Network adaptor falls asleep

Lordswood · 05-20-2008, 03:50 PM

I'm having a network problem at home, have you any suggestions?!

Computer A: 192.168.2.4 wired connection to ADSL router.
Computer B: 192.168.2.2 wireless connection to ADSL router.
Wireless router: 192.168.2.1

Boot everything up, disable all firewalls, wait 5 minutes

Ping B from A - get four timeouts.
Ping A from B - get four responses
Ping B from A - get four responses (suddenly its working)

<Wait one minute>

Ping B from A - get four responses (still working)

<Wait three minutes>

Ping B from A - get timeouts (B's network appears to have fallen asleep)

The network on PC B appears to fall asleep and can't be pinged if left
alone for about 2 mins 10 secs. I can't find anything in the drivers or
set up which causes it to fall asleep. If you ping another computer from B it wakes up again (for a while).

In order to share files or play network games you have to get PC B to ping
A and then connect within a couple of minutes.

How can I keep B awake all the time??

johnhook · 05-20-2008, 04:41 PM

Lordswood,

Is computer B (wireless one) a laptop or notebook? Regardless, what is the make/model of this PC and the Wireless adapter (if external)?

Sounds like a power management issue on the PC 'B' such that if it's a laptop, the lid is being closed which shuts down the WiFi hardware -or- there are power saving settings enabled on that WiFi adapter.

If you are running a wireless card on Windows XP and have experienced problems maintaining a connection to your wireless router, I highly recommend that you disable the “Wireless Zero Configuration” service.

To access this service and other Windows services, you can browse to the Control Panel, then Administrative Tools and finally double-click on Services, From the services window you will want to scroll all the way down to Wireless Zero Configuration and right-click the name, then click Properties. From the Startup Type drop-down menu, choose Disabled so that the service doesn’t startup the next time you start Windows XP.

I found that disabling this service was very helpful, however your results may be different. If you disable this service and then are unable to connect to your router after you restart, try enabling this service again to determine if disabling the service caused the problem. Otherwise make sure your SSID (wireless network name) is in your list of preferred networks.

If things are working properly, your wireless connection should function like a wired connection, and you shouldn’t have to worry about “dropped” connections in Windows XP ever again!

Hope this helps.

- John

Lordswood · 05-23-2008, 08:59 AM

Computer B is a desktop unit not a laptop. Its an Evesham with a DLink DWL-G510 wireless network adaptor. I can't find any power saving settings on the adaptor.

I disabled the "Wireless Zero Configuration" service and this killed off the networking completely so re-enabled it and the network worked again (but still has the problem with falling asleep).

05-20-2008, 03:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Lordswood Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	Network adaptor falls asleep I'm having a network problem at home, have you any suggestions?! Computer A: 192.168.2.4 wired connection to ADSL router. Computer B: 192.168.2.2 wireless connection to ADSL router. Wireless router: 192.168.2.1 Boot everything up, disable all firewalls, wait 5 minutes Ping B from A - get four timeouts. Ping A from B - get four responses Ping B from A - get four responses (suddenly its working) <Wait one minute> Ping B from A - get four responses (still working) <Wait three minutes> Ping B from A - get timeouts (B's network appears to have fallen asleep) The network on PC B appears to fall asleep and can't be pinged if left alone for about 2 mins 10 secs. I can't find anything in the drivers or set up which causes it to fall asleep. If you ping another computer from B it wakes up again (for a while). In order to share files or play network games you have to get PC B to ping A and then connect within a couple of minutes. How can I keep B awake all the time??

05-20-2008, 04:41 PM	#2 (permalink)
johnhook Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 810 OS: MS SBS 2003 SP2	Re: Network adaptor falls asleep Lordswood, Is computer B (wireless one) a laptop or notebook? Regardless, what is the make/model of this PC and the Wireless adapter (if external)? Sounds like a power management issue on the PC 'B' such that if it's a laptop, the lid is being closed which shuts down the WiFi hardware -or- there are power saving settings enabled on that WiFi adapter. If you are running a wireless card on Windows XP and have experienced problems maintaining a connection to your wireless router, I highly recommend that you disable the “Wireless Zero Configuration” service. To access this service and other Windows services, you can browse to the Control Panel, then Administrative Tools and finally double-click on Services, From the services window you will want to scroll all the way down to Wireless Zero Configuration and right-click the name, then click Properties. From the Startup Type drop-down menu, choose Disabled so that the service doesn’t startup the next time you start Windows XP. I found that disabling this service was very helpful, however your results may be different. If you disable this service and then are unable to connect to your router after you restart, try enabling this service again to determine if disabling the service caused the problem. Otherwise make sure your SSID (wireless network name) is in your list of preferred networks. If things are working properly, your wireless connection should function like a wired connection, and you shouldn’t have to worry about “dropped” connections in Windows XP ever again! Hope this helps. - John

05-23-2008, 08:59 AM	#3 (permalink)
Lordswood Registered User Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 2 OS: XP SP2	Re: Network adaptor falls asleep Computer B is a desktop unit not a laptop. Its an Evesham with a DLink DWL-G510 wireless network adaptor. I can't find any power saving settings on the adaptor. I disabled the "Wireless Zero Configuration" service and this killed off the networking completely so re-enabled it and the network worked again (but still has the problem with falling asleep).