Wireless woes, what are my options?

[Kenn]

T42p with Intel 2200BG wireless adapter. Once every 10 boots or so the wireless just doesn't "catch." In Access Connections, it will usually fail at the first or last steps ("Powering on wireless radio" or "Connecting to wireless access point.") The thing is, I get conflicting information in the various wireless tools in the systray. Sometimes Windows' Wireless Network Connection shows an excellent connection. At the same time, the Intel Wireless Connection applet will often show "Radio is off." Then, when I try to "Find WLAN..." the list is either empty, OR it finds all APs in range correctly, but still can't connect. In short, pretty flaky performance. This all happens somewhat randomly despite whether or not I let Windows configure my wireless settings.

Once any of this happens, the wireless applets will all hang and Fn-F5 will stop working, and it takes over a minute to stop the hanging processes for a reboot.

I really suspect it has something to do with 3 separate applications (Windows, Intel Wireless, IBM Access Connections) more or less fighting for control of the wireless radio. Oh yes, my AP is a Netgear MR-814 with latest firmware, and it's had no problem at all with my old laptop.

My questions are - is this flaky behavior somewhat typical for the Centrino wirelesst? Also, if I go the route of nuking Access connections and the Intel app, can I still turn the wireless radio on and off via Fn-F5 to save power while on batteries or activate the power-saving wireless settings?

I wouldn't even mind the occasional reboot but for the fact that it sometimes doesn't work. For example, it took 4 reboots and a 2-minute shut-off period to get my wireless working again to write this post. That I just can't live with. Argh.

[Kenn]

Doh, guess nobody has any ideas on what to do with this.

I just nuked IBM Access connections, and can still turn the wireless radio on and off via. Fn-F5. So far, letting windows control the wireless seems to have solved a lot of problems. I'll update as I use it more.

One of my problems remain: Without IBM Access Connections, is there still a way to access the Intel WLAN utility that lets me choose lower power settings on the 802.11 adapter?

[jsmit86]

My suggestions.

#1. Upgrade Access connections to Version 3.21

#2. Disable the Windows XP Wireless Config Utility service.
(Start, Control Panel, Admin. Tools, Services. DISABLE. STOPPED)

I had a few problems with this crashing too, but after doing this, it works great. Access connections may come in handy if you travel or roam on different systems, or use static IP addresses. It is much easier than manually changing the adapter settings.

[Humpa]

Also, if I go the route of nuking Access connections and the Intel app, can I still turn the wireless radio on and off via Fn-F5 to save power while on batteries or activate the power-saving wireless settings?

I initially configured my connection using Winoows, and had no problems connecting to my Belkin router and AP or to my Linksys wrt54g (all using WEP) - so I uninstalled IBM Access Connections for the heck of it.
Fn + F5 still works, and you can turn off Radio. There is also a Power Management slider (Lowest - Highest) in the 2200BG device Properties > Advanced.
I'm not sure about the Intel Wireless Connection applet, though - which one is that?

[Kenn]

Thanks for the advice everyone. So far, letting Windows handle everything is working well. Once I've confirmed stability, I'll try it the other way around too, since Access Connections indeed comes in handy (and gives you a lot more setup options).

Humpa - the Intel utility is the systray icon with the green stairstep power meter. Clicking it allows you to set power savings modes on the WLAN or view a bunch of configuration settings for the wireless card. It seems to have gone away when I chucked Access Connections.