Edimax EW-7612PIn Wireless PCI-Express Adapter disconnects randomly.

[BlindPixel]

I haven't tried the Linux Mint MATE Live CD yet. I have had my second Router (Belkin Router) connected to the Netgear one with a Ethernet Cable. It worked for several days but then the Belkin router disappeared off the Wireless Network Connections list and I started automatically connecting to the Netgear router.

The odd thing about this is I went into the properties of both connection names. With the Netgear router, I unchecked the 'Connect automatically when this network is in range' and 'Connect even if the network is not broadcasting its name (SSID)'. Then I checked these two options on the Belkin router. After an undefined amount of time, these settings go back to default where the Netgear was the router I connect to automatically whereas the Belkin didn't have this feature.

Sometime after doing this several times, the Belkin just stopped showing up on my computer as an available connection. Other people can see the router but for some reason I can't.

 

[paul1149]

My guess is one of these:

• the adapter is somehow getting uninstalled. This is the only reason I can come up with for losing network settings.
• malware
• something wrong under the hood in Windows

The next steps would be:

• try a different adapter
• scan for malware (MBAM is excellent)
• fix Windows or run Linux to see if the problem is there

If you want to try to repair windows, you can use a prog like Complete Internet Repair.

 

[BlindPixel]

Okay, after I ran MBAM (I am assuming it is Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program) something different started happening. When I am connected to the internet, I get the following status bar icons:

The white bar icon is the normal Windows internet status icon. The icon with the green bars is my Edimax internet adapter icon. Before I ran MBAM when the connection went down, both icons would give an indication the internet is down. Now when the internet goes down, the Edimax is still connected to the router yet I have no internet for my computer.

The only other adapter I can try is the on board internet connection. However, I need to be directly connected to the router for that to work. Right now we don't have the room for me to do this so until we get enough room I can't test this solution out.

 

[GokAy]

Yes, MBAM is Malwarebytes.

Can you try uninstalling Edimax software? Windows built-in is good enough. Then remove the connection from the wireless networks list and re-connect. Make sure IP/DNS are automatic.

 

[paul1149]

1. Did MBAM find anything?
2. Second, your problem may be as simple as running two network handlers on the same adapter. See if you can turn off the Edimax firmware in its GUI, or uninstall it from Control Panel / Programs. But first make sure you have a local copy of the Edimax driver in case it get uninstalled, so you can reconnect.
   Windows' built-in zero-configuration network handler is very good and takes minimum resources. Go with it alone.

 

[BlindPixel]

I am not sure why I didn't add this to the post but here it is. MBAM found 48 Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUP) as either files or folders. The Vendor for them is PUP.Optional.CrossRider.A for all of them.

Also I do not have two wireless adapters, I think that is what you guys are assuming with the two signal bars. The only wireless adapter that I have is the Edimax one. When the Edimax adapter is disabled, the Windows signal bar will show no internet connection. It has been this way since I first installed the Edimax wireless adapter, not sure if it is the same way with everything else.

In total I have two Network Connections to use. The first is the Local Area Connection, which uses the Network Cable plugin on the tower. This is not connected whereas the second connection is the Wireless Network Connection which is connected through the Edimax adapter.

I am going to see if I can turn off Edimax firmware or uninstall it from Programs and see if I still have internet. I am pretty sure it will just cut me off from internet but who knows.

 

[GokAy]

We know you have 1 wireless adapter. Uninstall the edimax software so windows manage the connection. If the drivers get uninstalled in the process you will have to reinstall only the drivers.

 

[BlindPixel]

Okay, I went and uninstalled the Edimax Software and as predicted the internet cut off. The driver software I had gotten off the website itself didn't help at all. Apparently even though it says it is the driver for the adapter, there is no driver information in the download.

In order for me to actually download the driver, I had to put the CD into the machine and extract the driver through Device Manager in order for the utility to not be downloaded. As of right now, I am connected to the internet and do not have the Edimax Signal Bar and there is no Edimax program in Programs and Features. I will post a quick reply if the internet acts up again.

 

[paul1149]

I should have mentioned another way might have been to prevent the edimax utility from autostarting at MSCONFIG. But you got it anyway. I've been down this road with edimax, and it can get tricky. Good hardware though. The alternative is to turn off Windows zero-config service.

 

[BlindPixel]

Uninstalling the Edimax Utility while keeping the drivers didn't work. There are times the internet disconnects and the Netgear router disappears. Also the Belkin router hasn't appeared since the Netgear disconnected. Everyone else can see both all the time whereas I am disconnecting randomly.

Also, the other two computers that keep the connection have the wireless adapters already built into their computers. The Edimax adapter didn't come with the computer.

 

[GokAy]

Try run in cmd: netsh winsock reset

Also try Download Complete Internet Repair - MajorGeeks and Tweaking.com - Windows Repair

Please see if the connection is alright with Linux Mint MATE, to see if hardware is at fault.

 

[BlindPixel]

What do I do to see if the connection is alright in Linux Mint MATE? I never used Linux before so not sure what tests I should do while in Linux. For now I will do the cmd command, Complete Internet Repair and Windows Repair.

 

[GokAy]

Nothing in particular, just browse etc to see if connection will drop just like in Windows.

Download the ISO and use Rufus to make a bootable USB flash drive. Boot with it, no installation required.

 

[BlindPixel]

I have not made a bootable USB flash drive for Linux Mint MATE as I lost my USB flash drive somewhere. I however think found the cause of my internet becoming randomly disconnected.

As I said before I have two routers: Netgear and Belkin. The Netgear router was given to use by Cox Communications (never new you could get a router from them). While we had the Belkin router for a while and bought that from Wal-Mart ourselves. While the Netgear was the main router, the internet for my computer would get disconnected for no reason. When I connected the Belkin router to the Netgear one, I was able to see both routers. After it disconnected the first time after adding the Belkin router, I lost access to the Belkin one while everyone else still saw both.

About a month ago I had decided to test out if it was the Router, my adapter or Windows 7 that was the problem. I couldn't really test out Windows 7 until I found my flash drive, so I did the other two. I disconnected the Netgear router completely and switched over to the Belkin. After I made this switch, I haven't been mysteriously disconnected from the internet with everyone else still connected.

Now the only times I get disconnected are when Cox has random updates to the Modem or some oddness that happens with the cable/internet. When this happens, everyone is affected not just me. Not sure why the Netgear is acting up, someone did say it is cause I got the router from Cox but can't say if that is true.

 

[GokAy]

Good to hear you have sorted it