Wireless connection keeps dropping - Netgear DG834G & Travelmate 800Lci

Hi there,

just wondering whether anyone could help me with my wireless connection. The problem is that it keeps dropping after every five minutes. When I'm using cable the connection is fine which rules out ISP or BT, I guess.

I'm using Netgear DG834G v2 router and the built-in wireless card in my Acer Travelmate 800Lci laptop. I know that the card in my laptop is not the best one (the antenna is pretty poor too), but I encouter this problem regardless of how far or close to the router I am. Also, whenever I am connected, Windows XP SP2 connection manager shows the connection to be disconnected (and the red cross icon in the toolbar) although it's working fine (at least for a couple of minutes). When I try the repair option Windows gives after the 'Cannot connect to the wireless network' message it says the TCP/IP is not installed which sounds strange as everything should be fine.

I've also tried to run the router with and without the WEP encryption, but still keep getting the same problem. I've upgraded the driver in my laptop and the firmware in the router but this hasn't helped either. Has anyone got any ideas?

Cheers,
opaali

Try disabling power management on the wireless card. Also try chaning the channel if there are other networks in the area. Netstumbler is a handy tool for detecting and checking stats on other networks in your area.

__________________
Jeremy

Marlborough WiFi Project

Thanks NZlamb,

I just discovered that it was the automatic connection which I had enabled in the network properties that made the connection to drop. Since I switched it off it's been running smoothly without problems.

I have had a similar problem. Do you recommend disabling the automatic connection?

Well, it's definitely worth a try. Mine has worked fine ever since. You just need to manually connect to the network every time you turn on your computer, but that's not too much of a trouble anyway.