New laptop - Wireless problems -extra info

_Andy_

Hi

We recently got a new laptop but are having problems with wireless.

Briefly - connects to the network fine, but then browsing cuts out intermittently with no pattern to it (can still ping via cmd).
I.e. the connection to the Wifi network is fine but can't open any pages in IE or FF.
This remedies on restarting, or, sometimes, by disconnecting from the network, reconnecting, then switching browsers.
Doesn't seem to be affected by distance to router.
Previous laptop worked consistently with no problems

Would be grateful on any advice on this - wasn't sure exactly what info was needed.

Thanks

Jaffa.

Are you pinging the router or a website?

What router do you have and is it Vista on the new laptop? Some routers like Speedtouch 585's don't play nice with Vista.

_Andy_

Hi Jaffa, thanks for replying.

Pinging a website, i.e. it pings google OK.
I'm not at home at the moment so don't have the model but it's a Buffalo router.
Yes the new laptop is Vista (my desktop and the previous laptop are/were XP).

reaper_2-2

I would suggest perhaps changing the wireless channel that your router is broadcasting on (Normally between 1 to 11). If somebody else nearby is broadcasting on the same channel, it can cause this sort of problem.

To do this you will need to log into the router's admin page, and look for the wireless channel setting in there. Just try selecting a few different ones and seeing if it makes any difference.

How to log into the router will depend on the actual make/type, but typically for a Netgear you will use internet explorer and type 192.168.0.1 into the address bar. When prompted for username and P/W, I think it is "admin" and "password" as default. As I say though, this would be for a Netgear, but most modern routers will be similar. Also, you will often find the correct IP address to log into, and the username/PW actually printed on a label on the router somewhere.

EDIT :

For a Buffalo, it looks like the default login settings for the router should be :
Address - 192.168.11.1
Username - root
Password - Leave blank

If the wireless connection is such that it won't even let you log into the router, just temporarily hook an ethernet (CAT5) cable between the two until you manage to change the settings.

Hope this helps.

Reaper

Jaffa.

I think Buffalo uses:

user:admin
password:admin

or

User: root
Pass: (none)

_Andy_

Thanks - will do when I get home. Any other thoughts on causes/solutions?

reaper_2-2

Any update on this Andy?

The lack of a response would perhaps suggest no success?

_Andy_

reaper wrote: »

Any update on this Andy?

The lack of a response would perhaps suggest no success?

I'm going to switch channels tonight, will see how that goes. Had a hectic night so wasn't able to do it yesterday.

Be keen to hear of any other causes people think it may be.

Cheers

_Andy_

Morning

Tried the channel change, still no joy.
Also tried updating, re-installing the wireless driver, again no joy.

If anyone has any other suggestions I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

PS also it doesn't matter whether the network is secured or not.

Duk

Could be a number of things really.

First off would be worth going to cmd and typing "ipconfig /flushdns" restart and try that for a while.

Also worth changing your DNS server.

OpenDNS servers are
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

_Andy_

Thanks Duk - I think (fingers crossed) I've sorted it, changed the power management settings in device manager. So far so good, has been d/ling all evening and no problems yet