[OT] Need some help, router problems

[Jest]

Basically my friggin wireless router doesnt seem to want to let me do two things at once. If I try and play Neocron and use Mirc/AIM/Ventrillo then my connection totally dies on me for a few minutes every couple of hours (sometimes sooner).

Thats definitely NOT something I can live with. I'm pretty active in out of game communication and having my connection freeze every once and a while resulting in my death in PvP/PvM is seriously ********.

Are there any steps I could take to solve this problem?

[rob444]

What wireless router is it?

[Jest]

Its a Microsoft router. And whats with the new "dirty word" filter? haha. I guess saying something is g h e y is bad. :p

[Drake6k]

Try this
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking/10_ts_wirelessdrop1.mspx

If that doesn't work look here
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking/10_Troubleshooting.mspx
:)

[Jest]

Originally posted by Drake6k
Try this
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking/10_ts_wirelessdrop1.mspx

If that doesn't work look here
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/broadbandnetworking/10_Troubleshooting.mspx
:) I tried a bunch of stuff from there but no luck with any thing. :(

[Zief]

Okay dude, firstly, are you certain it's not your Cable/DSL service that's dropping and not your router?

One indicator would be that your DSL or Cable modem's 'sync' or 'link' light is either flashing or perhaps amber. If it's (the link light) anything other than solid green in color, you should contact your ISP as soon as possible.

If your modem maintains connection, then it could be something network related.

Some other details that would be good to know: Your broadband connection type (cable? DSL?), the modem model/make, your OS, any recent upgrades in software or hardware, animals that like to urinate on network equipment, etc.

I've got some other ideas for you, but would prefer to hear your comments before I proceed.

[Jest]

Could be either I dont know how to find that out exactly. I did some basic troubleshooting though. The connection seems to go down when I do a lot of different things as I mentioned, but oddly enough the other wireless computer has bubbles of inactivity the same time I do. (But my comp does it whether the other comp is on or not). Also there is a computer connected to the router but not using wireless so I figured it was a wireless problem.

I use a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Adapter MN-720 and a Microsoft network card as well. Windows XP.

I get DSL and it seems to me like I still connect to the router fine even when Im not getting DSL. (And remember the other computer on the network still gets DSL connection when I dont).

Its really weird to me. And no there are no animals urinating on anything, well that I know of any way.

[Zief]

Sounds to me like your DSL connection is good.

One thing to make sure of is to confirm that the computer (not using the wireless connection) is still able to browse the net while the laptop is having the problem.

If your computer is not maintaining connection to the net, first thing I'd check would be if you can ping your gateway IP address. If you're using a wireless router, your computer's IP address is most likely assigned Dynamically (DHCP). It's best to keep a continuous ping to your gateway IP address while you see if you can recreate the problem.

Whew...let's see where to begin...

Open a command prompt through your 'run' option (of the start menu) by typing in 'cmd'.

Type: ipconfig

This command should tell you your IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway. You wont need to give me this info because it's specific to your network only. When you've obtained your gateway IP address, go back to your dos prompt and type in the following:

ping (default ip gateway goes here) -t

This command will generate a standard 32-byte ping to your first hop towards the internet. You should see nothing but 'Reply from....' etc. It would be good to leave this running while you road test this experiment. If you see 'request timed out', this means that your wireless connection is being interrupted somehow (call wireless router manufacturer).

It could be that your wireless connection drops with a significant generation of traffic (from your system). I've seen defective CPU's (on the router) cause problems like this. The bottom line, is that it's pretty hard to identify the true nature on something that doesn't happen in an easily reproduced situation.

I'll be home in a few hours if you want to discuss it in real time...this might help point you in the right direction if your theories run dry.