New to wireless, with issues.

Anyone that can help me figure this out is godlike in my book.

The tools:
Mac G4, running OS X
HP Pavillion, running Win98
Xterasys 802.11b PCI card in the Pavillion
Netgear MR814v2 802.11b Router
DSL from SBC

DSL -> Router
Ethernet connection to Mac
Extremely spotty wireless connection to PC

Symptoms are as follows - Despite having 100% signal strength and
95-100% link quality, I am rarely able to make a TCP/IP connection
from the PC. It has happened so rarely (twice) that I cannot deduce
any kind of pattern regarding the success and failure. Much more
frequently, but still seemingly without pattern, the router (despite
having all the appropriate lights lit on the front) ceases to respond.
I try to browse the Internet, and nothing happens. Likewise, browsing
the routers status page produces no joy either. This is easily solved
by unplugging the router and powering it up again. Unfortunately,
this has to happen so often that it makes diagnosing the problems with
the computer upstairs hard on the thighs.

What could make a wireless router stop responding (aside from
manufacturer's defect)? The only advice I've gotten from Netgear was
to power everything down, and power it up again in this order - DSL,
Router, computers. This hasn't had any benefits as far as I could
tell.

Also, the only times the wireless connection worked at all, it was
like drag racing from stoplight to stoplight; fast, then halt, then
fast, then halt. Repeat until wife knocks over the wireless router
and the connection is broken due to poor signal strength. (Picking
the router up and reconnecting resulted in a whole lot of nothing. I
couldn't re-establish the connection, yet the router was still giving
the hard-wired Mac all the connectivity it could use)

Any help appreciated.

Allen

Could be a telephone or other 2.4 GHz device is casing interference if only
your wireless is going down.
Do you have a cordless phone, alarm system, other wireless devices, TV
transmitter etc....

Wayne


"Allen Stevens" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> Anyone that can help me figure this out is godlike in my book.
>
> The tools:
> Mac G4, running OS X
> HP Pavillion, running Win98
> Xterasys 802.11b PCI card in the Pavillion
> Netgear MR814v2 802.11b Router
> DSL from SBC
>
> DSL -> Router
> Ethernet connection to Mac
> Extremely spotty wireless connection to PC
>
> Symptoms are as follows - Despite having 100% signal strength and
> 95-100% link quality, I am rarely able to make a TCP/IP connection
> from the PC. It has happened so rarely (twice) that I cannot deduce
> any kind of pattern regarding the success and failure. Much more
> frequently, but still seemingly without pattern, the router (despite
> having all the appropriate lights lit on the front) ceases to respond.
> I try to browse the Internet, and nothing happens. Likewise, browsing
> the routers status page produces no joy either. This is easily solved
> by unplugging the router and powering it up again. Unfortunately,
> this has to happen so often that it makes diagnosing the problems with
> the computer upstairs hard on the thighs.
>
> What could make a wireless router stop responding (aside from
> manufacturer's defect)? The only advice I've gotten from Netgear was
> to power everything down, and power it up again in this order - DSL,
> Router, computers. This hasn't had any benefits as far as I could
> tell.
>
> Also, the only times the wireless connection worked at all, it was
> like drag racing from stoplight to stoplight; fast, then halt, then
> fast, then halt. Repeat until wife knocks over the wireless router
> and the connection is broken due to poor signal strength. (Picking
> the router up and reconnecting resulted in a whole lot of nothing. I
> couldn't re-establish the connection, yet the router was still giving
> the hard-wired Mac all the connectivity it could use)
>
> Any help appreciated.
>
> Allen