Network problems with T60p

[leedm777]

I've had my T60p for a little less than a month now, and I've had some very peculiar network problems.

After I had the system for 3 or 4 days, all of the sudden the network interfaces all stopped working. The wifi adapter claimed not to see any networks available (even though minutes before it could see two). The LAN adapter showed status as 'Connected', but the interface had no addressing information at all (Address Type, IP Address, etc. were all blank). Packets sent/received on all adapters showed 0.

Called tech support, and they said that something I installed must be causing the problem. Well, I'd only had it for less than a week, so I had done nothing but install software.

So, reset to factory default, and then start installing all my software again. This time careful to avoid anything that needs a driver.

There's nothing unusual about the software I've installed (Office, iTunes, Visual Studio, IntelliJ IDEA, ...). I ran all of it on my T30 without issue.

I've done both Windows Update and ThinkVantage System Update, so I'm up to date with the latest patches for everything.

I ran fine for a couple of weeks until the problem hit again. Being paranoid, I'd been creating Windows 'System Restore' restore points regularly. So I revert back to my last known good restore point an everything's fine.

The problem has occured four times in the past week. I can't quite figure out what the trigger for this behavior is. But (so far) Window's System Restore has fixed the problem each time.

Has anyone else had similar problems?

[SSK]

Hi leedm777,

i had also a wifi problem, the connection was very bad and slow...

I deinstalled the Access Manager + the Intel Wifi Driver (in the software installer), then restarted and installed them again - no problem since i did this!

Maybe this could help you!

SSK

[leedm777]

This problem has been annoying me for months.

One day, on a superstitious whim, I uninstalled Google Desktop. My network's been rock-solid for weeks!

Could still be coincidence (and if my network stops again I'll post), but if you're having network troubles - try uninstalling Google Desktop.

[steveg47]

I think you need to be very aggressive using system restore. What I would do would be to create a restore point (anotated) before every installation of a driver or software including plugins, activex controls, whatever, no matter how trivial you think the install is. After the problem recurs you can rollback step by step until the problems resolves and then voila you have the culprit.

[leedm777]

One day, on a superstitious whim, I uninstalled Google Desktop. My network's been rock-solid for weeks!

I had to open my big mouth. Network froze up again yesterday morning.

[leedm777]

I think you need to be very aggressive using system restore. What I would do would be to create a restore point (anotated) before every installation of a driver or software including plugins, activex controls, whatever, no matter how trivial you think the install is. After the problem recurs you can rollback step by step until the problems resolves and then voila you have the culprit.

Tried that. Not only do I make restore points before and after installations (activex controls included), but I've gotten into the habit of creating a restore point every morning.

Between the restore point that's working and the broken system, nothing remarkable happens. Just typical usage (Outlook, Word, IE, vncviewer).

I really wish I could get a handle on what System Restore was changing when it fixes the problem.

[jtnygard]

I've had a very similar issue with my T60p when connecting through wireless or even the ethernet connection. The problem manifests itself when I undock to take the laptop to a conference room to hook up. When it goes from A/C power to battery anything can happen. Either the mouse freezes up or the laptop refuses to connect (wireless or ethernet). The first few times this happened, the first week I owned the system, a reboot would clear this up, but now I have to start up in safe mode and delete the Atheros 11a/b/g/n driver and the intel pro 1000 driver, and even then it might take a few reboot attempts.

I've called Lenono support twice. The first guy said I had installed a network driver that was incompatible with my BIOS, so I installed the BIOS update. He had no explanation for how the automatic updates had gotten me into this trouble.

The second guy just said "my registry is screwed up" and suggested I reimage the operating system (XP Pro). I haven't done that yet, as I can "afford" an hour a day of tinkering, but not a solid day or two without a computer while I reinstall everything. Still, I'm hesitant to just re-install everything, since I have no idea what is wrong in the first place. I'd hate to spend the time to do this just to see the same thing happen again. The support guy was "very helpful" in suggesting I turn off automatic updates of the system with the explanation that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it, if you know what I mean".

For the netword device drivers I have tried to turn off the "power save mode" for the 11a/b/g/n Atheros card, and disable the "Deep Smart Power Down" property on the Intel PRO 1000 device, as suggested elsewhere, but it didn't seem to do anything.

Anyone with suggestions other than rebooting?