Wireless dropout on Win 7 but not on XP - identical hardware.

Hello,

I have a Lenovo T60 which has been on XP for some time now and I decided to wipe it and put Windows 7 Ultimate on. However on Windows 7 the wireless just drops out when I take it into my living room, it didn’t do this on XP!

So I put the HDD back in with XP on, I set a ping going to the router with the laptop upstairs next to the router, I walked downstairs into the living room, which isn't that far away, and although the response time increased there were no ping time outs. I put the Windows 7 HDD back in and repeated the test when I got to the living room the ping timed out, then said general error and wouldn’t reconnect. I have repeated this and always get the same results. I am convinced that this is an issue in Windows 7 but does anyone have any ideas as I have run out of them.

I’ve tried the following

- Changed the wireless channel
- Drivers on XP and Windows 7 are up to date and correct (I even get the same result with the bog standard Microsoft driver)
- All driver settings are pretty much the same
- Disabled IP6 on Win 7
- Re-installed Win 7 and used the basic Microsoft driver - still the same
- All Windows updates are applied
- Bios updated

Any ideas appreciated.

Cheers

You should first enable IPv6 again. It has no bearing on the problem. :)

XP and Windows 7 use different security and encryption for wireless connections.

It's important to use WPA2 with AES encryption for the Windows 7 connection. You would need to make those changes in your routers settings and also the wireless profile on the Windows 7 machine.

Thanks for the reply. I had a look at this but my router doesn't seem to have WPA2 as an option. It does have WPA-PSK which I tried but still no luck. If it did have WPA2 how would that extend the range of the wireless?

Thanks

mitre said:

Thanks for the reply. I had a look at this but my router doesn't seem to have WPA2 as an option. It does have WPA-PSK which I tried but still no luck. If it did have WPA2 how would that extend the range of the wireless?

Thanks

The router usually has a setting for WPA personal "PSK" then once that is set you have the option for WPA2 and then the encryption setting, TKIP, AES, or a mixed setting that can handle both.

The range problems may be a result of just using the wrong security.

Channel crossover can also be a problem with Windows 7, more so than with XP for some reason. Using a WiFi scanner like Xirrus can tell you which security is being used and which channels are the best choices in your area.

Wi-Fi Inspector | Xirrus

Ok thanks again for the advice. I will check this out and report back.

I downloaded and used Xirrus WiFi scanner. Works well.

Well I tried the suggestions. My router had WPA-PSK using TKIP but that made no difference. I also got hold of a wifi scanner but there is nothing else in range so that shouldn't be an issue.

I got hold of another Lenovo laptop (R61) and placed it side by side downstairs. The R61 maintained a good connection but the T60 just dropped out. To me this would indicate a driver issue, so maybe I'll see what Lenovo support say.

Anyway thanks for the help