New laptop causing router problems - why?

k66

I have a Netgear router which works fine with the wired pc and my old wirelessly connected laptop, today I bought a new Acer laptop, when I made the wireless connection it caused the Netgear routers' lights to flash and the wired PC connection was also lost. (Husband wasn't happy).
I checked with my ISP - Virgin and all systems were fine.
The problem ONLY occurs when the new laptop's wireless connection is made, my old Dell is fine.
Has anyone else heard of this problem?
The laptop is an Acer Aspire 5742, should I return it to PCWorld and buy another?
I paid £499.99 Intel Pentium 5, 4 g Ram and 500g HD
Should I request a refund?

aerostar

Take it to a friend and try the wireless there, that will at least give you some ammo when taking it back if the same thing happens.

kabayiri

I've had conflict issues with certain Netgear routers.

Is it a rangemax type N router?

In my case, it was a conflict with windows-based VPN software - a known issue with some netgear equipment.

If you're technically confident, you could flash the router with DD-WRT. Check the wiki for issues it fixes.
http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index

k66

Thanks for your reply it is a Netgear DG834G router.

kabayiri

It might be that the router isn't happy with Windows 7. Try running a wired connection from the new lappy.

Have you got the latest firmware? This site might prove useful :-
http://dgteam.ilbello.com/

macman

Any ADSL router should be OS-independent, so it should not be an issue with W7.
Are you using a wireless encryption protocol that is compatible with what your router offers?
What happens when you connect via ethernet?

k66

Thanks for all the responses, Virgin sent me a new router last month when I complained about my monthly charges, (they gave me a reduction of >£6 a month), I didn't change the router because everything was fine. I changed it this morning and all is working well. I presume that the new router is more capable and can handle my new laptop.