Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router

Porterisdead · 05-11-2007, 08:16 PM

Hey, I'm new and I'm not positive if this is posted in the right place or not, so sorry if it isn't.

But, I've been having some trouble with my laptop connecting to my Wireless Network.

It's connected to another computer in the house (directly above the room we keep the laptop in actually) and it just won't seem to stay connected.

I don't think it's the router, because we also have an Xbox 360 that is connected to Xbox live and it never loses it's connection unless the cable itself goes out, but the laptop just every 10-20 minutes just loses the connection.

In my task bar (or whatever the bar in the lower right side of the screen is called) it has the Wireless Network button (a little computer with three green semi-circles coming out of it to show a reception), but it has the little red X on it to show it's not connected, then when I click on it, it usually says that I'm not connected to the network, but I really am. Then, when the writing is grey and it says automatic on the network, I'm not connected.

It started happening around the time that I installed the Charter High Speed Security Suite, but I don't think it's that either, because I've turned it off and it still does the same thing.

I've played with anything that might possibly have something to do with the disconnecting that I can find, but I just can't seem to get it working right.

But there may be something with the Security Suite that I"m missing, I don't know.

If anyone has any idea why it's not working, can you help me out?

Thanks!

**TheMatt** · 05-11-2007, 10:39 PM

Hi, and welcome to TSF!

The first thing you should try is connecting to another network. Take your laptop to a WiFi cafe or a public library and see if you have this problem.

Also, check your signal strength. Depending on the thickness or material of the walls and floors, your signal may be degrading. Try moving the laptop around the house and see if you have the problem.

Try temporarily disabling any encryption on the router and see if the problem persists. Check your WEP/WPA key. Also, is the router set to have DHCP re-assign IP addresses after a period of time?

When you loose the connection, can you get it back by repairing it (right click on the network icon and select 'Repair')?

BTW, I have moved you to networking support.

Porterisdead · 05-12-2007, 03:41 PM

I've tried moving around the house and connecting to different networks before, but it always does the same thing.

The signal is almost constantly in full strength, so I don't think that's the problem.

I don't think I'm actually connected to the network though, because it tells me that I'm not connected, but it lets me surf the web.
So I just tried to click repair and it said that it could not connect to the wireless network.
I'm not sure if that helps you at all though..

Thank you!

**johnwill** · 05-12-2007, 03:44 PM

Are you sure the "not connected" isn't the wired connection which is indeed not connected?

How about doing this:

Start, Run, CMD to open a command prompt:

Type the following command:

IPCONFIG /ALL

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter.
Paste the results in a message here.

Porterisdead · 05-12-2007, 04:13 PM

Do you mean on the laptop or the desktop?

Porterisdead · 05-12-2007, 04:17 PM

Well, I just tried it on my laptop (since that's what I'm currently on) and this is what I got:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Connor>IPCONFIG /ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D8KMZP71
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont
roller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-D6-D9-D4

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network
Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-F0-97-AF-87

C:\Documents and Settings\Connor>

**TheMatt** · 05-13-2007, 09:53 PM

Is your router set to automatically renew the IP addresses after a set period of time?

**johnwill** · 05-14-2007, 06:05 AM

I'd also uninstall that security suite.

Porterisdead · 05-14-2007, 06:17 PM

From what I understand, Charter renews the IP every so often... but I'm not positive about that.

Porterisdead · 05-14-2007, 06:59 PM

I uninstalled it, and it's still doing the same thing.
It will actually connect to the internet every now and then when I click repair now, but it still disconnects after a few minutes.

**johnwill** · 05-15-2007, 12:55 PM

If you get connected, let's see that IPCONFIG. Then again after it disconnects. Something very odd is going on.

Porterisdead · 05-15-2007, 09:42 PM

Connected:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Porter> IPCONFIG /ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D8KMZP71
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont
roller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-D6-D9-D4

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network
Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-F0-97-AF-87
Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:27:46 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, May 16, 2007 10:27:46 PM

C:\Documents and Settings\Porter>

Disconnected:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Porter> IPCONFIG /ALL

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D8KMZP71
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont
roller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-D6-D9-D4

Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network
Connection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-F0-97-AF-87

C:\Documents and Settings\Porter>

**johnwill** · 05-16-2007, 10:46 AM

Well, it appears that you're totally losing the connection.

Does this happen if you're connecting to a different wireless network, say at a local coffee shop hotspot, or a friend's house? It would be nice to narrow it down to either the router or the laptop.

Porterisdead · 05-16-2007, 09:46 PM

There are two wireless networks within range of my laptop, sometimes three, and no matter which one I connect to it does the same thing.

I've never tried taking it to a friends house or internet cafe.
Do you think I should try that or are the multiple networks in range enough?

**johnwill** · 05-17-2007, 08:19 AM

OK, I'd be looking at a replacement wireless adapter at this point. It appears it's totally losing it, and then Windows re-installs it.

Porterisdead · 05-18-2007, 04:54 PM

Is the wireless adapter the little card about two inches in width inserted into the side of the laptop? Or do you mean the router?

**johnwill** · 05-19-2007, 01:12 PM

I'm talking about the PCMCIA card in the laptop.

Porterisdead · 05-20-2007, 09:50 PM

Okay, thanks.

Sado · 05-21-2007, 06:24 AM

Few ideas came on to my mind...

Do you have a wireless network named "default" in your wlan settings?
I had and it was determined to connect automatically.

Sometimes the connection to my wlan would work for an hour and then go offline (it started to search the wlan called default.)

When I removed that "default" wlan all started to work perfectly.

Do you have powersave on? Turn it off.

05-11-2007, 08:16 PM	#1 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Hey, I'm new and I'm not positive if this is posted in the right place or not, so sorry if it isn't. But, I've been having some trouble with my laptop connecting to my Wireless Network. It's connected to another computer in the house (directly above the room we keep the laptop in actually) and it just won't seem to stay connected. I don't think it's the router, because we also have an Xbox 360 that is connected to Xbox live and it never loses it's connection unless the cable itself goes out, but the laptop just every 10-20 minutes just loses the connection. In my task bar (or whatever the bar in the lower right side of the screen is called) it has the Wireless Network button (a little computer with three green semi-circles coming out of it to show a reception), but it has the little red X on it to show it's not connected, then when I click on it, it usually says that I'm not connected to the network, but I really am. Then, when the writing is grey and it says automatic on the network, I'm not connected. It started happening around the time that I installed the Charter High Speed Security Suite, but I don't think it's that either, because I've turned it off and it still does the same thing. I've played with anything that might possibly have something to do with the disconnecting that I can find, but I just can't seem to get it working right. But there may be something with the Security Suite that I"m missing, I don't know. If anyone has any idea why it's not working, can you help me out? Thanks!

05-11-2007, 10:39 PM	#2 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Hi, and welcome to TSF! The first thing you should try is connecting to another network. Take your laptop to a WiFi cafe or a public library and see if you have this problem. Also, check your signal strength. Depending on the thickness or material of the walls and floors, your signal may be degrading. Try moving the laptop around the house and see if you have the problem. Try temporarily disabling any encryption on the router and see if the problem persists. Check your WEP/WPA key. Also, is the router set to have DHCP re-assign IP addresses after a period of time? When you loose the connection, can you get it back by repairing it (right click on the network icon and select 'Repair')? BTW, I have moved you to networking support. __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

05-12-2007, 03:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router I've tried moving around the house and connecting to different networks before, but it always does the same thing. The signal is almost constantly in full strength, so I don't think that's the problem. I don't think I'm actually connected to the network though, because it tells me that I'm not connected, but it lets me surf the web. So I just tried to click repair and it said that it could not connect to the wireless network. I'm not sure if that helps you at all though.. Thank you!

05-12-2007, 03:44 PM	#4 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,744 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Are you sure the "not connected" isn't the wired connection which is indeed not connected? How about doing this: Start, Run, CMD to open a command prompt: Type the following command: IPCONFIG /ALL Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter. Paste the results in a message here. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-12-2007, 04:13 PM	#5 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Do you mean on the laptop or the desktop?

05-12-2007, 04:17 PM	#6 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Well, I just tried it on my laptop (since that's what I'm currently on) and this is what I got: Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp. C:\Documents and Settings\Connor>IPCONFIG /ALL Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D8KMZP71 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont roller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-D6-D9-D4 Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-F0-97-AF-87 C:\Documents and Settings\Connor>

05-13-2007, 09:53 PM	#7 (permalink)
TheMatt TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2006 Location: Boston Posts: 13,701 OS: Win 3.1, 98, NT 4.0, XP Debian 4.0, Kubuntu 6.06 My System Blog Entries: 3	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Is your router set to automatically renew the IP addresses after a set period of time? __________________ - Matt M - KB1OSC - Folding@Home 85015 [url="http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/"] If TSF has helped you, please consider donating. If I have stopped responding to a thread, feel free to send me a PM with a link to the thread. It is advisable to subscribe to threads so you will receive updates when replies are posted. You can subscribe to threads from the "Thread Tools" Menu. »Memtest86 »Prime95 »UBCD »SpeedFan »NHC Personal »Everest »Sandra »PC Wizard »RivaTuner »ATi Tool Click here for Useful Articles and Guides

05-14-2007, 06:05 AM	#8 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,744 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router I'd also uninstall that security suite. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-14-2007, 06:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router From what I understand, Charter renews the IP every so often... but I'm not positive about that.

05-14-2007, 06:59 PM	#10 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router I uninstalled it, and it's still doing the same thing. It will actually connect to the internet every now and then when I click repair now, but it still disconnects after a few minutes.

05-15-2007, 12:55 PM	#11 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,744 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router If you get connected, let's see that IPCONFIG. Then again after it disconnects. Something very odd is going on. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-15-2007, 09:42 PM	#12 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Connected: Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp. C:\Documents and Settings\Porter> IPCONFIG /ALL Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D8KMZP71 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont roller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-D6-D9-D4 Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection: Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-F0-97-AF-87 Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.3 Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0 Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1 Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:27:46 PM Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, May 16, 2007 10:27:46 PM C:\Documents and Settings\Porter> Disconnected: Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600] (C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp. C:\Documents and Settings\Porter> IPCONFIG /ALL Windows IP Configuration Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : D8KMZP71 Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . : Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : Yes WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Broadcom 440x 10/100 Integrated Cont roller Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-3F-D6-D9-D4 Ethernet adapter Wireless Network Connection: Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2200BG Network Connection Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-12-F0-97-AF-87 C:\Documents and Settings\Porter>

05-16-2007, 10:46 AM	#13 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,744 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Well, it appears that you're totally losing the connection. Does this happen if you're connecting to a different wireless network, say at a local coffee shop hotspot, or a friend's house? It would be nice to narrow it down to either the router or the laptop. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-16-2007, 09:46 PM	#14 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router There are two wireless networks within range of my laptop, sometimes three, and no matter which one I connect to it does the same thing. I've never tried taking it to a friends house or internet cafe. Do you think I should try that or are the multiple networks in range enough?

05-17-2007, 08:19 AM	#15 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,744 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router OK, I'd be looking at a replacement wireless adapter at this point. It appears it's totally losing it, and then Windows re-installs it. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-18-2007, 04:54 PM	#16 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Is the wireless adapter the little card about two inches in width inserted into the side of the laptop? Or do you mean the router? Last edited by Porterisdead; 05-18-2007 at 04:55 PM.

05-19-2007, 01:12 PM	#17 (permalink)
johnwill Manager, Networking Forums Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania, US Posts: 41,744 OS: Windows 7, XP-Pro, Vista, Linux Blog Entries: 1	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router I'm talking about the PCMCIA card in the laptop. __________________ If TSF has helped you, Tell us about it! or Donate to help keep the site up! Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience

05-20-2007, 09:50 PM	#18 (permalink)
Porterisdead Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 10 OS: XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Okay, thanks.

05-21-2007, 06:24 AM	#19 (permalink)
Sado Registered User Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 5 OS: Windows XP	Re: Laptop Keeps Disconnecting From Router Few ideas came on to my mind... Do you have a wireless network named "default" in your wlan settings? I had and it was determined to connect automatically. Sometimes the connection to my wlan would work for an hour and then go offline (it started to search the wlan called default.) When I removed that "default" wlan all started to work perfectly. Do you have powersave on? Turn it off. __________________ Resistance if futile.