Limited/ no connectivity problem

stasteamb · Post by **stasteamb** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 9:28 am

Hi there,

I am working with a wireless network of ten computers all running XP professional. Three of the ten are experiencing connectivity problems with one being an absolute nightmare. The "one" is my pc in the office. It has to be restarted about 20-30 times throughout the day. The other seven experience no problems at all with connectivity or lack thereof even though they all share the same network. The connection just seems to die and a yellow warning symbol appears in the system tray over the wireless network connection saying that I have limited or no connectivity. The speed drops from 54 mbps to 24/18/12/0, signal strength reads good, very good, excellent, low, very low and the computer crashes when I go to "repair network connection". I have downloaded and installed the microsoft patch for limited connectivity issues and also a patch called WinSockXpFix, but the problem still persists. I have searched and followed every instuction or idea I could find and nothing works. In the space of writing this , I have had to restart twice. I'm at my wits end

. Please, please someone help me.

Thanks.

Post by **YeOldeStonecat** » Fri Jul 20, 2007 3:32 pm

Any tips sticked at the top of this forum attempted? Such as latest drives, SP2 and other windows updates, unique SSID, try a different channel, etc.

Do these PCs have good antivirus protection? Scanned for malware?

press2esc · Post by **press2esc** » Sun Jul 22, 2007 9:42 pm

When it comes to wireless problems, solutions can be elusive and sometime futile. Of 20+ possible solutions, we should start with the basic 10+ Q's...

What is the model/brand of WLAN router?
Relative to full area you need to cover wirelessly, where is the router located (e.g., front/rear/side/ middle) in this area of the building?
What is the estimated "line of sight" distance between the WLAN router and the nonfunctional wireless PCs?
Assuming this is a single story, how many walls does the wireless have to "penetrate" before it reaches your problem wireless PCs?
Is the router located well above the floor?
Is the antenna(s) in the vertical position?
Is there any RF interfering devices (e.g., cordless phone, keyboards, mouse, webcam, remote video/security cams, microwave, fluorescent light, etc, etc) in near proximity to the router or PCs?
Is the WLAN router security (WEP, WPA) turned ON?
Do you see other "neighboring" WLAN network when you "view avail networks"? If so, how close are the neighboring building?

Why are you running so much wireless in a business? If any of these wireless PCs are mission critical or intend to generate the biz revenue, you have likely already surpassed the cost to have the someone come in and wire the building, in lost time, sales & aggravation. If wireless is a requirement of your business, you might consider contacting an RF network person visit your location to develop a wireless RF map of your site. He/she may recommend adding Access Point(s). You may also consider using power-line adapters – that is, running Ethernet over the AC power lines.

P2E