EvaUnit02 on 27/12/2011 at 10:07
I'm running Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 and a TP-Link TL-WN951N 801.11n PCI adapter primarily. Ever since Xmas day, the internet connection to my PC has either been A. slow as shit or B. not responding at all. Disabling and re-enabling my wifi adapter fixes it for a few mins, but then it goes back to shit again. I've tried rebooting my PC, installing different drivers sets (eg older drivers, chipset reference drivers for Atheros 5008), rebooting my router (Thomson TG585v7) and nothing's really helped.
I've been using some generic USB wireless-G adapter with limited success in the mean time, but that drops out every few hours - this causes me to think that there's a problem with my Windows installation.
My flatmates' laptops and Samsung Galaxy tablet use the same wifi connection but they're all sweet, it's just my PC.
I really don't want to reinstall Windows, as I only did so a little over 2 months ago.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Al_B on 27/12/2011 at 13:39
Not quite an identical issue, but I have seen similar behaviour with certain wireless adapters and routers where the wireless adapter will go to sleep and disconnect from the network suddenly. Either increasing the rate of beacon transmissions on the router or disabling power saving on the wireless adapter fixed the problem. I'm sorry I can't be more specific as I'm not familiar with your router or adapter but that's something I'd look at first.
Al_B on 29/12/2011 at 09:49
I don't think you need to worry about the number of aerials. I'm currently using a RealTek based WiFi connection which is built into my ASUS motherboard and that only has a single aerial which is a similar distance and configuration as yours with no problems at all. I believe the multiple aerial configuration comes into play more when you have an 802.11n link at both ends where they're trying to get higher data rates over the same frequency band. In your case, your Thompson router isn't an 802.11n device so I can't see it making much difference.
Before you buy the new adapter have you had a look at the settings for your wireless adapters? If you go to the device manager you should be able to find it under the "Network adapters" section. Double-click on it to open up its properties and look for the "Power Management" tab. Normally by default the option to allow it to be turned off is ticked - you should be able to untick this and see if the situation improves.
If this doesn't make any difference, there should also be an Advanced tab in the same location with a number of extra settings in a list. For your TP-Link adapter I'd be inclined to look for something like "Wireless Mode" and see if you can force it to 802.11b/g (since your router only supports those anyway). I'd also look at power saving options and adaptive rate control since you say that the problem exists after a few minutes. It's best to note down initial settings for every thing before changing them so you can restore them again easily. Also, if changing an option gives no improvement then it's best to change it back before changing the next setting.
Ulukai on 30/12/2011 at 14:25
In all seriousness, has anyone started drying washing indoors, especially on radiators?
Humid air seriously affects the wireless signal, as I know only too well.
SubJeff on 4/1/2012 at 12:15
What wait what?
I dry my clothes on a clothes horse, next to an electric heater (I'm all electric, no gas). This set-up is next to my wireless router!
Perhaps this is why I've been having intermittent connection problems... :wot:
EvaUnit02 on 6/1/2012 at 10:35
I received my new Asus PCE-N15 adapter today and have subsequently installed it. Works great and is noticeably faster than the old TP-Link was at any time during its life. A+ hardware, would verb again.
Al_B on 7/1/2012 at 00:10
Excellent - thanks for the follow-up. No wireless adapter I've had has been perfect so it's good to hear that things have improved with the new adapter.
