computer connection problem suggestions?

[DisneyAddict62]

My DH, DD and I all have wireless laptops. The last few days, for no reason, DH's and my laptops (we have the same model) will lose the wireless connection! :badpc: It comes and goes and it is very annoying! :mad: My daughter's on the other hand, is fine, and doesn't lose the connection. When I plug mine into the cable on the Netgear router it is fine. It is just strange that it is mine and my husband's but not hers!

So, do you think it could be the router, or the wireless cards? I am so confused! :confused:Of course we didn't extend the warranties, so I couldn't connect to chat with a Dell technician.

Just thought I would get some suggestions here before taking it in somewhere to have it looked at!

Thanks!

[DizneyRox]

Netgear huh?

Something tells me that's the problem. I never had good luck with Netgear products. You can try to reboot the router, that might help for a bit.

Also, it's a good idea to put the router and your modem on a UPS so they don't lose power that often. The boot order sometimes play havoc with Internet connections. If the router is up but the modem isn't it might not get an IP right away, etc. It shouldn't matter, but I've seen stranger things happen.

You can also check your drivers for the laptops to make sure they are the most up to date. You may also check on the Netgear website for firmware upgrades to the router. I just gave up on them though, switched to Linksys and haven't had as many problems since. Since switching to Tomato firmware for the Linksys router, I haven't had any problems. That is probably too much to expect the avg. user to do however.

[jrkcr]

Mine does the same thing about once a day!! :thedolls:

I cut the airport off and then right back on, and then it works fine. I have no idea what an airport IS....makes my brain hurt to think about things like that. Just reading the above post made my ears start ringing. :laughing:

:badpc:

[WeLuvBuzz]

Have you talked to your ISP? We had connection problems with some laptops and not others and for some reason they were not reading the code (?) on the router properly. Our ISP actually sent out a service tech who fixed the issue. My other thought is are you all on the same operating system. Some of our laptops are vista and they tend to have more problems than windows. You may be able to call microsoft for assistance.

[Demyx]

I also have a Netgear wireless router and my advice is to reboot, reboot, reboot. The router, not your computer, although rebooting computers fixes everything ;) Good luck!

[LauraleeH]

We've been having the same exact problem. I told my mom we needed to restart our router but we never got around to it and the problems went away. Sometimes it's just a weird thing that happens...I don't know. But go ahead and do the router thing since yours has been doing it every day.

[BigRedDad]

If the connections are dropping that often, there are several issues that it could be: interference in the wireless band, router may need to be reset, driver version for the wireless adapters on the laptops. There are many more. First thing to try is to power off all parts: modem, router. Power on the modem first. Once it is fully active, turn on the router. Once that is done, monitor your connection and signal strength. Monitor if the problem occurs in a specific room or location of the house. If that all fails, see if there is a firmware update for the router.

If none of that works, you need to see how a laptop operates plugged into the modem without the router. If that works, then try plugging the router to the mode, and running the laptop attached to the router. If that works, then you may have proven it is the router or laptops. Since one laptop is working without problem, then I am lead to believe it is settings on the other two laptops. I would look to mirror the other two to the settings of the working laptop.

One other thing, check the channel the router is broadcasting on. If it is channel 11 or 6 (not sure which is the default), change it to another channel. There are problems with that channel on some Windows OS's.

[DizneyRox]

Others have jogged my memory, do you happen to use 2.4Ghz phones in the house? They have been known to interfere with wireless networks.

If rebooting works, then remember that next time. Eventually you will get sick of it however and turn to more drastic measures. Those were mentioned above. Are the two machines that disconnect often more prone to Internet surfing? The problem with many consumer routers is they can't handle lots of traffic over a long term. They in effect get confused and don't know how to route to traffic, which is why a reset (of the router) fixes things.

[DisneyAddict62]

Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! I should have mentioned that I have rebooted the router several times, powered everything off and restarted a couple of times, still the same thing. I was on Dell and updated drivers, etc. The only thing I haven't done is see if there are updates for the router, I guess I'll try that next!

The router is 2 years old, and we have had no problems with it up until the last few days.

I DH and I are more surfers than DD. She mostly chats with her friends! Hers is Vista, ours is XP.

Maybe I'll just give up and go buy another router!

[DizneyRox]

Maybe I'll just give up and go buy another router!
Linksys would be my choice, specifically the WRT54GL. Oh, don't buy it at Worst Buy either, just another little tip...

If you're really adventurous, check out the Tomato Firmware project as well. It will greatly extend the capabilities of the router for both security and stability.

[pixiesmimi]

I have been having the same problem for the last few weeks and it seems to be getting worse. I reboot the modem several times a day. I have a Dell also and use a Linksys router. DH said someone told him that it is usually the modem when this happens. Our modem is about 5 years old or older so I'm going to call the internet company to get another one. They furnish and install them. Do you think that is what it might be? Also, I have Vista. DH has XP and doesn't seem to have as many problems. He said that the older modem might not be Vista compatible. I'm going to show this thread to him and see what he thinks about everything said here. Thanks for all the advice. I hope you get yours figured out and report back if you do. I'm interested to see what it is.

[DizneyRox]

By modem, what do you mean? Your DSL (or cable) modem, is it a router with a built in modem?

It could very well be Vista, but if rebooting the "modem" works, then I would guess it's a problem with the modem. It really depends on which device is doing the actual work.

In my mind, the modem is your connection to the Internet. It's either connected or not, and either all machines would have a problem connecting or none of them. The router takes that connection and shares it with all the other PC's connected to it. Each PC on that router would get an IP from the router and it's possible that one or more might be having trouble where others are not. This is the place where I've seen more problems, and more often that not it's due to the routing than a physical connection type problem.

Bad drivers can cause this to happen, those would be on the PC that's connecting. I like to stick with name brand components, driver support is usually better.

One thing that I failed to mention is also that you insure that your router, if it's wireless) is secure. Someone can actually hijack an insecure router and use it for themselves. They could "steal" your IP which could result in you losing connection, and a reboot would kick them off until they figured it out and stole it back. Just something to mention, the wizards are really not the best way to setup a wireless connection usually.

I prefer WPA encrypted networks, MAC Filtering, and STRONG passwords for both the router, the WPA encryption key, etc. I also recommend turning off SSID broadcasting, that's entirely optional. It offers no security really, but why make it easier than it needs to be to hack a network.

[pixiesmimi]

By modem, I mean our connection to the internet. This is what we were told that was usually the problem and might need to have it updated. We think it also may be our router because it is several years old and may or may not be Vista compatible. Hadn't thought about the IP being hijacked. How do you make sure it is secure? My new Dell came with the internal wireless thing. My last computer, I had to buy a wireless card and connect it on the side. If I had this problem with it, I just took it out and put it back in and most of the time that fixed it but sometimes had to do it several times.

[DisneyAddict62]

Still having problems, but I was looking around at my settings and came across the error log. It says "Computer has lost its lease to its IP address XXXX on the Network Card with network address xxxxx"

Okay, so who do I call for help? The computer people, the router people or the internet cable people?!

My head hurts!

[DizneyRox]

The lease length is determined by wherever you are getting your IP from (DHCP Server). You can extend that time probably, but it sounds like the DHCP server is not sending a new IP lease out, or your computer is not asking for a new IP.

What have you done so far to resolve the problem, just reboot the router?

[pixiesmimi]

The lease length is determined by wherever you are getting your IP from (DHCP Server). You can extend that time probably, but it sounds like the DHCP server is not sending a new IP lease out, or your computer is not asking for a new IP.

What have you done so far to resolve the problem, just reboot the router?

I don't understand what all of this means. Lease on IP address????:confused:

[DisneyAddict62]

I have done the whole shut down process with the computers, the router and the internet modem, then restarting in order. Done this several times, still the same thing.

It is just so frustrating, sometimes the connection is there, then it disconnects, then after a minute or two it will reconnect itself. Right now I am plugged directly into the router with the cable and it is fine.

The router is 2 years old, and we have 3 wireless laptops to it.

[Goofy4TheWorld]

DisneyAddict62,

Who provides your internet, and is it a cable or DSL service. If you have DSL, connections through a router can throw fits that require advanced tinkering to get fixed. So before I go further, I thought I would ask DSL or cable?

[DisneyAddict62]

Wow, thanks for all the help guys!

We get our internet through our cable company (Road Runner with Time Warner).

Last night I was so excited, I was on about 2 hours before it kicked me off! :party:

[VWL Mom]

We had a similar problem with Linksys router. I called them and they said to check what other wireless users in the area were on when we got kicked off (scan for connections). Ended up that one of my neighbors had a system for a home business with a strong connection and every time they signed on, we lost our connection. We upgraded to a wireless-n router and have not had a problem since.