Windows 7 - Dropping Internet Every Few Minutes- Default Gateway Not available

Hey,

So, I'm on my wonderful laptop and it works well when I'm home. When I go to college, however, I drop internet ever couple of minutes. I run the troubleshooter and it reports that the Default Gateway Is Not Available. So, that sucks. It fixes the problem, then, a few minutes later, it happens again. I've been looking for a fix to this problem and I've found several relevant posts on the internet, but most ask for router information. Some even said that the router may not work with windows 7 and it needs a firmware update. I can't change the router, because it's a dorm. Others nearby haven't had any trouble. I do have friends who have the same problem as I, but less frequently. I thought the problem was McAffee so I got rid of it, but the problem persists. I'm really anxious to get this solved, so any help is much appreciated. I'm willing to supply whatever information necassary.

Thanks.

Problem solved through following 2xg's advice.

Syzygy,
Is your Gateway through AT&T Uverse which is what I have.
If so power down the Gateway and let it reboot.
Problems persist have them replace the Gateway as they did for me.
THW

Forgot to add........
Welcome to Seven Forums and check out all the Great Tutorials.
You might want to do a search (Upper right corner) to see if others had similar problem.
THW

Sorry, I'm a little unclear of what you mean by Gateway powered through At&T Uverse. I did try doing a search, but the problem is that I cannot troubleshoot the router since I don't have permission. It's a community router and others with windows 7 aren't experiencing the same problem.

Thought that might be the case...Community Router.

Have you discussed this with others as to how they have there laptops setup versus yours? Might be just a subtle change you might have to make.
THW

Unfortunately, I attend a liberal arts college. The people around me really don't know much about computers(even I don't know that much), and I have asked. I. I went to the on-campus computer information services department, and they just told me to get an ethernet cable.

Will get you some help.
So don't go far!
THW

just to add, you say you got rid of macafee, does this mean you have left yourself unprotected without any antivirus, if so you need to rectify that asap.

most people on the forum here would recommend Microsoft security essentials ,which is a free reliable anti virus

Microsoft Security Essentials - Free Antivirus for Windows

I'll be by a computer all day, so I won't be going anywhere(internet permitting). As for antivirus, I added Avira, any objections?

Hi Syzygy,

THW has called me to help you out and I'll see how may assist you.

If you are in a dorm, you have to realize that you are sharing the bandwidth with others. You have no clue what others might be doing such P2P, online gaming utilize a huge amount of bandwidth.
Is your issue a wired or wireless connection?