[David Toska]

Hey, I'm a bit of a n00b, but literate enough to follow instructions.

My wireless connection drops pretty randomly.

Specs:
My modem connecting to cable network is ZyXel Prestige. I've had no problems with it so far. If I hardwire a computer to it, torrents, skype and all other programs run smoothly, and I experience no drops.
My gateway is a Jensen Scandinavia Air:link WBR 7954 Long Range router. Encryption: WPA2-PSK TKIP
I run Windows Vista on my laptop, 32-bit, Business edition. This is the one I use most.
I run Windows XP Home on another computer, wirelessly connected, wireless connection with USB adapter.

Problem:
My connection stats for the wireless drops from being connected to Local and Internet, to Local only, and if I access my router to reboot via wireless intstead of manually, I will lose connection completely. If I search for available networks, my network will pop up, signal strength good and apparently available for connection, but if I try, an error message pops up, saying I can't connect.
Vista diagnosis provides no help, as it only tells me I may be out of range, or I should restart the modem, but I'm getting too much of a cardio workout running upstairs every 5 to 10 minutes, when the connection drops, to continue this practice.

I especially experience problems when using bittorrent (for legal activities only), but when I changed the group key update period from 30 secs to no updates, bittorent doesn't seem to factor into the drops of connection. Now rather my skype conversations will be dropped at random intervals, and certainly more frequently than what was the case prior to the change.

No ports are forwarded, because my internet provider gave me the necessary info to facilitate Static IP's internally in the network, but I can't figure out how to do that with my Jensen Airlink. I thought I had it, but the drops continue. Besides, I don't really want static IPs internally. If this is the problem, however, I will change that priority. Maybe someone could help with that.

I can't see how the forwarding thing can be the problem as my outgoing modem, the ZyXel, works fine with both bittorent and skype.

So, in conclusion, my network drops randomly, has to be reset manually, and I want to fix it.


Please help!

Edited by David Toska, 01 February 2009 - 06:01 AM.

[Advertisements]

Hey David,

I run Windows XP Home on another computer, wirelessly connected, wireless connection with USB adapter.

Does this machine also get randomly disconnected? Has your Vista machine always been getting randomly disconnected, or is this a new issue?

My connection stats for the wireless drops from being connected to Local and Internet, to Local only, and if I access my router to reboot via wireless intstead of manually, I will lose connection completely. If I search for available networks, my network will pop up, signal strength good and apparently available for connection, but if I try, an error message pops up, saying I can't connect.

Is your Network set as a Preferred Network? The next time you lose your connection, please do the following:

• Select Start
• In the Start Search field type cmd and press the ENTER key
• In the new command prompt window, type ipconfig /release
• Once the above command is done, type ipconfig /renew -- please post the results of this (i.e. most likely it will display an error; if not, does it renew your connection? If so, can you access the Internet?).

Please follow the steps listed in this MS Article - Wireless Connection Is Periodically Lost -- I'm mainly interested in disabling IEEE 802.1X authentication. If your issues persist, have you tried changing your router's broadcasting channel? The default is usually channel 6 -- try 11 and/or 1.

If that does not resolve your issue, please do the following twice -- once when you have an active connection, and once when you lose your connection:

• Select Start
• In the Start Search field type cmd and press the ENTER key
• In the new command prompt window, type ipconfig /all > C:\ipconfig.txt
• Navigate to your C: drive and open the text file ipconfig.txt -- please copy/paste the contents of this file into your next response.

Finally, look in your Event Log for any errors/warnings that occur around the time that your lose your connection.

• Select Start
• In the Start Search field type eventvwr and press the ENTER key
• In the new window, expand Windows Logs and then select System -- this will display a list of all system events. Look for any errors and/or warnings (denoted by a red 'x' or a yellow '!'). If you find any, please post the relevant heading, along with the details inside by double clicking on the error/warning, and then copy/pasting the information from within.

I can't see how the forwarding thing can be the problem as my outgoing modem, the ZyXel, works fine with both bittorent and skype.

If this was a port forwarding issue, it's more likely that your applications wouldn't work, not that you'd lose your entire connection.

- Dan

[Dan]

Hey David,

I run Windows XP Home on another computer, wirelessly connected, wireless connection with USB adapter.

Does this machine also get randomly disconnected? Has your Vista machine always been getting randomly disconnected, or is this a new issue?

My connection stats for the wireless drops from being connected to Local and Internet, to Local only, and if I access my router to reboot via wireless intstead of manually, I will lose connection completely. If I search for available networks, my network will pop up, signal strength good and apparently available for connection, but if I try, an error message pops up, saying I can't connect.

Is your Network set as a Preferred Network? The next time you lose your connection, please do the following:

• Select Start
• In the Start Search field type cmd and press the ENTER key
• In the new command prompt window, type ipconfig /release
• Once the above command is done, type ipconfig /renew -- please post the results of this (i.e. most likely it will display an error; if not, does it renew your connection? If so, can you access the Internet?).

Please follow the steps listed in this MS Article - Wireless Connection Is Periodically Lost -- I'm mainly interested in disabling IEEE 802.1X authentication. If your issues persist, have you tried changing your router's broadcasting channel? The default is usually channel 6 -- try 11 and/or 1.

If that does not resolve your issue, please do the following twice -- once when you have an active connection, and once when you lose your connection:

• Select Start
• In the Start Search field type cmd and press the ENTER key
• In the new command prompt window, type ipconfig /all > C:\ipconfig.txt
• Navigate to your C: drive and open the text file ipconfig.txt -- please copy/paste the contents of this file into your next response.

Finally, look in your Event Log for any errors/warnings that occur around the time that your lose your connection.

• Select Start
• In the Start Search field type eventvwr and press the ENTER key
• In the new window, expand Windows Logs and then select System -- this will display a list of all system events. Look for any errors and/or warnings (denoted by a red 'x' or a yellow '!'). If you find any, please post the relevant heading, along with the details inside by double clicking on the error/warning, and then copy/pasting the information from within.

I can't see how the forwarding thing can be the problem as my outgoing modem, the ZyXel, works fine with both bittorent and skype.

If this was a port forwarding issue, it's more likely that your applications wouldn't work, not that you'd lose your entire connection.

- Dan