I shut down my laptop about 5 times a day, is this bad?

timbon · 26 Nov 2012

Am i better of just doing it at the end of the day? I basically use it for a few hours then shut down and then maybe use it again after a few hours etc.

I have noticed that my wireless connections keeps dropping and i always have to go and unplug/replug the router, im not sure if this is because of the shutting down thing or if the router is faulty.

Putting it into standby is another option but i feel as though i will still have the same internet connection dropping issue, maybe i should just shut down at the end of the day and see how it goes?

whs · 26 Nov 2012

This is not bad. The wireless may need a little longer to reconnect. What you can do is right click on the network icon in the task tray (next to the clock) and Open the Network and Sharing canter. You should see a red X. Click on that and wait until it disappears. Then you are good to go.

gregrocker · 26 Nov 2012

I would solve the connection issue, possibly by updating or reinstalling the driver, so that you can use the modern Sleep and Hibernate functions which are perfected in Win7.

I like to be able to walk away from the PC without thinking twice about whether I need to shut it down, because after 30 minutes it sleeps, then after an hour it Hibernates, saving all of my work so that it's there on the desktop when i resume it (twice as fast) later.

whs · 27 Nov 2012

Greg, I have this longer delay for establishing connections too. And both, on my systems in Germany and here in the US. Both have Netgear routers. My US installation used to have a Netgear switch with all 3 systems attached via ethernet cable. That connected more or less instantly.

So my take was that this is a characteristic of the routers. They always do connect and sometimes I give them a little push by clicking on the red X.

DeaconFrost · 27 Nov 2012

I'll echo some of those comments. Powering on and off is generally not recommended, so I'd go somewhere in the middle, involving a sleep/hibernate. I generally leave a computer on all day unless I am absolutely sure I won't be using it again.

I also don't see anyway that behavior could be causing your wireless issues. I'd be willing to bet they are completely separate and isolated.

gregrocker · 27 Nov 2012

I wouldn't settle for a router or adapter with less than perfect performance. I use all Linksys stuff which runs seamlessly for about 10 years before petering out with plenty of warning.

However I recently bought to replace my internal G card with big antenna a tiny Airlink wireless USB N adapter which had 100% positive reviews on buy.com and am amazed by it. But I wouldn't have bought off-brand without the dozens of rave reviews.

DeaconFrost · 27 Nov 2012

Many of those off-brands use the same chipsets inside, so despite the brand name on the box, they can be identical in performance once installed. I learned this when trying to find Linux wireless drivers. In many cases there, you need to find the chipset drivers to make the card work.