wireless network issues, not faulty or router related

[Lycoth]

So I got my pc in September, and its been going reasonably well, but a while ago it started dropping wireless connection. I thought the network card was faulty and got a replacement but the problem persisted, so I had to use my old usb network card instead of the new pci. This worked for a while but recently its started doing the same thing.

Internet just stops working, but in the system tray it doesnt tell me ive lost connection. It will sometimes say I have limited access but this is rare. Its only my pc, all other devices work fine whilst this is happening, and as I said, it does it on 3 different network cards, so I guess its not my router, internet or network card.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[Tom DWC]

Who's your ISP? It might be worth contacting them to see if there's an area fault. I've been experiencing very similar problems with Virgin Media for the past fortnight (My Xbox 360 and mobile still connect perfectly but the PC drops out intermittently despite reporting that everything is A-OK) and after exhausting every troubleshooting step my end it turned out there was a problem with the local area box and until they get it fixed there's not alot I can do about it. It just goes to show there might be a problem your ISP is not aware of.

As a temporary solution you could try a wired connection (if possible, I know it can be impractical) as you might find this to be more reliable.

 

[Lycoth]

alright, thanks very much. I'll get ringing them in a minute!

 

[Pete]

what is your signal strength like ? does it change much before dropping connection?

i use a usb dongle, which i have on a usb extension cable, so that it can be a lot higher and positioned for best signal, as my pc is tucked away in a corner.

also what speed is your router ? if it's running at 108mbs, then dropping it down to 54mbps will give you better signal strength and coverage. that is if you can get onto your isp's router - some limit what you can do.

Edit : also could it be something electrical in the house causing interferance ? UPS, hoover, heating, digital phones even lights ?

 

[Lycoth]

Im pretty sure its not interference. Also, signal strength doesnt drop at all. It just decides to stop loading websites etc.

 

[Tom DWC]

If it were a brand new wireless connection I too would think it might be related to interference but that's not the case. If it was working perfectly before then it's likely to be something else. I just think we should rule out it being an ISP related fault first.

Let us know how you get on Lycoth.

 

[Pete]

I was just trying to come up with some ideas that doesn't involve ISP helpdesks and being onhold. and if other devices are able to continue working online it seems to be a local rather than ISP issue ? that's where my money is anyway - i'll put a £4 note on it.

more info is needed really :
- when it goes next time, do an - ipconfig /all - in a command prompt, that might help shed some light.
- also look at the lights on the router - does the internet light go out ?
- do the other devices still work online or are they just connected to the router ? (try browsing on your mobile phone if that's possible over wifi)

 

[Tom DWC]

I was just trying to come up with some ideas that don't involve ISP help desks and being on hold.

And they're good ideas.

If it turns out it's not ISP related then they'll be well worth a try. I agree with you regarding the point about other devices working but not the PC - it's very strange. It's why I myself took over two weeks to get in touch with Virgin Media. I assumed that it couldn't possibly be the connection if everything else was working but it turns out it is. No idea why that's the case though.

 

[pengipete]

Since other devices can connect, there are really two or three likely causes. Firstly, don't discount the possibility that all of the wi-fi cards you've tried means that they are unrelated. Some routers and wi-fi cards break the rules to give the impression of faster transfers and any two of them may not work well together. Also some cards can struggle with some security settings so try with WEP at the router - if that works, try WPA then WPA2. If the latter causes problems, use WPA/WPA2 if your router has that option - it's usually more stable with problem cards.

Other than that, you could have an IP Conflict - that happens where two devices have been given the same IP Address by the router. They will be fine until both are used at the same time - then one of them is effectively kicked off the network.

Another possibility is a conflict with your local DNS. Next time you lose the connection, open a command prompt and type IPCONGIF /FLUSHDNS to clear your PC's stored settings.

Finally, there could be a more "techy" reason if your chipset drivers are courrupt or were installed after the wi-fi card's drivers. It's a bit long-winded to explain so try the easier options first and we'll talk you through chipset drivers if nothing else helps.

The biggest help would be if you could isolate the problem - knowing when it happens or being able to cause it to happen would remove most of the guesswork. For example, if you lose the connection when a particular device is switched on would be helpful. It could even be something not obviously related to your home network - a neighbour if you live in a semi or a microwave oven, central heating timer, mobile or wireless phone, Sky box or BT Vision recorder any of which can cause all sorts of odd problems. Another one to watch for is powerline adaptors - especially the older ones provided by BT - as they can interfer with wi-fi and cordless devices like wireless mice and keyboards. Basically any common factor you can identify will help.

 

[Lycoth]

more info is needed really :
- when it goes next time, do an - ipconfig /all - in a command prompt, that might help shed some light.
- also look at the lights on the router - does the internet light go out ?
- do the other devices still work online or are they just connected to the router ? (try browsing on your mobile phone if that's possible over wifi)

I'll repost when i can do an ipconfig!
The internet light very rarely goes out. I think this is probably unrelated and just a seperate internet drop from my ISP being well known for drop outs! *Thumbs up*
The other devices still work online when this is happening.

Unfortunately i've yet to replicate the issue. It just does it rather random. I'll try some of the things you have mentioned shortly!

Thanks very much guys!

 

[Lycoth]

I just managed to get the inconfig /all done. Although i don't exactly know what i'm meant to be looking at! Also a DNS Flush did not help. Something to note, When it happens i can't even log into the router, which is making me think interferance may indeed be the cause. Unfortunately where last night i was without internet for about an hour from this, it seems to be fine this morning!

 

[Pete]

this is indeed a good problem....
could you copy and paste the ipconfig info when it's down and post here ?

might be worth running a ping, to see how stable your connection is, in command prompt again : ping 192.168.0.1 -t
(assuming that's your router IP) it will keep pinging the router until you close, so leave it running and then try turning on differnt equipment to see if that has any effect.

that might help narrow things down if it is something causing a conflict (same ip)

Edit :

If it does go again, you could try an ipconfig /release followed by an ipconfig /renew (also in cmd prompt) this will give up your currently assigned IP and get the next available one from the router.

if this does work it would point to a device that is normally off, having a static IP of the one normally assigned to your pc.

 

[Lycoth]

As of right now, i've gone nearly all day without an issue. This is rather unusual. Seems like it's just fixed itself.

Funny story! I had 2 wireless devices plugged in at the same time. One USB, one Pci, and although i had disabled one via the Device Manager, but maybe this was still causing interferance.

The thing is, the reason i had 2 plugged in was because i had what seemed like the exact same problem a few months ago. So i sent my Pci card off as faulty, got a replacement, and whilst it was gone i was using the Usb.

So this could either be a great coincidence that the first was faulty and this was interferance or maybe it's still going to annoy me, just not today!

Although i've had both cards plugged in for a number of months so it's also unusual that it would only cause issues over this last week!

 

[Lycoth]

After 2 days of enjoyment the.problem has returned to cause epic nerd rage. Its 100% not my router or isp, and as stated it has happened with 3 different network cards. 1 usb 2 pci. What is my next step?

 

[Pete]

when it was down, did you try and do any of the earlier suggestions to try and identify what's going on ? ipconfig release & renew or identify any appliances being turned on that would cause a conflict of ip ?

 

[iPete]

Same issues here, tried 2 different cards, everything else connects, iPhone anyway, updated my drivers etc etc although didn't look into the ip conflict issues. It would work ok for a few weeks/days then stop again, possibly the conflict issue but meh I've run 20 metre wire through the house now!