Member Avatar for caterina182

I've got an HP Pavilion dv6000 with Windows Vista; and it's connected via wireless to a Netgear DG834G router. I've always had a great connection and now and again it goes down to three bars, even when I'm real close to the router. For the past weeks I've been randomly losing the connection. Sometimes a few minutes into turning it on and sometimes it lasts for a while. Nothing that I can remember has changed. I'm still with PlusNet and my computer hasn't had any new things installed...

Please help! Any usual reasons why it could be dropping? Thanks

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A focused troubleshooting roadmap, based on what reported (router power-cycle helped briefly) and the interference suggestion from . The behavior you describe points to three likely areas: the laptop’s wireless adapter (drivers/power/roaming), intermittent router/radio firmware state, or short bursts of interference — so try these checks in order to isolate the cause and capture evidence.

Run quick diagnostics and capture the failure time

  • From the laptop, run continuous pings to the router and save the output to see exactly when the link drops (stop with Ctrl+C): 
    ping -t 192.168.0.1 > C:\temp\pinglog.txt
ipconfig /all > C:\temp\ipconfig.txt
ipconfig /renew
netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid
netsh wlan show interfaces
  • Inspect Windows’ WLAN logs (Event Viewer → Applications and Services Logs → Microsoft → Windows → WLAN-AutoConfig → Operational) for disconnect reason codes and timestamps. These logs show why Windows dropped or failed to rejoin a network. Microsoft: WLAN troubleshooting / Event logs. For basic packet/latency checks, see the built‑in ping documentation. Microsoft: ping command.

Client-side changes to try (non-destructive, one at a time)

  • Turn off the adapter’s power-saving: Device Manager → Network Adapters → right‑click adapter → Properties → Power Management → uncheck “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power”. Windows/NDIS document how power policy affects NIC behavior. Microsoft: NDIS and power policy.
  • Update the laptop’s Wi‑Fi driver (use OEM/Intel driver pages, not only Windows Update). If you have vendor wireless utility (Intel PROSet), set Roaming Aggressiveness to Lowest and prefer a single band where possible; that prevents the client from hunting for APs. See Intel guidance on adapter advanced settings for examples. (Intel community/support articles discuss these settings.)

Router/firmware and interference checks

  • Update router firmware (download the exact file for your model and follow the vendor procedure; perform the update from a wired PC and back up settings first). NETGEAR: manual firmware update instructions.
  • Use a Wi‑Fi scanner (phone app or PC tool like inSSIDer/NetSpot) to check channel congestion and short‑term interference; pick a less congested channel or move the router slightly. If the desktop never loses connection (wired), it points toward the laptop adapter or the router radio rather than your ISP.

If these steps don’t stop the drops, collect the ping log + the WLAN AutoConfig events and test with a USB Wi‑Fi dongle (or another laptop) to confirm whether the internal adapter is failing. If the router is old, firmware may be unavailable — consider replacing the unit if instability continues.

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Member Avatar for mjdodd

one or two things .... when computers slow down or dont work continuously thre can be many reasons:
1. It could be tha the ISP is doing maintenace or having problems
2. It could be that your router needs to be rebooted as well as the computer.
3. It could be overheating in the computer or router (are they well venilated and clean inside with no dust buildup on vents or heat sinks
4It could be virus but if you have good AV no probs
5. It could be failing componenets like memory etc but that often needs specialised equipment.
6. This sounds stupid but I had similiar problem with another wirelzss network giving a very high signal and mine trying to use that as well! Solved by telling it not to accept any other than the default network.
7. Microwaves (from cookers) can reduce signal strenth as can any metal or wire physical obstructions in hte way (bit like mobile pohones dropping out when out of range or bhind a hill etc;

Best of luck

M

Member Avatar for bobpullen

1. It could be tha the ISP is doing maintenace or having problems

It's very unlikely to be us TBH. None of the maintenance we conduct across our systems is ever likely to interfere with the connection between a customer's network card and router.

It could be interference from other wireless devices. Other electrical objects have also been known to cause interference. Are there any patterns as to when it happens? Does it always happen in the evenings for example?

You're network card/router will probably allow you to specify a channel to connect on. In the UK you should be alright using either 1, 6 or 11. You might want to try each of the two channels that are not in use to see if you see any uplift in performance.

Kind Regards,

Bob Pullen
PlusNet
http://www.plus.net

Member Avatar for caterina182

Thanks mjdodd and bobpullen.

I'm a bit IT literate myself. I discarded PlusNet as having upgrades or network maintenance because I have a desktop plugged to the same router and that doesn't lose connection. Microwaves and other appliances are out of the range between the router and laptop. I have never had a virus affect my laptop (I run AVG for viruses, ZoneAlarm as firewall and something for Spy and Malaware... all are up to date).

There are no patterns where the loss of signal is concerned. I login in the morning sometimes, and at evenings.

However I was tired of this happening and I unplugged the router (it hasn't got an off switch) from the power cable and let it reboot (i.e. left it without power for more than 5 min) and as far as I remember the connection hasn't dropped since. But this was only yesterday morning and I haven't used it that much so I'll let you know if it's fixed or if this happens again.

Also, the channel thingy rings a bell. When I asked msn to run a diagnosis of why it couldn't log me onto messenger, I think it couldn't connect to a channel or something of the sort.

I'll keep you posted and thanks for the ideas.

Member Avatar for submitqueen

There could be a problem with router, or something is intefering with the router so the signals are interfering, Call the vendor and ask for support

Member Avatar for godiva

you need to have your registry cleaned by using any of the freeware registry cleaners......you may have to spend 30 bucks but it well worth the expense and problems solved in the future.....good uck

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