Loss of internet on Wireless. Very good signal strength.

[Damage_Inc]

I am on a wireless connection and my internet randomly drops. When it does get disconnected I still have very good signal strength. I have tried a couple different driver versions.

Netgear 108 Mbps Wireless PCI Adapter WG311T
Driver date and version: 7/5/2006 4.1.2.150

We have a router/ modem combo through 2WIRE: 2700HG-D Gateway

Here is a list of all the sometimes' (yay)

Sometimes...
-I loose connection and can still access the gateway
-I loose connection and cannot access the gateway
-Connection says "Acquiring network address" for a long time
-When I view available wireless networks I get "Windows cannot configure this wireless connection..." in the dialogue box like I would if I had Netgear software configuring the connection but I don't nor do I have any software that can configure it installed to my PC.
-Even though I lost internet, if I am able to see available networks I can connect to someone else's network near me.

I wish there was at least one consistent event to help with diagnosing this problem. Please let me know what other info you'd like. Thanks :)

-Damage

[johnwill]

Did you try changing the channel in the router to one as far as possible away from any wireless networks?

[Damage_Inc]

The only network I can see near me is one unsecured. I am on channel six and can change it to a lower channel but don't know if I would see any secured networks. I'm going to assume I would see them and change it to 1.

They were 35 Mhz apart now they are 50 Mhz apart.

[johnwill]

Change it to either channel 1 or 11.

[Damage_Inc]

I am on 1 and the neighbors is on 11. I re ran the network setup wizard and now i can see the available wireless networks but it still says "acquiring network address" and has displayed this for 11 hours and counting. As far as disconnects and lag I still get both. Nothing has changed really :/ Signal strength is good.

[johnwill]

Remove any previously stored network configurations, and remove encryption from the router for a test. See if you can then connect.

If that fails, try this:

TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Windows XP with SP2.

For these commands, Start, Run, CMD to open a command prompt.

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ip reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.

[Damage_Inc]

Where do I remove previously stored network configurations? In the router or on my PC? I think the router is all default. I only added a password to access the settings. If they are on my PC how would I remove the configurations? I have not tried your other suggestions yet because Id like to limit the time the network is unsecured.

P.S. It has stopped displaying "acquiring network address" but has been on "low" signal strength most of the day even though placement of my PC, router and furniture etc.. have not changed.

Does power setting matter? It is on 4 out of 1-10.

[Damage_Inc]

I got bored and decided to see about resetting the configuration. I uninstalled the wireless adapter and reinstalled it so it is completely fresh. I think this would remove previously stored configurations since I had to re enter the WEP key to get back on. I also turned off WEP and followed your steps for Run> CMD. There is still no change.

**Driver version defaulted to an older 2004 version now so its not the same as I stated in original post anymore**

One consistent symptom I found is that I can never successfully repair the connection. It always gets to the "renewing IP address" part and after 30 seconds or so it says it was unable to repair it. Even though it did not repair it successfully it does connect but says "acquiring network address" for a day or two.

It would seem to be some kind of IP problem? In Adv Settings here are my options:

O 192.168.1.0 / 255.255.255.0 (default)
O 172.16.0.0 / 255.255.0.0
O 10.0.0.0 / 255.255.0.0
X Configure manually (X = selected)

DHCP is enabled in the router.
First DHCP Address: 192.168.0.70
Last DHCP Address: 192.168.0.254

The router/modem assigns my PC 192.168.0.70

Also in Wireless Network Connection Properties I have two AEGIS protocols. Both checkmarked. Should I uninstall the older one or is having two normal?

Any other info you need Ill try to get for you. Thanks :)

[Damage_Inc]

I gave up and bought cat 5 and wired my connection. Its much better now. No disconnects at all.

[Dr Morganes]

lol

That really doesn't fix the problem, though. Just a few other things to try should you get bored some afternoon:

1) Check your router's firmware. This is essentially the operating system on physical devices of all sorts. Upgrades are usually free for download from the manufacturer's support site.

2) Use Windows to manage your wireless connection. Make sure you're patched to SP2 (I'm amazed by the number of folks who are still running the original release of Windows XP!), and check the "Use Windows to manage wireless connection" box in the properties of your wireless connection. I find third-party connection software to be flaky. I recommend using MSCONFIG (or HijackThis if you're an advanced user) to disable the third-party wireless software. Using Windows has the added advantage of being able to save your wireless settings to a flash drive, making it VERY easy to connect new Windows machines to your wireless network. Plug in the flash drive, click twice, and you're on!

3) Disable ALL encryption on your router and see if you can connect. Incorrect security settings can cause some of the symptoms you've described. The settings John referenced are on the client side, however. Open Network Connections, right-click your wireless connection, choose Properties. You'll find the known network list in the tabs somewhere. Delete every network on the list and start over.

4) Download and install the latest NIC driver. DO NOT allow Windows Update to automatically update device drivers. It's ability to correctly identify devices is severely limited. 9 times out of 10 the wrong driver is installed and you'll find yourself having to roll back to the previous version. (three cheers for that feature!)

[killpotts]

I would recommend changing the power to 10, and the channel to 10. That usually works well with 2wire wireless.

But yes, cat5 will always beat wireless. If you can go with that, its probobly for the best.