Why would turning on a computer cause wifi not to work

My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/wif...ed-signals.htm
I was reading this.
One suggestion is to move the router. That is not really something I
want to do. I did try to take a smart phone and try to use it right
next to the router and it doesn't work.

Another suggestion is to change the channel. My router has a network
mode. I have disabled, mixed, G and B. It is currently set on mixed.
What exactly is G and B? Is that the channel?
I tried changing to G only and B only, but that only made the tablet
not work. I may try these for an extended period of time so I can
check more devices. Would Mixed be the best setting then what? G?

On 19 Feb 2014, Metspitzer wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Another suggestion is to change the channel. My router has a
network mode. I have disabled, mixed, G and B. It is currently
set on mixed. What exactly is G and B? Is that the channel?

This will bring up a number of essays on the subject. Take your
pick:

https://www.google.com/search?q=wireless+g+vs+b

Here's one:

http://homenetworkadmin.com/wireless...he-difference/


I tried changing to G only and B only, but that only made the
tablet not work. I may try these for an extended period of time
so I can check more devices. Would Mixed be the best setting then
what? G?

It depends on the wireless adapters in all the devices you have are
capable of. N is preferable to G which is preferable to B. Most
devices in the past several years can do any of the three.

In message , Nil
writes:
On 19 Feb 2014, Metspitzer wrote in
alt.windows7.general:

Another suggestion is to change the channel. My router has a
network mode. I have disabled, mixed, G and B. It is currently
set on mixed. What exactly is G and B? Is that the channel?

No, it isn't the channel. The channel means one of between about 10 and
13 (depending on what country you're in) parts of the 2.4 GHz band; a
lot of routers have an "auto" setting, which means choose the best
channel, but it wouldn't surprise me if the implementation varies - e.
g. some might just choose the best one once and stick with it, some
might continuously monitor what traffic there is and keep hopping. You
need the remote bits (computers, smartphones, whatever) to be set to
work with that too.

This will bring up a number of essays on the subject. Take your
pick:

https://www.google.com/search?q=wireless+g+vs+b

Here's one:

http://homenetworkadmin.com/wireless...he-difference/

Basically, they're versions of the wifi standard - IEEE 802.11b, g, and
N. B is very old now (though, in UK at least, its maximum speed - 11
MB/s IIRR - is still higher than a lot of people might be getting on
their link to the outside world).

I tried changing to G only and B only, but that only made the
tablet not work. I may try these for an extended period of time
so I can check more devices. Would Mixed be the best setting then
what? G?

I think _some_ modern devices - sounds as if your tablet is one - no
longer support b; most devices will fall back to b. Mixed will support
the widest range of devices (including any visitor you may have whose
old laptop or whatever is b only). I think in theory using mixed _can_
slow down the network to the speed of the slowest device (one of the b
devices) on it, but (a) I'm not sure if that's always the case or only
when it's actually talking to the b device, (b) the speed is more than
adequate anyway unless you're moving pretty big files around.

It depends on the wireless adapters in all the devices you have are
capable of. N is preferable to G which is preferable to B. Most
devices in the past several years can do any of the three.

Well, N _can_ go faster, and I think also use more power, than g, which
_can_ go faster than b. The extra power can sometimes make N work on a
link where the others are marginal. Conversely, on a link over which g
and N sometimes think they can do their higher speeds (all of them can
do a range of speeds and adapt), it is sometimes the case that the ones
capable of the faster speed keep switching to the higher one, then
falling over, and switching back to the lower one, whereas if you set
them to only use the lower standard, you get a lower speed but solid
connection, which may _subjectively_ feel better (you don't lose the
link for a second or two as much).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Never be haughty to the humble; never be humble to the haughty. -Jefferson
Davis, confederate president (1808-1889)

"Metspitzer" wrote in message
...
My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/wif...ed-signals.htm
I was reading this.
One suggestion is to move the router. That is not really something I
want to do. I did try to take a smart phone and try to use it right
next to the router and it doesn't work.

Another suggestion is to change the channel. My router has a network
mode. I have disabled, mixed, G and B. It is currently set on mixed.
What exactly is G and B? Is that the channel?
I tried changing to G only and B only, but that only made the tablet
not work. I may try these for an extended period of time so I can
check more devices. Would Mixed be the best setting then what? G?

I've seen this with a very old BT Homehub (the vertical white box with a
telephone handset that slots into the base of the router). When they got a
new Windows 8 laptop, communicating over wireless, everything worked fine
for a few minutes then the wireless communications to the router locked up,
not only for that PC but for all others that used wireless. Changing the
channel made no difference. Rebooting the router solved the problem for a
few minutes then it failed again. With the Windows 8 PC using Ethernet
rather than wireless, everything was fine. Given the age of the router (and
the fact that they have limited life) I suggested getting BT to replace it
with a new one of the latest model.

On Wed, 19 Feb 2014 23:12:17 -0500, Metspitzer wrote:

My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.

Do you mean totally quit working or just lost internet connectivity? It
probably doesn't much matter which to be honest. Does everything stop
if you unplug the network cable from the XP machine and switch it on?

I'm thinking either the XP machine is killing the router, unpluging it
and everything still works, other than the XP machine, would prove
that. If nothing still works try switching off the router for a couple
of mins and then switch it back on. Has that fixed things?

If it still doesn't work with the XP machine on but unplugged from the
network move the XP machine to another room and try it. In this case
it's likely to be the power supply has gone noisy and is swamping the
wi-fi signal from the router.

--
Faster, cheaper, quieter than HS2
and built in 5 years;
UKUltraspeed http://www.500kmh.com/

On 19/02/2014 11:12 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/wif...ed-signals.htm
I was reading this.
One suggestion is to move the router. That is not really something I
want to do. I did try to take a smart phone and try to use it right
next to the router and it doesn't work.

Another suggestion is to change the channel. My router has a network
mode. I have disabled, mixed, G and B. It is currently set on mixed.
What exactly is G and B? Is that the channel?
I tried changing to G only and B only, but that only made the tablet
not work. I may try these for an extended period of time so I can
check more devices. Would Mixed be the best setting then what? G?

The only thing I can imagine causing the router to stop working once you
turn on the computer is a great deal of interference caused by the
computer itself. I'm wondering what's in that computer.

However, I have a question: do the other device's connections DROP once
the computer is turned on (do they get disconnected entirely?) or do
they simply become incredibly slow? If they get disconnected, you're
looking at interference. If they get slow, there's likely something
hogging the bandwidth on your computer.
--
Silver Slimer
Wikipedia Supporter
Embrace mediocrity. Install GNU/Linux today.

On 02/19/2014 10:12 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.



Does the XP machine have the same network name as any other machine on
the network?

"Wolf K" wrote in message
...
On 2014-02-20 1:04 AM, J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
[...]
The channel means one of between about 10 and 13 (depending on what
country you're in) parts of the 2.4 GHz
[...]

Any 2.4 GHz device can interfere with any other.

I ended up buying a new cordless phone for that very reason. I had an older
2.4 GHz one, and every time I made or answered a call, both my laptop and
tablet would go off-line. A new "DECT 6.0" device, and have had no
interference problems since :-)


It could be that OP is seeing the XP machine triggering a channel switch
on the router, and the other devices for some reason don't also switch
channels. Maybe the sequence of switching on the devices will fix the
problem.

It also looks like the router is, erm, geriatric. Almost a museum piece.
Having only 811g and 811b indicates that it an ancient device. If the bad
behaviour showed up recently, it could also be a hardware failure.

I would buy a new router.

Good luck.
--
SC Tom

On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 11:42:35 +0000 (GMT), "Rodney Pont"
wrote:

On Wed, 19 Feb 2014 23:12:17 -0500, Metspitzer wrote:

My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.

Do you mean totally quit working or just lost internet connectivity? It
probably doesn't much matter which to be honest. Does everything stop
if you unplug the network cable from the XP machine and switch it on?

Yesterday, the XP machine was on. Someone brought over a Win7 laptop
that had been connected and set up for the router before. It didn't
work. I was getting a signal from a neighbor's router, but no signal
from my router. Since I had known that the Winmx machine caused this
before, I turned it off. When I turned it off, my router showed up
and started working fine.

I just tried your suggestion of unplugging the XP machine. When I did
that, the smartphone I am testing with connected to the router. I
plugged the XP machine back in and the smartphone stayed on. That is
an improvement, but it is sure not a solution. What did we just
learn?

I have never had to try turning the router on/off. Since I think we
figured out that it is the XP machine that is the cause, what can be
done next.

I do have another power supply. I can switch that if that could work.

Thanks

I'm thinking either the XP machine is killing the router, unpluging it
and everything still works, other than the XP machine, would prove
that. If nothing still works try switching off the router for a couple
of mins and then switch it back on. Has that fixed things?

If it still doesn't work with the XP machine on but unplugged from the
network move the XP machine to another room and try it. In this case
it's likely to be the power supply has gone noisy and is swamping the
wi-fi signal from the router.

On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:57:20 -0500, Silver Slimer
wrote:

On 19/02/2014 11:12 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.

http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/wif...ed-signals.htm
I was reading this.
One suggestion is to move the router. That is not really something I
want to do. I did try to take a smart phone and try to use it right
next to the router and it doesn't work.

Another suggestion is to change the channel. My router has a network
mode. I have disabled, mixed, G and B. It is currently set on mixed.
What exactly is G and B? Is that the channel?
I tried changing to G only and B only, but that only made the tablet
not work. I may try these for an extended period of time so I can
check more devices. Would Mixed be the best setting then what? G?

The only thing I can imagine causing the router to stop working once you
turn on the computer is a great deal of interference caused by the
computer itself. I'm wondering what's in that computer.

However, I have a question: do the other device's connections DROP once
the computer is turned on (do they get disconnected entirely?) or do
they simply become incredibly slow? If they get disconnected, you're
looking at interference. If they get slow, there's likely something
hogging the bandwidth on your computer.

When I have tried this in the past, all I get is a yes, no answer.
Turning the computer back on caused the WiFi to drop. Except this
time, but the cellphone I am using today is right here in the room
with the router/XP machine.

On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:02:43 -0600, philo* wrote:

On 02/19/2014 10:12 PM, Metspitzer wrote:
My router is a WRT54GS. I have an XP machine and a Win7 machine
connected directly to the router. When I turn on the XP machine, all
laptops and smart phones quit working. I have an Acer tablet that can
still get a signal.



Does the XP machine have the same network name as any other machine on
the network?

It has the same network name, but it is also the only machine with a
static ip.

In Metspitzer
wrote:

It has the same network name, but it is also the only machine with a
static ip.

Does the static IP address reside in the range of addresses issued by
the DHCP server? Is there an address conflict on your network?

--
St. Paul, MN

On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 17:32:11 +0000 (UTC), Bert
wrote:

In Metspitzer
wrote:

It has the same network name, but it is also the only machine with a
static ip.

Does the static IP address reside in the range of addresses issued by
the DHCP server? Is there an address conflict on your network?

No.

On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 12:25:33 -0500, Metspitzer wrote:

I just tried your suggestion of unplugging the XP machine. When I did
that, the smartphone I am testing with connected to the router. I
plugged the XP machine back in and the smartphone stayed on. That is
an improvement, but it is sure not a solution. What did we just
learn?

Fishcakes!!! That's not what I expected at all. Presumably the XP
machine can use the router and it's only the wi-fi that goes down. If
that is the case I doubt if it's the actual network card. I'd go for
noise from the power supply in the XP machine radiating out of the
network cable and clobbering the wi-fi signal. Would be worth while
trying that other power supply.

--
Faster, cheaper, quieter than HS2
and built in 5 years;
UKUltraspeed http://www.500kmh.com/

On 20/02/2014 12:27 PM, Metspitzer wrote:

However, I have a question: do the other device's connections DROP once
the computer is turned on (do they get disconnected entirely?) or do
they simply become incredibly slow? If they get disconnected, you're
looking at interference. If they get slow, there's likely something
hogging the bandwidth on your computer.

When I have tried this in the past, all I get is a yes, no answer.
Turning the computer back on caused the WiFi to drop. Except this
time, but the cellphone I am using today is right here in the room
with the router/XP machine.

I'm referring to the other devices. When the problematic XP computer
connects, do the others simply disconnect or is their connection slowed
down tremendously?

Depending on which of the two issues you're facing, the solution is
different.
--
Silver Slimer
Wikipedia Supporter
Embrace mediocrity. Install GNU/Linux today.