[k.ong]

Background:
A long time ago, i got a new computer with the new vista home premium OS. to connect this new computer to the internet, i replaced the broadcom modem with a linksys wmp54g ver.1 wireless pci adapter. i missed out on the gripes of many about vista simply b/c i didn't notice them. i just used the computer for games and school work. however, i did notice one huge thing. while i would play games online, it would seem my connection would always freeze for a few moments and then come back.

i did some research back then and found that disabling the wireless autoconfig in vista would always search for new, better network connections, which caused the constant freezes. so, i turned it off through the cmd prompt and life was good for awhile. untill, fairly recently, maybe may or june, regardless of whether autoconfig was on or off, i'd get the freeze ups in online gaming. not only that though, but it spread to web browsing, where pages wouldn't load and i'd have to refresh or downloads would get interrupted and i'd have to start them over.

this was around the time of the release of SP1 for vista, tho i hadn't upgraded yet, vista still had those autoupdates going. i figured a move to vista SP1 would fix the problem. it didnt.

annoyed, i reformated my computer to XP professional sp3, thinking my woes were over. but they weren't. i was still getting a really bad freezes during online gaming. the xp equivalent of vista's wireless autoconfig is wireless zero configuration. i tried disabling that in services.msc, no dice. so here i am.

TL;DR:
Im running windows xp pro sp3 and connecting to the wireless network in my house with a linksys wmp54g v.1 wireless pci adapter. while gaming, i will often get these freezes that last for maybe 30 seconds, and my connection will most likely come back. in the duration of these freezeups, i'v been told my ping shoots up to 999. its got something to do with wireless zero configuration, which i have turned off. with it on, i get the freezes ups in larger number but each have short duration.

thanks for any help.

e/ after giving the issue some thought, i think i can seperate the freezing up into two categories.
1. the really long lasting ones where people say my ping shoots up to 999, unknown cause.
2. the frequent short freeze ups, most likely caused by wireless zero configuration.
with WZC off, i only get type 1 freeze ups, with it on, i get both.

[00trav]

when you say your computer freezes, do you mean it really freezes (as in unresponsive) or do mean that the game freezes because you don't have a network connection.
Also have you tried connecting via LAN and do you have the same problems?
What games are you playing?

[k.ong]

i can't believe i forgot to include those important details.
the game "freezes" as in, when playing call of duty 4 and it "freezes", i get the "connection interrupted" icon. so yes, the game freezes because the lack of an internet connection.

and a LAN connection is perfect. i can't be bothered to buy a really long ethernet cable though, because soon i will be moving to a home where i can use a LAN connection, but i still want to fix this issue.

[00trav]

first of COD4 rules. awesome game, and yes this is a major issue, because COD 4 is worse than crack.
anyway, back to the problem. I have noticed with my dlink router that sometimes with the heavy packet load over wireless it will reset or freeze (happens with COD 4). I think this is a common problem to the dlink router, so your linksys might not have it. but the next time it happens run over to the router and see if its rebooting.

the other thing to try is to get the most updated driver for your wifi card, and see if the manufacturer has a connection utility that bypasses the windows wifi connection utility. I know intel has one, and odyssey from Juniper is another. that might help if its a windows problem.

[k.ong]

i won't be home again until tomorrow night, but i'll check that router thing out. as for the driver, its up to date. and the connection untility, i havn't been able to install the linksys connection utility. i click on the setup, the installer flashes, then nothing happens.

[Balchy]

Can you tell me how you diasbled th in Vista? I have been trying for ages to fix the same problem with no success

[k.ong]

i assume you want to disable autoconfig.
1. open command prompt as administrator
2. netsh wlan set autoconfig enabled=yes interface="wireless network connection"
3. netsh wlan set autoconfig enabled=no interface="wireless network connection"

note: with autoconfig off, you won't be able to connect to the net, but if you are already connected and turn it off, then you will stay connected. you'll have to do 1-3 on every startup. if you want, i could dig up how to write a simple executable thatll do 1-3 automatically on a double click.
e.g. turn on computer, connect to the internet with autoconfig on, then turn it off.

[k.ong]

So i went wired, but i still have the same problem. what could it be?

[Jambrose]

k.ong do you play world of warcraft? and if you do, do you have problems in wsg or av or in large raid with your connectivity?

[k.ong]

nope.