Connection randomly drops, regularly

[Rise]

Let me start by saying, i really don't know all that much about networking in general and I guess its time I learn, so please bear with me

Problem: my desktop's connection drops randomly, every hour or two while the signal is always 4 bars until disconnect (where it drops to 2 bars and says "limited to no connectivity). All I need to do to solve this is click on the network bars on the windows bar and disconnect from the network, wait a few seconds, and reconnect. Usually, its at a critical point in a video game I'm playing and I come back to my team nerd raging at me for having disconnected in the middle of a fight. My wife uses an HP laptop that never has this issue ever, so I'm guessing its something to do with my PC. I've tried messing around with my router's settings, ultimately to no avail. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the drivers for my wireless adapter with no luck. It's been about 3 months now that I've been having these problems and I'm not sure what to do at this point, so I come here. My router is also unsecured, since everytime i try and put security on it, my wife can't connect to it all of the sudden, regardless if I choose WEP, WPA, WPA2, whatever. Where do I start?

Desktop OS: Win 7 64bit (sig)
Laptop OS: Vista 32bit
Router: Linksys WRT54GV8, original firmware
Wireless Adapter: Zonenet ZEW2500P

On a side note - i know of dd-wrt but no idea what its benefits or why i might want to use it. Will it help solve these problems or am I better off without it since I'm a networking noob anyway?

[EniGmA1987]

Computer with an Nvidia chipset?

Nvidia has a serious problem on some computers, mostly NForce 4 chipsets, where the connection under heavy usage (such as a critical part of a game) the connection will drop. It errors on the default gateway somehow. Disabling and re-enabling the network adapter will get you back online, or disconnecting and re-connecting, or refreshing your IP or connection. Not everyone has it, but enough do that Nvidia actually will acknowledge "there is a small problem", will they do anything about it? No probably not.

Solution? Dump Windows 7 because Nvidia cant make a decent diver, or buy a new motherboard with an ATI or Intel chipset.




If your computer doesnt use an Nvidia chipset on the motherboard, then I dont know what the problem is. Most likely would be the router, or something is loose on the wireless adapter

[rogard]

Grab a wireless card that matches your router like the WMP54G

However due to the age of your access point I would suggest grabbing a new one.

[Rise]

Computer with an Nvidia chipset?

I have an asus p5q-deluxe which doesn't use an nvidia chipset to my knowledge. I do however, use an 8800GT... but I've not had problems with any other game and this game (League of Legends) isn't particularly graphic intensive. Also, it happens when I'm not playing games, it's just most annoying when playing games - i should have specified that.

If your computer doesnt use an Nvidia chipset on the motherboard, then I dont know what the problem is. Most likely would be the router, or something is loose on the wireless adapter

I'll check the wireless adapter wires again, but I imagine they are fine since the power light never goes out even though the connection drops.

Grab a wireless card that matches your router like the WMP54G

However due to the age of your access point I would suggest grabbing a new one.

This is disappointing. I would think that any wireless adapter would work fine with a wireless router that are on the same band and I really have a tough time believing that there is no way to get it to work when it works with my wife's laptop just fine. I'd really prefer to not spend the money on a router if I could avoid it. I've certainly thought about doing that but in my opinion, that would be giving up way too easily for an xtremesystems member

Anyone have any other ideas?

[Jamesrt2004]

ive had this for over 2 years.. i gave in brought a new wireless adapter (dlink dwa 160 or summing like that =) lol) ill let you know if it fixes it.. should arive in a few days i hope

[Jimmer411]

From what Ive read its a vista problem. Ive got the same problem on the 2 vista machines in my home. Both XP machines are stable all day long. Ive tried manually assigning IP, turning off the power save function on the wireless adapter as well as manually setting the DNS. Everything in the house is linksys, with the exception of the laptop and all 3 computers use the same exact wireless card. Ive had this problem for a little over a year, changed from a dlink network setup since I was told that the constant network dropping was from crap hardware yet the problem persists.

Manually setting IP addresses has helped alot, but I still lose signal 2-3 times a day. If I can ever get a hold of my roommates laptop I can set him up with a static IP since every time he gets on it my computer loses connection.

[Rise]

how do you set up a static IP address? I know how to do part of it, but I don't know what the subnet IP is.

edit: nevermind, ipconfig answered all of those questions. i'll report back with how the static IP affects things.

[BigRigDriver]

Connection drops, fluctuation in network speeds & losing bars after being on for a while are mostly due to the position of the router & or the network card. Bring them closer to each other & in clear sight, reboot & see if your problem still exist. Hope this helps.

[Rise]

Connection drops, fluctuation in network speeds & losing bars after being on for a while are mostly due to the position of the router & or the network card. Bring them closer to each other & in clear sight, reboot & see if your problem still exist. Hope this helps.

well it always has 4 bars and i can't actually bring them any closer anyway, so hopefully that's not the issue.

in other news, i set the IP to be static and over the past few days have determined that it has NOT helped, since it still drops all the time. what should i try next??