Freaky Lenovo Thinkpad Wireless Problem

I recently purchased a refurbished Lenovo Thinkpad T41. I bought it to replace a dying Thinkpad T30.

I did a clean Win XP Pro install on the T41 using this guide. The guide, by the way was very clear and effective.

The problem is that the wireless connection drops intermittently using my home wireless network. The most consistent drops occur when I am downloading files, such as podcast files. But, the drops can occur just browsing using either Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2.

The freaky part is that I live in an apartment and I am able to access three other unsecured wireless networks. I have NO intermittent drops with any of those unsecured wireless networks. Also, a friend has the same wireless router as I do and I have NO intermittent problems using her secured (WEP) wireless network.

My home wireless network is a Linksys WRT54GS with firmware version 4.71.1. It is set to mixed mode (802.11B & 802.11G). It is secured with 26 digit WEP. The wireless is set to broadcast on channel 9. The only configuration change I made is to bump up priority of VOIP (voice over IP) using QoS. This Linksys wireless router has worked (and continues to work) perfectly for 4 years with the above mentioned T30, several other wireless computers and an XBOX360 and PS3.

The internal card on the T41 is Intel Pro Wireless LAN 2100 3B mini PCI adapter. I am using Windows XP wireless connection manager, not Lenovo's Access Connections tool. I have twice reinstalled wireless driver per instructions at Lenovo's web support web site.

I am soliciting help as to what might be the cause of the intermittent drops on my home wireless network. Or, what should be my next step to troubleshoot the problem.

Thanks for your help,

RR

 

wow, you just gave me a headache

where's blue when i need him............

 

I would set the channel to auto. Picking any thing but 1,6,11 (unless non US) causes problems in the long run. Picking 9 interferes with 6 and 11 channels. You need to have the largest spread between ch as possiable, the reason 1,6 & 11 are recommended.

Have your tried adjusting the QoS back to default to see if it clears?

I have never liked the 11b hardware even though it's sufficent for most all DSL conections.

One thing to remember about IBM and Intel drivers. You must start with the earliest release and upgrade using all releases. The reason, most of their updates are patches to the original unless stated. So just installing the latest may be missing a later file that need a patch.