Network keeps going out

I have a Lenovo/Vista laptop connected to a home network with a 2Wire 2700HG router and Lenovo Thinkvantage connection software. The network keeps going in and out. It will work for a while and suddenly stop. The signal strength is still very good. Often, I try to reconnect and I get a failure to associate with an error message that says settings don't match. Then 30 seconds later, I get a connection. Then a minute later it will go out. Then it will work for a while.

I've no idea what the problem is and thanks to Lenovo's utter lack of documentation and refusal to supply technical support for their software, I have no idea what the problem is or even how to do troubleshooting to narrow down the source.

I'd appreciate any advice on what to do.

 

First make sure you have the latest firmware for your router and the latest drivers for your wireless card. Many of these issues are usually one of these two, especially if older firmware on the router does not allow for proper communication with Vista.

Are you using DHCP or assigning a static IP? If your router is set for DHCP and your PC is expecting a particular IP for instance you could run into problems with the connection.

Also, make sure your home connection is first on your list of preferred networks so you aren't disconnecting to try and connect to some other network.

 

As a follow-up to my previous post, I just saw another thread on this page with some very useful information regarding a similar problem (also with a Lenovo). It is found at http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=177246. There were a lot of great links and suggestions provided. I would definitely check the power management settings suggested as well.

 

Are you using encryption? Is this the only wireless network you are connecting too? If so try manually assigning an IP address.

 

I tried installing a new driver for the Lenovo adaptor. No effect.

I tried checking the preferred network list and discovered 7 entries for my network. I deleted all but the original. Now I can 't get make a connection at all.

I've no idea what to do and can't make any sense out of any of this.

 

Have you tried updating the router firmware yet?

Have you checked to see if both the router and PC are using DHCP or both using the same assigned IP address?

I would remove the original from you preferred list as well then and then try to connect to it again to add it back on. Especially if you are not broadcasting your SSID it is possible that you removed the wrong one. If you aren't broadcasting your SSID you could try broadcating it and attempting to connect now.

Have you tried disabling encryption (hopefully you have it enabled or will do so again once you get it working) to see if you can connect after doing so?

 

I managed to get the networking going again last night. I eliminated all SSID's and then renamed the network. Everything seemed fine.

This morning, I logged on. I sputtered in and out for a few minutes and completely died. And yes, I checked and have the latest software.

What I don't understand is how it can be working one moment and not the next when I haven't done anything.

The only thing that looks suspicious is that the router has an IP address for the remote computer. But if I look at the computer, it's IP is 0.0.0.0. Of course, I can see no way to change the computer IP.

 

Fixed the IP problem. Still doesn't work. No internet, no access to other network computers. The Thinkvantage shows a connection and the signal strength is excellent. Yet when I click on network in the explorer, it shows nothing but the machine itself. How can the Thinkvantage software shows a connection yet the explorer show no connection?

 

Have you tried some of the suggestions in the other thread I linked to including the power management ones?

What type of router are you using?