Wireless network constantly disconnects

The latest problem my mother is having, is that her
network constanly disconnects, and the only way to get it
back is to restart the main computer. However this only
works for a short period of time and then it disconnects
again. Her setup is 1 XP Desktop computer, 1 XP laptop
computer, and 1 Windows Me Desktop computer all connected
to a Linksys wireless router with her ISP being Comcast.
I do not truely know the culperate since my mother and I
did a lot of messing arround with the network settings,
including that she also found adware programs that after
deleting the adware program she then had major problems.
Though it could also be because only one of the XP
computers has the SP2 service pack, or it could also be
becuase I had setup her laptop to be able to print to the
network printer and didn't set that up properly. So what
I am asking is if there is anything better then running a
ping test since the only 2 options are either the replies
come back successfully or they time out. Meaning if the
ping test request times out it doesn't state whether if
it is a bad cable wire, or a bad router, a bad network
card and so on. Or my other question is if anyone knows
how to find the culperate using the ping test?




My mother has a small network setup of 3 computers using
Comcast Cable Internet. (1 XP laptop, 1 XP desktop, and 1
Windows Me desktop) She just recently bought the 3rd
computer, the XP laptop, and ever since has had nothing
but troubles. The most common notice before this constant
disconnection was happening was that the laptop was
extreamly slow (almost like the speed of a 56k dial-up
connection), but the both desktop computers worked fine.

The problem is between what my mother and I did since she
baught the laptop I can not tell which thing started the
main culprate. The things we did where
1. my mother didn't configure the laptop properly so I
needed to recorrect that.
2. my mother didn't follow the procuders for preparing to
properly install SP2
3. She hasn't installed SP2 on her desktop computer yet
4. I had recently setup the network for the laptop be
able to print from the network printer without using
Network wizard.
5. The last culperate could also be that an adware
program was found after installing Nortans Antivirus 2004
software a couple days ago.

So because of these things require different procuders
meaning if it was the adware program then it is possible
that windows is going to be reinstalled, or if it because
of the sp2 problem, then the laptop is going to need to
be set back to an older registry point, or if it is that
network is misconfigured then I would need to reset her
entire network which I don't know how to do, so I don't
know which one has caused the computers to completly lose
connection and the only way to get it back is to restart
the main computer but it only last for like 1 minute and
then it loosing connection again. So my question is,

Check the Authentication options in her wireless network adapter's settings
and make sure that she doesn't have 802.1x authentication enabled. You'll
find this by right-clicking your wireless adapter in the Network Connections
box, selecting Properties, then the Authentication tab.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x]
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Bob N." wrote in message
...
The latest problem my mother is having, is that her
network constanly disconnects, and the only way to get it
back is to restart the main computer. However this only
works for a short period of time and then it disconnects
again. Her setup is 1 XP Desktop computer, 1 XP laptop
computer, and 1 Windows Me Desktop computer all connected
to a Linksys wireless router with her ISP being Comcast.
I do not truely know the culperate since my mother and I
did a lot of messing arround with the network settings,
including that she also found adware programs that after
deleting the adware program she then had major problems.
Though it could also be because only one of the XP
computers has the SP2 service pack, or it could also be
becuase I had setup her laptop to be able to print to the
network printer and didn't set that up properly. So what
I am asking is if there is anything better then running a
ping test since the only 2 options are either the replies
come back successfully or they time out. Meaning if the
ping test request times out it doesn't state whether if
it is a bad cable wire, or a bad router, a bad network
card and so on. Or my other question is if anyone knows
how to find the culperate using the ping test?




My mother has a small network setup of 3 computers using
Comcast Cable Internet. (1 XP laptop, 1 XP desktop, and 1
Windows Me desktop) She just recently bought the 3rd
computer, the XP laptop, and ever since has had nothing
but troubles. The most common notice before this constant
disconnection was happening was that the laptop was
extreamly slow (almost like the speed of a 56k dial-up
connection), but the both desktop computers worked fine.

The problem is between what my mother and I did since she
baught the laptop I can not tell which thing started the
main culprate. The things we did where
1. my mother didn't configure the laptop properly so I
needed to recorrect that.
2. my mother didn't follow the procuders for preparing to
properly install SP2
3. She hasn't installed SP2 on her desktop computer yet
4. I had recently setup the network for the laptop be
able to print from the network printer without using
Network wizard.
5. The last culperate could also be that an adware
program was found after installing Nortans Antivirus 2004
software a couple days ago.

So because of these things require different procuders
meaning if it was the adware program then it is possible
that windows is going to be reinstalled, or if it because
of the sp2 problem, then the laptop is going to need to
be set back to an older registry point, or if it is that
network is misconfigured then I would need to reset her
entire network which I don't know how to do, so I don't
know which one has caused the computers to completly lose
connection and the only way to get it back is to restart
the main computer but it only last for like 1 minute and
then it loosing connection again. So my question is,

Thanks for the tip I will check that, though I have a
question about this 801 authenication thing your talking
about. What I like to know is does it all it take is one
computer to foul up all the computers in the network? I
ask this because it seems odd that it could be the 801
thing you mention since she had comcast for 2 years now
and never had any kinds of problems untill she bought her
laptop about 3 weeks ago. Also what do you think about
the situation I was talking about previously between
messing arround with the network settings. What I mean by
this is that the first thing my mother did wrong was
channging the SSID name to something else and buy doing
that made only the network to on laptop but not the other
2 desktop comoputers. I then had to go back into the
router's settings and re-type in the original SSID name,
and restart all 3 computers and reconfigure the laptop to
work with the original SSID name. Then after that messup,
instead of using the Network Wizard to set up print
sharing, I manully did everthing, by renaming her
downstairs computer from "Basement" to "New Basement",
and I forget what I named the printer to, but anywho, the
weird part was on the laptop when I ran the add a printer
wizard and told it to browser for the network name it
kept saying it found the network name "Basement" and
not "New Basement". So I opened up the Basement folder
and found the printer. So I choose that one and everthing
seem fine. However a week later the network kept getting
weaker and weaker untill now it only lasts about 1 minute.


-----Original Message-----
Check the Authentication options in her wireless network
adapter's settings
and make sure that she doesn't have 802.1x
authentication enabled. You'll
find this by right-clicking your wireless adapter in the
Network Connections
box, selecting Properties, then the Authentication tab.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x]
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not
replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Bob N." wrote in
message
...
The latest problem my mother is having, is that her
network constanly disconnects, and the only way to get
it
back is to restart the main computer. However this
only
works for a short period of time and then it
disconnects
again. Her setup is 1 XP Desktop computer, 1 XP laptop
computer, and 1 Windows Me Desktop computer all
connected
to a Linksys wireless router with her ISP being
Comcast.
I do not truely know the culperate since my mother and
I
did a lot of messing arround with the network settings,
including that she also found adware programs that
after
deleting the adware program she then had major
problems.
Though it could also be because only one of the XP
computers has the SP2 service pack, or it could also be
becuase I had setup her laptop to be able to print to
the
network printer and didn't set that up properly. So
what
I am asking is if there is anything better then
running a
ping test since the only 2 options are either the
replies
come back successfully or they time out. Meaning if the
ping test request times out it doesn't state whether if
it is a bad cable wire, or a bad router, a bad network
card and so on. Or my other question is if anyone knows
how to find the culperate using the ping test?




My mother has a small network setup of 3 computers
using
Comcast Cable Internet. (1 XP laptop, 1 XP desktop,
and 1
Windows Me desktop) She just recently bought the 3rd
computer, the XP laptop, and ever since has had nothing
but troubles. The most common notice before this
constant
disconnection was happening was that the laptop was
extreamly slow (almost like the speed of a 56k dial-up
connection), but the both desktop computers worked
fine.

The problem is between what my mother and I did since
she
baught the laptop I can not tell which thing started
the
main culprate. The things we did where
1. my mother didn't configure the laptop properly so I
needed to recorrect that.
2. my mother didn't follow the procuders for preparing
to
properly install SP2
3. She hasn't installed SP2 on her desktop computer yet
4. I had recently setup the network for the laptop be
able to print from the network printer without using
Network wizard.
5. The last culperate could also be that an adware
program was found after installing Nortans Antivirus
2004
software a couple days ago.

So because of these things require different procuders
meaning if it was the adware program then it is
possible
that windows is going to be reinstalled, or if it
because
of the sp2 problem, then the laptop is going to need to
be set back to an older registry point, or if it is
that
network is misconfigured then I would need to reset her
entire network which I don't know how to do, so I
don't
know which one has caused the computers to completly
lose
connection and the only way to get it back is to
restart
the main computer but it only last for like 1 minute
and
then it loosing connection again. So my question is,


.

As suspected it is not the 802.1x authentication
situation. Meaning it is disabled. I had my mother run a
network diagnostic under help and support it came up with
outlook express failed and a bunch of dns test failed. I
also tried pinging the dns servers and they all timedout.
Even weirder yet her dns numbers are correct and her
default gateway is correct and the default IPadress is
correct and the subnet mask is correct and the firewall
is disconnected since her wireless router includes a
firewall already.
-----Original Message-----
Thanks for the tip I will check that, though I have a
question about this 801 authenication thing your talking
about. What I like to know is does it all it take is one
computer to foul up all the computers in the network? I
ask this because it seems odd that it could be the 801
thing you mention since she had comcast for 2 years now
and never had any kinds of problems untill she bought
her
laptop about 3 weeks ago. Also what do you think about
the situation I was talking about previously between
messing arround with the network settings. What I mean
by
this is that the first thing my mother did wrong was
channging the SSID name to something else and buy doing
that made only the network to on laptop but not the
other
2 desktop comoputers. I then had to go back into the
router's settings and re-type in the original SSID name,
and restart all 3 computers and reconfigure the laptop
to
work with the original SSID name. Then after that
messup,
instead of using the Network Wizard to set up print
sharing, I manully did everthing, by renaming her
downstairs computer from "Basement" to "New Basement",
and I forget what I named the printer to, but anywho,
the
weird part was on the laptop when I ran the add a
printer
wizard and told it to browser for the network name it
kept saying it found the network name "Basement" and
not "New Basement". So I opened up the Basement folder
and found the printer. So I choose that one and
everthing
seem fine. However a week later the network kept getting
weaker and weaker untill now it only lasts about 1
minute.


-----Original Message-----
Check the Authentication options in her wireless
network
adapter's settings
and make sure that she doesn't have 802.1x
authentication enabled. You'll
find this by right-clicking your wireless adapter in
the
Network Connections
box, selecting Properties, then the Authentication tab.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x]
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not
replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Bob N." wrote in
message
...
The latest problem my mother is having, is that her
network constanly disconnects, and the only way to
get
it
back is to restart the main computer. However this
only
works for a short period of time and then it
disconnects
again. Her setup is 1 XP Desktop computer, 1 XP laptop
computer, and 1 Windows Me Desktop computer all
connected
to a Linksys wireless router with her ISP being
Comcast.
I do not truely know the culperate since my mother
and
I
did a lot of messing arround with the network
settings,
including that she also found adware programs that
after
deleting the adware program she then had major
problems.
Though it could also be because only one of the XP
computers has the SP2 service pack, or it could also
be
becuase I had setup her laptop to be able to print to
the
network printer and didn't set that up properly. So
what
I am asking is if there is anything better then
running a
ping test since the only 2 options are either the
replies
come back successfully or they time out. Meaning if
the
ping test request times out it doesn't state whether
if
it is a bad cable wire, or a bad router, a bad network
card and so on. Or my other question is if anyone
knows
how to find the culperate using the ping test?




My mother has a small network setup of 3 computers
using
Comcast Cable Internet. (1 XP laptop, 1 XP desktop,
and 1
Windows Me desktop) She just recently bought the 3rd
computer, the XP laptop, and ever since has had
nothing
but troubles. The most common notice before this
constant
disconnection was happening was that the laptop was
extreamly slow (almost like the speed of a 56k dial-up
connection), but the both desktop computers worked
fine.

The problem is between what my mother and I did since
she
baught the laptop I can not tell which thing started
the
main culprate. The things we did where
1. my mother didn't configure the laptop properly so I
needed to recorrect that.
2. my mother didn't follow the procuders for
preparing
to
properly install SP2
3. She hasn't installed SP2 on her desktop computer
yet
4. I had recently setup the network for the laptop be
able to print from the network printer without using
Network wizard.
5. The last culperate could also be that an adware
program was found after installing Nortans Antivirus
2004
software a couple days ago.

So because of these things require different procuders
meaning if it was the adware program then it is
possible
that windows is going to be reinstalled, or if it
because
of the sp2 problem, then the laptop is going to need
to
be set back to an older registry point, or if it is
that
network is misconfigured then I would need to reset
her
entire network which I don't know how to do, so I
don't
know which one has caused the computers to completly
lose
connection and the only way to get it back is to
restart
the main computer but it only last for like 1 minute
and
then it loosing connection again. So my question is,


.

.

What I also forgot to mention is there is 2 network
adapters that are enabled. One called 1394 Connection and
the other called Local area connection Realtek RTL8139
Family PCI Fast EthierNet Nic Adapter. From reading in my
XP Inside and Out book it says that this can cause
confusion. I told her that the 1394 Connection adapter
should be disabled. However she is unable to disable it.
Meaning when she right clicks on that icon and choose
disable nothing happens. It still reports enabled. Also
running the Network Wizard doesn't fix anything.


-----Original Message-----
As suspected it is not the 802.1x authentication
situation. Meaning it is disabled. I had my mother run a
network diagnostic under help and support it came up
with
outlook express failed and a bunch of dns test failed. I
also tried pinging the dns servers and they all
timedout.
Even weirder yet her dns numbers are correct and her
default gateway is correct and the default IPadress is
correct and the subnet mask is correct and the firewall
is disconnected since her wireless router includes a
firewall already.
-----Original Message-----
Thanks for the tip I will check that, though I have a
question about this 801 authenication thing your
talking
about. What I like to know is does it all it take is
one
computer to foul up all the computers in the network? I
ask this because it seems odd that it could be the 801
thing you mention since she had comcast for 2 years now
and never had any kinds of problems untill she bought
her
laptop about 3 weeks ago. Also what do you think about
the situation I was talking about previously between
messing arround with the network settings. What I mean
by
this is that the first thing my mother did wrong was
channging the SSID name to something else and buy doing
that made only the network to on laptop but not the
other
2 desktop comoputers. I then had to go back into the
router's settings and re-type in the original SSID
name,
and restart all 3 computers and reconfigure the laptop
to
work with the original SSID name. Then after that
messup,
instead of using the Network Wizard to set up print
sharing, I manully did everthing, by renaming her
downstairs computer from "Basement" to "New Basement",
and I forget what I named the printer to, but anywho,
the
weird part was on the laptop when I ran the add a
printer
wizard and told it to browser for the network name it
kept saying it found the network name "Basement" and
not "New Basement". So I opened up the Basement folder
and found the printer. So I choose that one and
everthing
seem fine. However a week later the network kept
getting
weaker and weaker untill now it only lasts about 1
minute.


-----Original Message-----
Check the Authentication options in her wireless
network
adapter's settings
and make sure that she doesn't have 802.1x
authentication enabled. You'll
find this by right-clicking your wireless adapter in
the
Network Connections
box, selecting Properties, then the Authentication tab.

--
Richard G. Harper [MVP Win9x]
* PLEASE post all messages and replies in the
newsgroups
* for the benefit of all. Private mail is usually not
replied to.
* HELP us help YOU ... http://www.dts-
l.org/goodpost.htm


"Bob N." wrote
in
message
.. .
The latest problem my mother is having, is that her
network constanly disconnects, and the only way to
get
it
back is to restart the main computer. However this
only
works for a short period of time and then it
disconnects
again. Her setup is 1 XP Desktop computer, 1 XP
laptop
computer, and 1 Windows Me Desktop computer all
connected
to a Linksys wireless router with her ISP being
Comcast.
I do not truely know the culperate since my mother
and
I
did a lot of messing arround with the network
settings,
including that she also found adware programs that
after
deleting the adware program she then had major
problems.
Though it could also be because only one of the XP
computers has the SP2 service pack, or it could also
be
becuase I had setup her laptop to be able to print
to
the
network printer and didn't set that up properly. So
what
I am asking is if there is anything better then
running a
ping test since the only 2 options are either the
replies
come back successfully or they time out. Meaning if
the
ping test request times out it doesn't state whether
if
it is a bad cable wire, or a bad router, a bad
network
card and so on. Or my other question is if anyone
knows
how to find the culperate using the ping test?




My mother has a small network setup of 3 computers
using
Comcast Cable Internet. (1 XP laptop, 1 XP desktop,
and 1
Windows Me desktop) She just recently bought the 3rd
computer, the XP laptop, and ever since has had
nothing
but troubles. The most common notice before this
constant
disconnection was happening was that the laptop was
extreamly slow (almost like the speed of a 56k dial-
up
connection), but the both desktop computers worked
fine.

The problem is between what my mother and I did
since
she
baught the laptop I can not tell which thing started
the
main culprate. The things we did where
1. my mother didn't configure the laptop properly so
I
needed to recorrect that.
2. my mother didn't follow the procuders for
preparing
to
properly install SP2
3. She hasn't installed SP2 on her desktop computer
yet
4. I had recently setup the network for the laptop be
able to print from the network printer without using
Network wizard.
5. The last culperate could also be that an adware
program was found after installing Nortans Antivirus
2004
software a couple days ago.

So because of these things require different
procuders
meaning if it was the adware program then it is
possible
that windows is going to be reinstalled, or if it
because
of the sp2 problem, then the laptop is going to need
to
be set back to an older registry point, or if it is
that
network is misconfigured then I would need to reset
her
entire network which I don't know how to do, so I
don't
know which one has caused the computers to completly
lose
connection and the only way to get it back is to
restart
the main computer but it only last for like 1 minute
and
then it loosing connection again. So my question is,


.

.

.