Wireless network help!

Soldato
Joined
25 Mar 2004
Posts
16,007
Location
Fareham
Hi all

We have a small 3 client network here at home, network topology diagram is available here:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/anthony.merritt/network.jpg

We currently use a Linksys WRT300N router and for the last couple of weeks have been finding that the wireless clients keep losing network connectivity.

For example if the laptop is used to browse the Internet for a bit and then put into sleep mode, when it's brought back online it will no longer be connected to the network and you have to manually connect to the network and then run a diagnose and repair connection (Windows Vista) for it to work again. The laptop is set to connect to the Linksys network first and the adapter is set to never be put to sleep in device manager.

Checking the lights on the router at the same time as this problem happens and the Wireless light is still enabled and good to go and the other wireless client (desktop PC) can connect while the laptop won't.

I am hardwired into the router and never have any problems really, connectivity is fine for me so the modem link remains established.

The wireless connection is WEP encrypted and only I know the login details for the router.

The problem was annoying my dad so much he went out and brought a Belkin N Wireless Router which doesn't work (all the lights blink on/off every few seconds), I think it looks a bit rubbish anyway so I think we're going to return it.

So I have a couple of questions:

1) Do you guys think the problems with the wireless clients are router based or client based? i'm probably going to try to update the drivers for the adapters to see if it helps but don't know much about wireless networking, everything was working fine until a couple of weeks ago though.

2) What's a decent router to purchase to replace this one? I want one which is reliable and offers a decent range (clients are never more than 10~ meters away from the router in any direction but there are some walls between them and the WAP

Any other ideas would be appreciated :)
 
It'll be the laptop, without a shadow of a doubt. My sisters laptop used to do the same thing, just a thing that happened... turning off the wireless adapter and back on will also sort it...

Seems that some wireless chipsets don't like being put into sleep...
 
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