Constant loss of signal

[naylh]

1st post here so bare with me while i try and provide every bit of info i have.

Problem is that at aparently random intervals my desktop will suddenly be unable to connect to the outside world. i hesitate to say i loose signal to the network because when this "drop" in connection happens the system tray icon changes to that which is usual displayed where there is no network adapter connected to the computer.

The machine is running win7 64 bit home premium with a wn111v2 usb wireless adapter.
This is connecting to a dg834g wireless router

I have tried uninstalling the drivers and obtaining the most up to date version from netgears website but the problems still persist

I have also unchcked the options on the network adapters that allow windows to disable the device to save power yet this has no effect still.



When i go into device manager while i am connected i notice under network adapters i have 3 listed as
Microsoft virtual WiFi miniport adapter
Rangemax Wireless-N USB Adapter Wn111v2
Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller


When the "drop" in connection occurs the 1st on the list (Microsoft virtual....) vanishes.

Also when this happens the start bar changes from its usual color into a opaque pale blue colour as apposed to the semi transparent bar that you can see part of the desktop background through.


It may be relavent that the USB device heats up considerably which i wonder may cause it to loose signal. if this is the case is that a faulty dongle or is this just what happens and i need to buy something else.

 

[chev65]

Have you tried going into the Netgear dg834g wireless routers set up page and changing over to another channel? Channel crossover seems to be a big problem with Windows 7. You can access your routers set up page by typing 192.168.0.1 into the URL.

 

[naylh]

I have to say i havnt tried that beacause the adapter had been working fine for months its only recently that its started acting strangely.

Mid post ive changed the channel in the router settings and ill see how that holds up

 

[PooMan UK]

Have you tried going into the Netgear dg834g wireless routers set up page and changing over to another channel? Channel crossover seems to be a big problem with Windows 7. You can access your routers set up page by typing 192.168.1.1 into the URL.

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/inquisitor/2996

Soz Chev pal most Netgear routers use 192.168.0.1 .... just incase there's any confusion

 

[naylh]

no confusion already knew that from setting it up ages back but i got the general idea of what was said.
Still wanting to know what is causing this loss of wireless service in windows

 

[chev65]

Have you tried going into the Netgear dg834g wireless routers set up page and changing over to another channel? Channel crossover seems to be a big problem with Windows 7. You can access your routers set up page by typing 192.168.1.1 into the URL.

Soz Chev pal most Netgear routers use 192.168.0.1 .... just incase there's any confusion

I belive you are correct, I was thinking of my Dlink's access at the moment.

 

[chev65]

no confusion already knew that from setting it up ages back but i got the general idea of what was said.
Still wanting to know what is causing this loss of wireless service in windows

All it takes is a neighbor setting up a new wireless network near by you. The channel 6 gets over used because it's the default channel on many different routers. You can also raise the signal strength just by going to a channel that nobody is using. I'm hoping thats what it is anyway. Could be the hot USB I suppose but thats a new one on me.

 

[naylh]

Ok i changed the channel to 7 and then 5 but it still makes no difference,
Something new i noticed today was when it dropped signal i looked in device manager and when i went into properties on the RangeMax Wifi adpater it said
the device could not start (Code 10)

ive tried getting the latest drivers for the dongle but that didnt help

 

[chev65]

The only thing I can think of is to update the firmware of your router which is version number specific, so you need to find out the version number first. You can probably do this more easily from the firmware update section of your routers set up page at 192.168.0.1.

From what I read about this problem you may need to redownload and install the latest firmware again, even if you are running the latest version. Something about the download or firmware installation may have gone wrong.

You can read about this problem in the link below.
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies-archive.cfm/1402387.html

I posted all this yesterday but it only seems to work sometimes, it will hopefully get your network adaptor working. You should also try Windows update center for an update that may get that problematic adaptor working for you.

Go to:

http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/...e/Support.aspx

Type in the search dialog box: WN111V2

Download the top two drivers and save them to a specified folder; unzip the files (I have WinRar installed so it showed them as zip files).

Plug in your Netgear WN111V2 USB device

Go to:
) Control Panel
) Device Manager
) Other – Should see your USB WLAN device shown with a question mark on it
) Right click on your USB WLAN device and choose: Update Driver software
) Select the folder where you unzipped your drivers that you previously downloaded (it should be successful)

Then go to:
) Control Panel
) Network and Sharing Center
) Setup a new connection or network
) Connect to the internet
) Wireless
) Select your wireless router
) Put in your password… should be good to go...

 

[kegobeer]

I don't know if this will help, but have you seen this thread on the Netgear forum?

wn111v2 + x64 = NOOOO ? - NETGEAR Forums

 

[naylh]

Only difference is like i said my adapater was working for months and then for no reason it just stopped.
i had tried a system restore just incase but then the next hour it cut out again so that obviously didnt solve the problem

I read this forum post
Windows 7 wireless error - "Windows wireless service is not running on this computer"

which mentions checking wireless zero configuration in services.msc but when i look in the list of services WZC doesnt exist.