Vista Connection Dropping Out, XP Working Great

I have a Linksys BEFW11S4 router with built in wireless for 2 desktops and 1 laptop running XP. All has been working great for years.

I just bought a laptop running Vista that will connect to the network. Everyone can see and access each other's files no problem.

Edit: Let me take that back, the Vista laptop connection just dropped out and the other computers couldn't access it at all.

But this new laptop is having a terrible time staying on the Internet. The connection will be extremely slow, load a page quickly occasionally or the connection will completely drop out for long periods of time.

I have always used my other laptop with XP in the same spot that the new on is and it's never had any connection troubles.

As a test, I hooked up a WAP11 and Vista can connect through it just fine to the Internet without any problems. No dropping out. Fast load times.

What I've tried to fix:

• Turned off the power management option on the adapter that automatically shuts it off.
• Changed the channel on the router.
• Tested the same sites and file transfers with the XP laptop
• Actually stood directly in front of the router with the Vista laptop to see if it was a range problem. It wasn't.

Unfortunately, this is my third HP laptop after the other 2 had unrelated problems. The other two had this exact same issue with the connection so I'm sure it's not a hardware failure on the new laptop.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

I would upgrade the router at least to a 11g. My guess is the old routers firmware does not support Vista. There have been numerous reports of 11b hw having problem. The problem you speak of sounds like a chipset incompatiable with each other. It happens with 11g & 11g to. Vista also has problems with WEP, prefers wpa(2)

 

Very odd!

The BEFW11S4 wireless router is an 802.11B and so is the WAP 11.

I plugged in the WAP11 to a port in the BEFW11S4 router and Vista connects to the Internet and to the network with zero dropout or slow down.

It's not liking the WEP setting on the WAP11 at all like you said. It won't even connect with it on.

But I've disabled the SSID broadcast and enabled MAC address filtering on both the WAP and the router. Tested both the XP and Vista laptops to make sure they could not connect since I hadn't entered their MAC addresses. Sure enough, they couldn't. So I put their MAC addresses in and they connect great through the WAP. Still no dropout and no problems with file sharing among the other computers.

Realizing the WAP is not security-enabled but the SSID broadcast is off and the MAC address filtering is on, how vulnerable is this setup just for it to be a temporary workaround? The BEFW11S4 router is security-enabled but I'm assuming anything sent over the laptop going through the WAP11 is not encrypted, correct? I only use our hardwired desktop to buy stuff online or do banking. However, it's hooked up to a port in the router that now houses this WAP.

Thank you for any help you can give!

 

Hiding the SSID, may help some, but a lot of devices can still see it. MAC filtering is easy to bypass. A lot of HW (wireless cards) allows you to change the MAC to any thing you want. So what you have done is still classified as very low weak security. It may keep the casual user out but persons looking for a place to get in and unload spam and other bad things will find it easy pickings. Most all AP handle connections better than combo units. Combo units are a compromize and a way to save money due to limited resources.

Your AP may have a different chipset in the radio. I have had my share of incompatability issues. Constantly dropped connections are indications to incompatiablity as well as driver issues.

MS may have updated a module to correct security problems. You may see about rolling back to a different date that was know to be good. You may also try Cablenut optimizer, it fixes a lot of speed/connection issues.

 

Thanks blue68f100. Since you mentioned 11G routers also having some problems, are there any other routers you know of that would work? I take it your Netgear is doing just fine.

 

Mfg never get all of the bugs out before they come out with new models. With 11n in draft it's worst than normal, and will be that way for some time. They had problems with 2 (b/g) it will only be worst with 2 (b/g/n). But I think some are dropping off 11b due to security restraints.

My netgear is a 8 port wired VPN, SMB (small med business class), no wireless. Most all of my equipment is business class. I do not like working on them. I use seperate AP's, so I can position them to provide the best coverage. For best performance you need to find out what chip set your pc's are using, then try to get a wrouter to match. I would recommend you stay away from Belkin, there equipment is not very reliable. I prefer Dlink or Netgear equipment. Dlink has a better warranty and support. Netgear only gives 90days free phone support, unlimited email support. Linksys is a hit and miss, the only 11g hw they have that is any good now is the WRT54GL model.

I like the Buffalo hw but these are a mute point, due to a court injunction. I run the dd-wrt firmware on mine. If I was to buy any 11g basic hardware I require it to be able to run the linux firmware. Just gives you more options when things don't work right due to poor firmware.

 

Thanks so much. I'm still baffled why the Linksys WAP running at 802.11b works but there are issues running the Linksys wireless router at 802.11b. Just seems so silly!

Anyway, I appreciate the help and know what I'll be doing this weekend!

 

try going to linksys and hp and downloading current drivers or firmware for both. I have a compaq lappy and sometimes it will have trouble connecting. is your wireless security setup secured or unsecured? another thing i did try doing that seemed to help better than the first time is installing the router on the lappy..just some ideas. good luck

 

I have the same router and a compaq lappy. one thing i would try doing is going to linksys and hp and downloading current drivers/firmware for each. another thing that seemed to help is installing the router on the lappy too..but i was still using the internal wireless. also what type of wireless settings are u using?