Help! Intermittent wireless connection problem

[Slick_tu]

T500, Windows XP SP3, Intel 5300 AGN (v13.03...), BIOS v3.12, 128gb SS Drive

I searched and read some threads but didn't find anything I hadn't tried. This is similar to a problem I had a year-and-a-half ago when I changed from WEP to WPA security and that fixed it. Trouble free until about 3-4 weeks ago with same router and security unchanged. My wireless connection drops intermittently, or I will have trouble loading pages, or they load slowly. My first clue of trouble coming was the "Waiting..." message in the Firefox staus line. Sometimes it will be fine for awhile; sometimes it seems to drop every few minutes. Sometimes it will reconnect itself. It occurs with Access Connections and still happens since I uninstalled AC and use Windows (I think it's called WZN). I switched from Linksys WRT54g (WPA) to Cisco Valet Plus (WPA/WPA2) with no change in the problem. I've tried different channels, also.

With AC, I noticed the stated connection speed would change from the usual 54.0 Mbps to 450.0 Mbps. With Windows the speed usually says 144.0 Mbps and sometimes slowly drops to 130 and 117. It will also go to 450.0 Mbps which is when nothing loads, etc. With Windows a balloon sometimes appears telling me it's connected, so it must have dropped and then reconnected itself. I found instead of rebooting, I can disconnect and reconnect and it will be OK for a few minutes.

With the ethernet connection to the router it seems OK, but it's not in a spot where I can surf for awhile to test. As per other threads I unchecked the "Allow to disconnect to save power" for the 5300 and for the Intel Gigabit connection. The slider was already set to highest. I don't remember if I updated the BIOS recently or not (I saw that was someone's problem). I use Ad-Aware, MalwareBytes', Avast Antivirus Pro which let's you scan at boot. I've run them in XP Safe Mode. I used Spybot but it seemed to hand at the end when it was "unloading registry hives," or something close to that, and I had to end the program.

I used Rescue and Recovery to restore to a backup from August (before the problem started) but that didn't seem to help. Does anyone have a suggestion?

[Slick_tu]

It seems fine in the morning, 9:00, 10:00, etc., and late at night, 11:00+. Maybe there is some interference; although, I've tried several different channels. I used to be on ch. 11 for the past year, the same as the guy across the street, with no trouble. Maybe there is interference from something other than another wireless network. How do you find something like that?

[Harryc]

Take the machine to another wireless Hotspot...like a Starbucks ... and try it there. If it does not fail the issue is your router or as you say interference.

[Slick_tu]

Take the machine to another wireless Hotspot...like a Starbucks ... and try it there. If it does not fail the issue is your router or as you say interference.

Good idea; I hadn't thought of that. I'll try it. Thanks.

[Mike Blake]

Good suggestion from Harry--though here the library offers free wifi, so you don't have to buy an overpriced coffee.

Do you have a cordless phone, or older microwave? Both have been interference sources in the past here where I live:

"Dueling with Cordless Phones"
http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/ar ... Phones.htm

"Twenty Myths of WiFi Interference"
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/prod/collate ... Paper.html

[Slick_tu]

Good suggestion from Harry--though here the library offers free wifi, so you don't have to buy an overpriced coffee.

Do you have a cordless phone, or older microwave? Both have been interference sources in the past here where I live:

Good reading, thanks.

I have both, but I've had the same units for several years. I haven't had time to test outside of my own wifi yet. Comcast cable, who I have for TV and ISP recently setup free hot spots all over the place; I'll try one of those. I wonder if that is a problem? The closest hotspot to me, though, is about a mile away.

I read an Intel "ad" about their 5300 AGN, which I have, that mentioned its Gigabit capabilities (I don't understand a lot of that stuff.) that said its ability is 450 Mbps. Curious that when I have problems, the icon in Taskbar shows 450 Mbps instead of the usual 54 Mbps. Of course, I know I don't actually get 54. I've switched back to the WRT54g with no change. I'm currently wired and may just stay with that; although, I'd still like to find out what the problem is. I set up the wireless because I didn't have a cable connection near the computer. I've since re-routed an unused cable wire from one of the bedrooms, so I have the modem and router next to the computer. I'll leave the wireless setup in case I want to move the computer around now and then. I also switched back to Access Connections, which wasn't the problem, and set up an automatic "wired" profile so both wired and wireless won't be active at the same time.

[RealBlackStuff]

5300AGN, where the N is probably the troublemaker.
Disable the N capability, and see if you still have problems.
Having 'only' a G router, you can't use N anyway.