x60 Drops wireless connection after half an hour

Message

azimi3 · #1 Post by **azimi3** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 6:12 pm

Hey,

My girlfriend and I recently purchased a Thinkpad x60 each. Everything is identical on both systems and they both have the Intel 3945 ABG wireless card. My system works perfect and I haven't had any issues. However, her system drops the wireless connection after about 20-30 minutes and there is no way of getting it back without restarting. The indicator LEDs show that the radio is powered off and pressing Fn-F5 to repower them on does nothing.

I've searched the forum as well as other sites for an answer but haven't seen any real solutions. Anyone else experiencing this?

Thanks!

neil.albert · #2 Post by **neil.albert** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:13 am

My wife an I had exactly the same experience. My wireless worked great, and hers dropped regularly. It freezes up access to all the network connection manager utilities. The problem then is that TechSupport always tells you to reboot the machine, and since that fixes the problem...

I went through the following to fix the problem:
1- Disable windows connection management
2- Disable thinkVantage Connection manager
3- Updated the 3942ABG drivers.
4- Uninstalled the ThinkVantage Connection manager, and let windows do the work.

None of the above worked. We ended up getting a TechSupport Rep to tell us they would replace the card, bjut since our machine was 3 days old, we might just want to return it for a new one.

Sorry not to have a solution. Good luck, and write back if you do get it to work.

cqxiao · #3 Post by **cqxiao** » Sun Sep 10, 2006 5:19 pm

I have a T60 which has the same problem. I uninstalled the access connection and install the newest intel driver for the wireless card.

Now everything works fine.

Bofore the fix, I called lenovo and they send me a new wireless card which has the same problem. I think this is somehow related to the wireless card driver.

chong

azimi3 · #4 Post by **azimi3** » Mon Sep 11, 2006 3:16 pm

Thanks for the reply guys. I had updated her drivers to the latest lenovo drivers and that didn't help so I got even newer drivers off of Intel's website. This still didn't solve the problem. I've been thinking of uninstalling the Thinkvantage access connections software but am worried this won't help either.

She has had the laptop for 3 weeks now and has no extended warranty. I'm thinking we will just get the extended warranty (have 1 week left to decide if we want it) and le lenovo take care of it.

cuk · #5 Post by **cuk** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 6:33 am

Does anyone have a solution for it ?

I have T60 with same problem too.

I have uninstalled access connections, updated Intel driver, etc, etc.

WPA works for a few minutes, then it drops and only reboot helps. ( ipconfig won't show anything, whole TCP/IP stack freezes ).

Cuk

keruibo · #6 Post by **keruibo** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:04 pm

I had the same problem...wifi turned itself off after a few minutes of use (for me, more like 3-5 minutes). I tried the methods suggested (remove access connections, update drivers, etc.). Nothing really seemed to work for me (including doing a factory reload of the whole system).

In the end, I replaced the Intel wifi card with the atheros-based model. I found it at buy.com for < $50, which was well worth avoiding the aggrevation of sending the laptop back. The downside is that I had to take the top half of my brand new laptop off to replace the internal card--

,but this turned out to be easier than I expected.

Since replacing the card (and loading the driver from the Lenovo web site), everything works perfectly (including access connections). Maybe the Intel card was bad and a replacement of the intel card was in order (I found posts on Dell's site from people having similar problems with the same Intel card). In any case, I'm happy with the solution I found.

http://www.buy.com
Product SKU: 201992199 (Lenovo P/N: 40Y7026)
Price (as of today): $48.99

#7 Post by **jdhurst** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 4:15 pm

I have used Intel cards and can make them work (except for the 2100). But my machine has an Atheros card (because I discarded the Intel card) and I have never looked back. Flawless, flawless operation. Much recommended. ... JD Hurst

NJ_IT · #8 Post by **NJ_IT** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 8:57 pm

>keruibo

In the end, I replaced the Intel wifi card with the atheros-based model. I found it at buy.com for < $50, which was well worth avoiding the aggrevation of sending the laptop back. The downside is that I had to take the top half of my brand new laptop off to replace the internal card-- Shocked ,but this turned out to be easier than I expected.

I purchased Two Atheros cards as same as you from Buy.com.
Reasonable price , free shipping.
And Atheros card finally resolved my intermittent disconnection issue caused by Intel card.
I strongly recommend a Atheros card.

Trolle · #9 Post by **Trolle** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 2:38 am

Does anyone have any updated information on this problem? My one week old X60 just started doing the same thing!

One important trouble shooter is that it happened immediately after I installed the drivers and activated the bluetooth. Before that everything worked fine.

Details:
Activated Bluetooth by right-clicking on the bluetooth icon in the tray.
Bluetooth installation process completed.
Turned on bluetooth and then turned off.
Wireless now turns off automatically after approximately 4-5 minutes.
Fn+F5 allows me to enter the setting control and I can manually turn the wireless back on.
Wireless connects and is available for 4-5 minutes again before repeating this process.
This happens with the bluetooth either on or off.
This happens after a restart or shutdown.
I can watch it happen in the setting control if I time it correctly.

Very frustrating and I am not prepared to go and buy another card since this machine is expensive enough it should work.

Trolle · #10 Post by **Trolle** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:01 am

So, if anyone is interested in a solution I found for this problem here it is after 2.5 hours of studying.

I updated the Intel PRO/Wireless LAN 3945abg driver from Intel's own site (http://support.intel.com/support/wirele ... 010623.htm). I used Thinkvantage but it said there were no updates. Isn't that something this service is supposed to look for?

The updated driver is 10.5.1.68

After I installed the updated driver I got a stable wireless connection...but I lost control of powering on/off the wireless via Fn+F5. The wireless LED was lit but I could only power on/off the bluetooth and not the wireless. For some anal reason this bothered me so I uninstalled the updated driver using the roll back driver function. This removed the updated driver...but the Fn+F5 problem persisted, as well as, the intermittent wireless connection. So, I decided that a stable wireless connection is more important than my Fn+F5 function so I reinstalled the updated driver.

This inability to power on/off the wireless via Fn+F5 is apparently known and another thread in the X60 forum addresses this problem. Lenovo has a page on it here http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-64439

I attempted to follow the instructions but I could only find one LIBEAY32.DLL file and that was in the Intel folder. So, maybe somebody out there can help or point me in another direction. Of course, I might have done the search incorrectly.

ThinkVantage Access Connections assumes that the wireless is powered off (icon in the tray has the X) even though it isn't. Double-clicking brings up the Connection Status window (where I can't power on the wireless either) and I lose the cool wireless range window

I always thought that feature was so cool and I need to get it back!

#11 Post by **GomJabbar** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:52 am

Fn + F5 for the WiFi connection seems to be dependant on Access Connections.

Access Connections only works with the wireless drivers and software that IBM/Lenovo supplies. Drivers and software from Intel's site will not work with Access Connections.

To fix, what usually works is to uninstall Access Connections and uninstall your Intel wireless driver and PROSET software. I have had successful results using Windows Add or Remove Programs to uninstall, and I have had successful results using Software Installer to uninstall. You can also use SETUP.EXE in C:\DRIVERS\WIN\WLANINT\ to unistall the Intel Wireless Software and Drivers.

After uninstalling the above, reboot, then cancel any Found Hardware Wizard. Now install the Intel Wireless Software and Drivers. I suggest rebooting again, then install Access Connections. A final reboot, then all should work.

Trolle · #12 Post by **Trolle** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 2:07 pm

I will certainly try that, thanks. I was messing around with the problem before I will attempt your solution and found some more interesting things.

Followed the suggestions offered in http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-62875 but that did not work.

I updated the Thinkvantage Access Connections driver (even though it was the most current) and the problem returned.

To solve this I reinstalled the Intel wireless driver using the repair feature on the file. This reinstated the Intel PROSet/Wireless software and disabled Windows wi-fi management. Everytime the driver is repaired the Wireless Network Connection gets renamed numerically (Wireless Network Connection 1, then 2, then 3, etc...).

The wireless works consistently and I can actually power on/off the wireless using Thinkvantage Access Connections...but then the problem returns.

So, the issue entirely fixed to my satisfaction but I may try the solution GomJabbar suggested.

By the way, I don't have my manual here, what does a blinking wireless LED under the screen indicate?

holdrege · #13 Post by **holdrege** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 11:49 am

I had this same problem a year ago with my X41. I switched to the Intel drivers and Intel manager and all was fine, except the F5. I dealt with that fine in fact I had forgotton all about F5 til I read this thread.

The Intel manager let's you turn off the wireless with the right mouse button when you mouse over the tray icon. It's pretty easy.

anthers · #14 Post by **anthers** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 12:14 pm

You might try unchecking "Enable automatic wireless LAN radio control" under global settings in the access connections software. Mine does this occassionally, and I've fiddled with a bunch of settings. This is the latest one I've tried, and so far (few days) it seems to work).

david25 · #15 Post by **david25** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 1:11 pm

Hi, will FN-F5 will work if Access Connections is removed?

I basically connect to my home access point and not much else so the Intel proset functionality would be OK.

Regards

holdenburg · #16 Post by **holdenburg** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:16 pm

keruibo wrote: The downside is that I had to take the top half of my brand new laptop off to replace the internal card-- ,but this turned out to be easier than I expected.

Hi... Is the mini pci slot under the keyboard? Do you have the link for the Lenovo disassembly for the X60s?

Thanks...
H.

#17 Post by **GomJabbar** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:03 pm

holdenburg wrote:Do you have the link for the Lenovo disassembly for the X60s?

Hardware removal and installation - ThinkPad X60/s

holdenburg · #18 Post by **holdenburg** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:12 pm

Thank you...

Herb

holdenburg · #19 Post by **holdenburg** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:53 pm

keruibo wrote:I had the same problem...wifi turned itself off after a few minutes of use (for me, more like 3-5 minutes). I tried the methods suggested (remove access connections, update drivers, etc.). Nothing really seemed to work for me (including doing a factory reload of the whole system).

In the end, I replaced the Intel wifi card with the atheros-based model. I found it at buy.com for < $50, which was well worth avoiding the aggrevation of sending the laptop back. The downside is that I had to take the top half of my brand new laptop off to replace the internal card-- ,but this turned out to be easier than I expected.

Since replacing the card (and loading the driver from the Lenovo web site), everything works perfectly (including access connections). Maybe the Intel card was bad and a replacement of the intel card was in order (I found posts on Dell's site from people having similar problems with the same Intel card). In any case, I'm happy with the solution I found.

http://www.buy.com
Product SKU: 201992199 (Lenovo P/N: 40Y7026)
Price (as of today): $48.99

Hi...
I am wondering if I can challange for replacement of the Intel and request the Atheros? I have an Exec VP we just setup on the x60s and we are having issue with this Intel card. We have onsite contractors that handle our warranty issues. I could also try to request a warranty replacement and request a different fru? I don't think I can do it this way if I challange our onsite contractors and request a different fru as IBM will send a replacement consistant to the part we are saying is defective. I am thinking of calling Lenovo direct and see if they can accomadate such a request. I am going to speak with our personel tomorrow to see if this could be done.

BTW, I wish I would have known about this forum when I was working with my old service company. This is a great place for current information. Thanks for your info's. I will post back here and let everyone know what happens when I call Lenovo and when I speak with our onsite contractors.

H. Olden...

yiplong · #20 Post by **yiplong** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:05 pm

Hey my X60 is about 2 months old and it just started doing the same thing. When the machine is fist boot up, everything works just fine, but after about 20 minutes, the wireless would turn itself off and there is no way to get it back on without restarting. None of the connection utilities work either. Pressing Fn + F5 does not bring up anything. Please let me know if there is any solution to this problem.

yiplong · #21 Post by **yiplong** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 6:58 pm

Just to add to my previous post, (there seem to be no way of editing it without making a new post), When I was experiencing that problem, I was running on battery, now I have plugged it, and the problem seems to go away. I have been connected for about 30 minutes, and it is still steady. when I had the problem, it usually drops after 10 minutes or so. Did any of you find this problem be power related?

holdenburg · #22 Post by **holdenburg** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 7:50 pm

Yiplong...

I think this thread should continue until a suitable workaround will be found for the Intel chipset. Our Desktop Quality manager spoke with our Lenovo rep and their solution is to load the Intel driver and not use the IBM branded driver. In previous posts, other users who have used this solution using the Intel driver, and not the IBM, speak of it not allowing the use of the Func/F5 feature. I am not sure if this is fact, but I am going to try this tomorrow on Monday and test this. I will post my results tomorrow evening.

The previous posts also mentioned using the Atheros hardware. I am still leaning toward replacing the Intel with the Atheros as a solution. We have had excellent success using the Atheros on our R51 fleet of IBM laptops. They work with our Cisco wireless infrastructure just fine. And, I know from experience the R51 Atheros driver works well and is fast. I still have this as an option and will continue to work with our hardware rep to see if I can facilitate a swap for the Intel and install the Atheros if the Intel driver solution does not work.

Please post more concerning your symptom if you think you have isolated it to a power issue.
BTW, have you enabled the Bluetooth? This is also one of the factors involved in intermitant performance.

H.

holdenburg · #23 Post by **holdenburg** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:03 pm

yiplong wrote:Just to add to my previous post, (there seem to be no way of editing it without making a new post), When I was experiencing that problem, I was running on battery, now I have plugged it, and the problem seems to go away. I have been connected for about 30 minutes, and it is still steady. when I had the problem, it usually drops after 10 minutes or so. Did any of you find this problem be power related?

Yiplong...
Is there a power management tab under the hardware config? If there is, is the checkbox checked for "Allow system to shut off this device as needed"??

yiplong · #24 Post by **yiplong** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:24 pm

holdenburg wrote:
yiplong wrote:Just to add to my previous post, (there seem to be no way of editing it without making a new post), When I was experiencing that problem, I was running on battery, now I have plugged it, and the problem seems to go away. I have been connected for about 30 minutes, and it is still steady. when I had the problem, it usually drops after 10 minutes or so. Did any of you find this problem be power related?
Yiplong...
Is there a power management tab under the hardware config? If there is, is the checkbox checked for "Allow system to shut off this device as needed"??

Where is this check box? I cannot find it.

When I had this problem earlier today, I was in a meeting with fellow lawyers. Very embarrassing that I cannot connect and performe legal research, and hence not able to contribute anything to the meeting.

I have now been connected to my wireless network for more than 1 hour. There has been no disconnection. When I finish what I am doing here, I will switch to battery, see if it start dropping connections again.

#25 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:38 pm

yiplong wrote:Where is this check box? I cannot find it.

Look under All Programs > Intel PROSet > Intel PROSet. [something like that, I am going from memory]

yiplong · #26 Post by **yiplong** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:42 pm

I don't see IntelProSet under 'programs'

#27 Post by **GomJabbar** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:55 pm

I guess you have a different setup than mine (T42), or else you do not have the Intel PROSet software installed. You can have the driver without the PROSet software.

BTW, do you have the Intel Wireless Adapter, or the ThinkPad Wireless Adapter? You can look in Device Manager to find out (under Network Adapters).

azimi3 · #28 Post by **azimi3** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 9:28 pm

Yiplong, I noticed the same thing with my gf's system. When at school it will sometimes drop the connection after 10-20 minutes. However, when at home and plugged in it has never dropped the connection.

Regarding the power management setting, I have changed this with no success, the connection is still occasionally dropped. To change this setting, Right click on "My Computer", click Properties>>Hardware>>Device Manager>>Network Adapters>>Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG>>Power Management and uncheck the setting "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". This made no difference for me but maybe it will for you.

Regarding updating the Intel drivers. I downloaded the intel drivers directly off of the Intel support website (I think v.15 or something like that). I removed the Lenovo drivers, installed the Intel. Fn+F5 still works but the problem with the wireless dropping is not resolved. The only difference now is that the Intel PROset software is on the computer and takes up more room in the taskbar.

As far as I have seen, the problem of the wireless dropping 10-20 minutes after has still not been resolved. My gf's x60 has this issue and my system with IDENTICAL setup does not. She is in the middle of the school semester and so we can not send her system back now but I would really like to get this problem figured out.

holdenburg · #29 Post by **holdenburg** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:02 pm

azimi3 wrote:Yiplong, I noticed the same thing with my gf's system. When at school it will sometimes drop the connection after 10-20 minutes. However, when at home and plugged in it has never dropped the connection.

Regarding the power management setting, I have changed this with no success, the connection is still occasionally dropped. To change this setting, Right click on "My Computer", click Properties>>Hardware>>Device Manager>>Network Adapters>>Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG>>Power Management and uncheck the setting "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power". This made no difference for me but maybe it will for you.

Regarding updating the Intel drivers. I downloaded the intel drivers directly off of the Intel support website (I think v.15 or something like that). I removed the Lenovo drivers, installed the Intel. Fn+F5 still works but the problem with the wireless dropping is not resolved. The only difference now is that the Intel PROset software is on the computer and takes up more room in the taskbar.

As far as I have seen, the problem of the wireless dropping 10-20 minutes after has still not been resolved. My gf's x60 has this issue and my system with IDENTICAL setup does not. She is in the middle of the school semester and so we can not send her system back now but I would really like to get this problem figured out.

Aximi3, I was hoping to see if someone attempted to disable the XP power management feature to see if this resolved this issue. Thank you for your imput. I know dealing with USB ports, and Lan hardware, this sometimes repairs issues with XP. It would seem that after you have attempted this, there is really no change in the performance or symptoms.

Azimi3, Have you enabled Bluetooth on your unit? In previous posts, one user thought this might be tied into the Bluetooth being on.

I am still leaning toward replacing the Intel with the Atheros. It seems that our Lenovo rep and Desktop Quality folks are more geared toward fixing this issue by updating the driver and not replacing the hardware. After seeing what others are struggling and experiencing by attempting to update the driver, I think to spend the $50.00 and order the Atheros part number if Lenovo will not replace this Intel with the Atheros FRU is a better bet.

I am thinking the driver is worth trying as this would be normal troubleshooting methodology. But since I am dealing with a VP, it is worth changing the part to mitigate any potential future issues.
A perfect example is Yiplong sitting in a conference room and not being able to connect to necessary resources. This is exacly the type of issue anyone does not need. The customers suffer loss of productivity and us in support will suffer if this issue is not remedied.

I am still calling Lenovo tomorrow if our representative cannot exchange the part. In the previous posts, the FRU number is listed along with the assembly document. My bet is on new hardware.

Regards;

H.

azimi3 · #30 Post by **azimi3** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:21 pm

Holdenburg, she uses bluetooth on the system occasionally with no issues. Also, I use bluetooth to connect to my phone for dialup when wireless is not available and we don't have issues with that. From my experience I think this problem is a hardware problem rather than software.

There also seem to be 2 separate problems people are reporting here. Some people lose their connection very fast after log on while others are losing it 10-20 minutes into use (this is what I have experienced). This makes it very difficult to diagnose the problem and to find a solution because you have to sit around and see if the connection drops or not.

Also, when the wireless does go out, what happens when you press Fn-F5? For us, the Fn-F5 screen does not come up but a "busy" hourglass shows up for a brief second. I don't know if this helps with the diagnosis?

x60 Drops wireless connection after half an hour

x60 Drops wireless connection after half an hour

My solution for unexpected wifi powerdown

Re: My solution for unexpected wifi powerdown

Re: My solution for unexpected wifi powerdown

Thank you...

Re: My solution for unexpected wifi powerdown

Hi...

Is there a power managment tab under the hardware config?

Re: Is there a power managment tab under the hardware config

Re: Is there a power managment tab under the hardware config

Who is online