Londoner here - I am with AOL (curse them) - and share a flat with other people. I have a weird problem:
I think my laptop affects any wireless router it's connected to.
My flatmate is gone quite a lot, and when she is my connection is constantly dropping. In fact, it has dropped twice while I typed this sentence. I touch type.
But when she returns, she is constantly using the internet (a 6-7 year old Dell laptop running XP) and it is 'fine', with very few problems cutting out. I can then stream online videos, download large files, etc. Then she goes to bed, and it starts cutting out again.
Similarly, when I visit my parents home in Somerset - using a BT connection - I get a similar problem. My mother has a standard Dell desktop, 3-4 years old, running Vista. Fine, mostly. But my laptop? Nope.
And, to round it off, I've done some 'experiments'. I use the internet for a while and when it gets really bad (i.e., the point before I throw my laptop out the window) I turn it off. Then, lo and behold, the lights on the router are all on and solid. Leave it 5 minutes. Still solid. Turn on computer. Still solid. Log onto computer. Still solid. Desktop loads. A light blinks once. I load Firefox, a light turns off, then starts blinking. Problems begin.
The only thing I can think of are a couple trojans I've had recently. I used various software to locate the trojans, quarantine, then remove them, as well as CCleaner (I don't mess with the registry) and everything seems fine now. The computer lags quite a bit, but that's it's only problem as far as I'm aware. I regularly defrag (Defraggler) and clean my temp files (CCleaner). I have an Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network adapter, if that's of any use. . .
So, could my laptop be affecting my wireless router?
Cheers in advance for any help any of you may be able to offer
Joe
-----------EDIT-----------
Upon further examination, while I typed this post, the lights on the router were, for the most part, solid - although the wireless icon in my taskbar was going back and forth between 'no connection', 'limited connectivity' (connected to the router, but not the net) and 'connected'. I posted, and all was fine, but when I tried to go to Google, down - all lights off.
It seems when my computer is not doing anything, the internet is fine, but when it tries to access the router, the router stops connecting. . .
Edited by thearabianmage, 18 August 2010 - 06:08 PM.
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