > type cmd and hit enter

this will bring up the command line in windows xp ( assume you are running windows xp) and from there you can type the following command

Code:
ipconfig /renew
hit enter and it will try to refresh an IP from your wireless access point.
 
Is this a b or g signal? Also, what kind of wireless card is it? Since all your other computers are working fine, are they set up the same way and with the same card? If not, it could just be a bad wireless card that you picked up.
 
I recently had this problem with my wireless adapter (it just started happening after months of good work) and my only solution was to replace it. (luckily I had another one on hand)
 
tlarkin, the modem is a VisionNet ADSL W205-4 modem, while the adapter card is Linksys Wireless-G PCI adapter, model # WMP54G. I am running XP, and I've tried the IP refresh, but it never permanently fixes the problem. It's only temporary, and then after a while the computer goes offline again. I've also tried to repair the connection, but with no success.

computerhakk, our other computers are laptops and they already had wireless adapters preinstalled. The tech who installed our DSL set up the other computers, and that's why I was wondering if I made a mistake setting up the desktop. I remember that he manually typed in the code and said that it made the connection more reliable. I have no idea what he did exactly. I should have been watching more closely.

Bobo, that is not what I wanted to hear. The adapter is less than a month old, and I'm sure the box and receipt have both been thrown away. Grrr. I've never had any luck with Linksys.
 
Bobo, that is not what I wanted to hear. The adapter is less than a month old, and I'm sure the box and receipt have both been thrown away. Grrr. I've never had any luck with Linksys.
Mine was also a linksys...coincidence?
 
I understand what you are saying. But B signal is generally not as fast as G. So if it was B that was being transmitted, than that could be one reason. Another is that since most desktop's don't have wifi readily installed, so I assume your's is a PCI. The laptop wifi is different from PCI, so that is why. If you want, you can manually go into your laptop's settings and look up those manual input that u said the technician entered for you and set it up on your desktop also.
 
how far from your desktop is the router, i have been having a few issues with mine as its such a distnce, although recently doing a factory reset on it seems to have cured it...for now

also ensure that the router is plugged into the main telephone line for the house and not and extension of any kind as it wil cause issues
 
so does it ever connect at all, or does it try to connet then fail? Sounds like it may not be authenticating to your security settings
 
If you want, you can manually go into your laptop's settings and look up those manual input that u said the technician entered for you and set it up on your desktop also.
That sounds like a good idea. Could you explain how to do that? I can't seem to find the same menu that the tech used.

jimmymac, the modem has been moved several times, but the distance doesn't seem to make any difference. It's currently in the room adjacent to the computer, about 12 feet away. My laptop is 3 floors up and I still have no trouble connecting.

tlarkin, it does connect. We can be online for minutes or even hours and then get kicked off, even when the signal strength is supposedly "good." We have to reboot or renew the IP to get back online.

Thanks for all the help!
 
when I google VisionNet ADSL W205-4 I get no results Typically you can telnet into your router/modem via web browser but every model is set up a bit differently.

Do you have the manual for it?

Also, if you have a PPoE connection the tech probably didnt set up any security, he probably set up your PPoE account in the modem so you are always connected.
 
That sounds like a good idea. Could you explain how to do that? I can't seem to find the same menu that the tech used.
If you said he went in manually, you can check a couple things.

Go into your control panel. From there, click on "Network Connections."
Once there, you might see something like Local Connection, Wireless Network Connection (depend on your wireless card's name sometimes), and the like. Try going through both or all of them. You will want to right click on them and choose properties.

You should get something like this:
localareaprop.jpg


You will want to choose the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and see if he assigned ip addresses and such. If not, everything there should be shaded out, if he did, you'll see some numbers.

Other than that, you can try to check if your pci wireless card has any recent firmware upgrades that could have patched up that problem.
 
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