Computer problems, again. This time it's my Internet connection. Usually when there's Internet problems I can blame it on the router, but nobody else in my house is having this issue. I just got back from the weekend and my connection is intermittently cutting out, then coming back, so it just causes periods of lag. Then, after say 20 minutes or so, it cuts out altogether and can't detect any wireless signals, though my wireless card is still reading as "on". I then restart my computer and everything is good again... for 20 minutes or so. Anyone got any ideas? Of course if it keeps up I'll be taking it in to get looked at, but if someone's got an idea of a fix I'd love you forever. The wireless shut-off thing has happened twice now, and it's about 10 minutes since the last one... Thanks guys.
Good place to start is either updating, or rolling back your wifi drivers. Also, did you install any programs around the time is started acting up? Worst case scenario, you need to replace it. Luckily, usb wifi adapters are pretty cheap now.
Nope, haven't installed anything. It might've started earlier today while I was at work, though the Internet there is usually spotty so I'm not sure. If I'm going to look for driver updates, would it be easier to go through Windows Update (or some other automatic update) or go to the manufacturer's site and see what they've got?
Control Panel< Device Manager < Network Adapters< right click on adapter < Update or Windows Update will sometimes have useful driver or If you happen to know what card it is, you would probably be able to get the most updated easiest from the manufacturer site.
You could see if the problem is still there when you plug it in. That would isolate it to the wireless. Also look at your power options.. some laptops stupidly have the wireless settings for the default power plan set to something weird that makes it periodically disconnect. This was the case for my sister - all I had to do was set the wireless to 'maximum performance' or whatever the best option was. Right click the battery icon > Power Options > Change plan settings > Change advanced power settings > Wireless Adapter Settings > Power Saving Mode Make sure they are both on maximum.
When the sudden disconnects appear, how healthy is the signal strength? It could be a driver-related problem, as already said. (In which case the problem is solved by rolling back to an older driver.) Or, another possibility I could think of is a service-related issue. WIN+R; services.msc; therein, look for a service named "WLAN AutoConfig"; make sure that it's enabled. You could also try and track down the issue with the Event Viewer. WIN+R; eventvwr.exe; Windows logs; system. Now, to the standard question. Are you certain that you're virus-free? :rolle: The nightmare-case scenario, the wireless adapter is broken. Power-saving plan issues are out of the question. The orator above me had probably just missed the part where you stated that the problem started to occur after the weekend (=recent?). But if you're desperate (and have indeed messed with power-saving plans at some point), then feel free to try. You could also verify whether any system file is corrupted. Start; All Programs; Accessories; right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. Type this: sfc /scannow (It will take a while.) (Oh, and by the way, it's really late around my place. Have to wake up for university in about 6 hours. ... so ... if I made any mistake, sorry.)
If you're sure you're virus free, the next place I'd look is at the built-in wireless in your laptop. These have been a fairly common point of failure in a number of laptops made in the past several years. Unfortunately, the only way to test it is with another wireless device attached to your computer. You should be able to find a wireless USB dongle for $20 or so, and if you get it from Amazon or somewhere similar, it should be returnable no problem. If you get one of those, and it works reliably, then your built-in wireless is intermittent. And unfortunately, that means replacing the main board, since these days, everything is on one board.
No they aren't. Power saving plans are dynamic based on the current health of the battery. Additionally the current plan will change depending on whether you are plugged in or not. And, in my sister's case, her problem only started occurring after some time, even though she never touched the power plan herself. Furthermore, other changes to the system or even just plain degeneration of your NIC could mean that while it could have previously gotten by on a lower power setting, it no longer can.
Thanks guys, I'll test that stuff out. I just tried updating my drivers with Windows Update, which told me I had the best driver available (from 2010...), so I tried manually updating it and it didn't work for whatever reason. Ended up system restoring to yesterday, so this process is taking a while. Did a quick check on the power plans too, nothing there. As for signal strength, it's usually around 3-5 bars (standard for my house), then when it lags out the connection drops off completely, like I get the little orange circle saying connections are available yet it doesn't automatically connect to any of them, since they're password protected. All this in the span of maybe 5-10 seconds, then back up to normal connection. And I'm preeeeeeeetty sure I'm virus-free, though I'll run a scan too.
@ridiculous, I've never owned a laptop that would disable wifi to save battery. But you're correct about everything. Though, the topic-starter already confirmed that the batery-saving plans aren't at fault. Anyway, during said 10-15 seconds, can you connect to any other network? (Don't know how you'd check that out, though, with them being password protected.) Hm, my next step would be (if you can connect to other network when that behaviour occcurs) to change the wifi channel in the router. You'd need the access to admin panel, however. By the way, why the second version? Had trouble in the past?
