Topic: Losing Wireless connection.

[JK]

Hi
I have recently been getting disconnections between my PC and Router.
My PC runs Windows XP the router is D-Link with a D-Link USB wireless dongle.
The pc shows my network SSID (WPA) with a good signal and says trying to get a connection, it never does. I have noted many more networks locally so I changed my channel from 6 to 11. Then it has happened twice today. The only way to correct the problem is to restart my pc then it connects ok.
The router is there broadcasting my network but my pc when connection lost fails to reconnect unless restarted.
There are two icons in the task bar, D-Link untility and the Windows wireless one.
I am a newcomer to routers and wireless networks and up to two months ago connected the the internet with
an internal PCI modem. Changed to the router because the internal modem would not support the higher
up speed on adsl max service, fine up to 8M down.

[Simon]

Hi JK,

Sorry, I don't know anything about D-Link routers, but it may just be a case of finding the best channel, especially if you have neighbours who may be using the same channels.  Have you tried any others?  Channel 1 might be worth a go.  My router is set on Auto, and is currently on channel 3.

[JK]

Hi Simon
It has worked fine for several weeks only recently I keep losing the connection. My problem is that the PC does not reconnected just says that the network is there with good signal strenght and it is trying to acquire the SSID connection.
The only way to reconnect is a restart. Its a PC wireless problem not a router one I think.

[JK]

Further details of strong local networks:
SSID
Netgear  (WPA) security-enabled wireless network
BTHomeHub-6D27 security-enabled wireless network
belkin54g Unsecured wireless network
There is another very strong BTHomeHub which is off tonight.
I think I was getting interference from other networks as the other night I noted my wireless light flickering on my router when I had my PC off and my ADSL disconnected.
That is why I changed from the default channel 6 to channel 11.
Thought that I was ok untill the two disconnections today. My problem is the PC will not reconnect to the network unless forced to do so by a restart.

[Simon]

It could be that the networking on the PC has been damaged, but it seems odd that it connects after a restart.  Have you tried deleting and re-establishing the connection on the PC?

[JK]

I followed the manufactors instructions for installing the wireless connection on my PC.
It has worked fine since February, when as you already know, I was wanting to leaving my Pipex ISP account to join IDNet.
I will do the deleate and reinstall if you feel that it will fix the problem.
I have looked further and after the disconnection it says it cannot find the connection address. It sees my SSID address and cannot connect to it.

[JK]

P.S. should I have two icons. D-Link and Windows wireless connections.??

[Simon]

Perhaps just hang on until someone else looks at this, JK.  I'm not the best one at networking, so I'm just guessing really, and no, I can't be certain that reinstalling the network will fix the problem. 

P.S. should I have two icons. D-Link and Windows wireless connections.??

A friend of mine has a similar set up with a Netgear, and yes, he has two icons.  One for the USB thingy, and the Windows network icon.

[JK]

I am still having the problem despite re-installing the usb adaptor. There is one thing I have noted. It only looses the connection when I am just browsing the internet. The connection it not lost if I keep the connection and my PC busy by downloading or uploading.
It will never reconnect to the router without at restart, just sits there trying to acquire the network address.

[Simon]

Rik, or someone else, will help you with this, JK.

[sam]

P.S. should I have two icons. D-Link and Windows wireless connections.??

that sounds like the D-link software is controlling the connection, can you disable this and see if you can control it with the windows one?

Also it might be worth making sure that the connection mode from the router is the same as is setup in the usb, i.e. is it a shared/open network and the speed to use

[JK]

Hi Sam
Thanks you for your advice.
On Sunday I used the net for a few minutes and had the disconnections again. This time I could not recover, despite restarting several times.
Now I hope that I am ok, problem appears to be Skype. Skype and Comodo firewall.
Since allowing Skype to open with Comodo, but stopping it running, has stopped the disconnections.
I hope that is the case.

[sam]

sounds like it could be the firewall software then...

[JK]

Yes my disconnection problems appear to be using Skype and Comodo firewall on my PC.

[Reno]

I use a linksys wireless router and I ran cat5e in my attic to get away from the wireless. The little usb sticks are real bad about overheating. A lot of the time all you have to do is unplug the stick and just stick them back in to get them to connect again. The routers drop because they're made as cheap as the companies can get away with it.