wireless connection needs constant repair

This is all new to me so please reply letting me know what other info you
need so I can get some assistance fixing this. I am running two Dell
Latitude D610 notebooks with WinXP SP2, with recent updates installed, and
have ADSL 512, a SpeedTouch 510 gateway with a Netgear 54 Mbps wireless
router. The wi/fi on the laptops is factory-installed. One laptop connected
by ethernet to the SpeedTouch has no problem, so I don't think my problem is
the ADSL line or the SpeedTouch. The other laptop, which has a wireless
connection, had no problem until I recently relocated it to the other side of
the office. Now I lose the wireless connection very frequently, every few
minutes all day, and the only way to get it back is to "repair" it. It just
disappears and under "available networks" I have nothing. I have read all
the posts about this problem. I am not using encryption or 802.1x
authentication. Now that I've relocated the office, the computer actually
has line of sight to the Netgear and the SpeedTouch, which it did not have
before. I tried doing a system restore to a month ago -- before the move and
before the problem began -- and that didn't solve the problem so I'm guessing
that means the problem is not originating with the computer. I am wondering
if a cordless phone is the problem; it's in the same room and now only about
10 feet away; before the move it was about 18 feet away. I'm wondering if a
telephone/electric pole outside the window might be causing the connection to
drop. Since the move, I am about 25 feet closer to that pole than
previously. Also, there is a (not cordless) phone and fax about 15 feet
away. Other posts about this problem have suggested changing the router
channel (if a phone is the problem) or updating the router firmware. I've no
idea how to do either of those things. I set up the wireless myself through
lots of reading on-line and basically trial and error. Any suggestions you
can offer will be appreciated. Unfortunately, moving the laptop to its
previous location is not an option. Thank you!

To reconfigure the channel of an AP, you usually use a web page served up
by the access point. With a computer connected to the access point, run a
'cmd' shell and type 'ipconfig'. The default gateway address is usually the
address of your access point. Supposing the gateway address is
'192.168.0.1', you would then navigate a web browser to http://192.168.0.1
to configure the channel.
Most access points require a password to change the settings. Ask whoever
maintains the access point if they know it. If it hasn't been changed, you
can probably find the password in the access point's documentation or by
searching the internet (http://search.msn.com). Search for 'password',
'default' and the model number of your access point.
The computer doesn't have to be connected wirelessly to the access point
to configure it. You might wire a laptop to each access point in turn to
configure each.

You should have these configured on opposite channels (try using 1, 6 and
11 if this is 802.11g). Through experimentation I've found that when
components are within line of sight sometimes no amount of channel
seperation is sufficient to prevent cochannel interference. If changing the
channel doesn't work, try to block the line of sight between between your
computer and the access point you are not using. If you can move it behind
a wall or a desk and some shelves- that might be sufficient.
Generally, 802.11a doesn't have microwave/wireless phone interference
problems and 802.11a access points won't interfere if they are on different
channels. I've found though that 802.11a networks on different channels may
still interfere if they are all within line of sight.
Eliminating the line of sight is kind of a long shot, but I'd be curious
to hear if it works. Good luck.

--
Frank Schwieterman [MSFT]

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

"opxidaea" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:18A4F14D-116B-4A10-8947-(E-Mail Removed)...
> This is all new to me so please reply letting me know what other info you
> need so I can get some assistance fixing this. I am running two Dell
> Latitude D610 notebooks with WinXP SP2, with recent updates installed, and
> have ADSL 512, a SpeedTouch 510 gateway with a Netgear 54 Mbps wireless
> router. The wi/fi on the laptops is factory-installed. One laptop
> connected
> by ethernet to the SpeedTouch has no problem, so I don't think my problem
> is
> the ADSL line or the SpeedTouch. The other laptop, which has a wireless
> connection, had no problem until I recently relocated it to the other side
> of
> the office. Now I lose the wireless connection very frequently, every few
> minutes all day, and the only way to get it back is to "repair" it. It
> just
> disappears and under "available networks" I have nothing. I have read all
> the posts about this problem. I am not using encryption or 802.1x
> authentication. Now that I've relocated the office, the computer actually
> has line of sight to the Netgear and the SpeedTouch, which it did not have
> before. I tried doing a system restore to a month ago -- before the move
> and
> before the problem began -- and that didn't solve the problem so I'm
> guessing
> that means the problem is not originating with the computer. I am
> wondering
> if a cordless phone is the problem; it's in the same room and now only
> about
> 10 feet away; before the move it was about 18 feet away. I'm wondering if
> a
> telephone/electric pole outside the window might be causing the connection
> to
> drop. Since the move, I am about 25 feet closer to that pole than
> previously. Also, there is a (not cordless) phone and fax about 15 feet
> away. Other posts about this problem have suggested changing the router
> channel (if a phone is the problem) or updating the router firmware. I've
> no
> idea how to do either of those things. I set up the wireless myself
> through
> lots of reading on-line and basically trial and error. Any suggestions
> you
> can offer will be appreciated. Unfortunately, moving the laptop to its
> previous location is not an option. Thank you!