Keep Losing Connection To Wireless Router/Modem

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com hath wroth:

Can you access the config page via a wired CAT5 ethernet connection to your laptop? That will verify that the router is still functioning.

Huge wireless packet loss. The problem is trying to determine the cause. The likely culprits are:

1. Ancient version of the firmware in your DG834G ADSL wireless router. This may not be the cause, but might be contributory. Check it anyway and install the latest via a WIRED connection, not via wireless.
2. Lack of sufficiently strong signal. This can come from various sources, but the weird one that I seem to be finding is that the two antenna connections on MiniPCI card in your HP laptop have become unplugged. Open door on bottom of laptop and inspect. Check signal strength indications on the laptop wireless connection manager. If you can't find it, how many bars does it show?
3. Interference. If one of your neighbors or the local municipality has installed a nearby wireless access point, it might be on the same channel as what you're using. Try switching the DG834G to a different channel (1, 6, or 11). See FAQ section on interference at:

Interference has become an all too common problem as home networks and municipal WLAN's expand.

1. Malicious or clueless user or neighbor. They can create all manner of havoc if the SSID of your wireless device is somehow duplicated nearby. If your Netgear DG834G has the default or a non-unique SSID, kindly change it so that it is unique. You might also want to test if the neighbors are using the same SSID by turning off your wireless, and scanning for SSID's with your laptop. (Note: This is not guaranteed to find an SSID if they have intentionally set their access point to not broadcast the SSID).
2. Power cycle. I know it's obvious, but I'm including this one because several times in the last few months, someone has fixed a problem that was caused by hung or misbehaving router, by simply cycling the power. Low end wireless devices were not made to stay up forever and do tend to hang without much provocation. Turn off the power, wait at least 15 seconds, turn it back on. Note that I didn't say "turn off the on/off switch". Some devices have power applied continuously. Pull the plug from the wall, if necessary.

I'd add only this:

1. Defective wireless card.

I had one of these lately that turned out to be the root cause of large, inconsistent packet loss from that workstation to several different routers all in the same room with the client.

snipped-for-privacy@toddh.net (Todd H.) hath wroth:

Oh, there's a few more that I didn't bother listing. I try to list the most probable (and most interesting) first, in order of descending likelyhood. The duplicate SSID theory is my current favorite. My last war driving expedition through Santa Cruz yielded about 450 access points with about 120 named "linksys", 30 named "default", and rest fairly random. What I found interesting was that of the 120 named "linksys", about 50 of them were set to not broadcast the SSID. That means the owner has some clue about wireless security (i.e. had read an article on the subject somewhere), but failed to understand the importance of having a unique SSID.

Sure, but unlikely. The owners HP/Compaq NC8430 laptop is of recent vintage.

He's running XP SP2 so he doesn't have Vista to blame. It's possible that the brand new machine is defective, but it's unlikely. I've had warranty issues on new equipment with displays, hard disk drives, CD/DVD drives, and the [deleted expletive] power supply connector, but not the wireless card. The closest I've come are a few machines where the dealer managed to knock loose the antenna connections while installing additional RAM which is sometimes located UNDER the MiniPCI card.

I have had problems in the past with older wireless devices the exhibit erratic performance. If the process of elimination points to the MiniPCI card, I can usually conjur a replacement (I have a fair sized collection) before I attack the firmware and drivers. Card replacemnt has never solved the problem for me, but it's so easy to do, that I just can't resist[1]. Most older MiniPCI cards rely on main CPU to do much of the work. However, newer cards have just about everything buried in the cards firmware. I quick update to the latest firmware usually solves the problem.

[1] I tend to try what's easiest first, not what's most probable. That's not the official politically correct method of troubleshooting according to the textbook and flow charts, but it's the most interesting for me. The only trick is to remember to never try anything you can't undo.

Last week I posted about a 7 month old Dell running XP SP2 that after about 7 hours of troubleshooting including an hour with Dell's support a new wireless card they finally agreed to send me fixed all the guy's problems. This laptop never worked right on wireless for the entire 7 months the guy had it, so he bought it that way out of the box.

My point is simply "while unlikely, yes, impossible, no."

Now don't worry, I didn't give you any demerits for not including it in your list Jeff. It is indeed unusual. You're a great contributor here, and I'm not intending to tarnish your ego. Just adding a possibility that very recently was the problem for me in a situation with identical symptoms.

Best Regards,

snipped-for-privacy@toddh.net (Todd H.) hath wroth:

Ok, I'll grant that it's possible but highly improbable.

Was this Dell laptop a new unit or one of the referbs from Dell Outlet?

I was successfully buying refurbished hardware this way until somewhat before last Christmas. The site had been purged during the Christmas buying season (so as not to compete with the new products). When the inventory magically returned in January, I started buying again. The first three laptops (Inspiron 6000) my customers purchased all had something broken or missing. The problems were quickly resolved, but my customers and I was not thrilled with the loss of time and the use of the laptops. All the Intel 2200BG(???) cards worked just fine. I have no idea of the current quality levels. Hopefully, bringing back Michael Dell as CEO might improve the customer experience.

My gigantic, over-inflated, and bullet proof ego is not affected by tarnish or criticism. I've been wrong before and will probably continue the tradition. As always, criticism and additional input are always welcome.

Well, if it had been a brand new shiny HP laptop right out of the box, I would agree that a defective MiniPCI adapter might be a possible problem. The original poster also mentioned that it had worked together with the DG834m router for about 6 months. The OP also mentioned that it sorta returns a few packets, sometimes, which implies that it's still somewhat functional. Infant mortality failures usually happen almost immediately. Therefore, my best guess is some manner of external influence.

I once did have to deal with a blown MiniPCI card. However, the owner admitted that he was experimenting with external antennas and has managed to destroy the input devices or the RF connectors.

Incidentally, one problem I see constantly is the XP computer with almost no updates since it was first installed. For XP and W2K users, the update process has become an ordeal. Many users have had problems or have succumbed to "not change anything". What I find are seriously out of date operating systems. Some vendors (i.e. IBM, Sony) have substantial vendor specific utilities and drivers, including wireless client managers, that are traditionally broken on arrival and must be updated. Even users who believe they are up to date, often accidentally neglect these vendor specific utilities. I recently fixed an IBM A31p laptop with an "IBM High-Rate Wireless Adapter" that never did work correctly (for about 3 years), by simply installing a huge mess of IBM vendor updates.

It was purchased brand new, and was promptly brought up to date with all Windows Updates. The owner was frustrated with it for 7 months before bringing it to me. I brought all drivers and wireless management tools up to date and , the wireless could not be made to work reliably. It could see networks, try to join networks, would be successful some of the time, but would enjoy 30-50% packetloss when pinging hte default gateway on the wireless router sitting in the same room with it. Identical results with 3 different routers and in 3 different phsical addresses (his house, his work, my place). Meanwhile different laptops in the same room all enjoyed 0% packet loss. That's when we knew to go after a possible hardware issue after the driver and supporting software was all totally up to date. Futzing with all this crap took about 5-7 hours. An hour convincing Dell to send us a replacement wireless card... next day the card came, popped it in, and all problems were gone.

It happens.

Best Regards,