Wireless stops picking up

[simonhayes_]

Hello,

Until the other day, my laptop's wireless was in perfect shape and never cut out.

However, a few days back, my wireless connection died, and the wireless card could no longer pick it up, or any of the ones in the area. This happens all the time now, it will be working, then the wireless dies and i need to restart the laption.

This has happened in many locations with different wireless servers.

Any ideas why this could be happening?

Its a realtek wireless modem, RTL8187B. Running on Windows Vista.

 

[JohnWill]

I'd start by reloading the drivers, but I'm guessing that may not do it. It sounds like the wireless adapter may be loose in it's socket, try opening the access door on the bottom and reseating it.

 

[simonhayes_]

This may be a stupid question, but how do I know which is the wireless adapter?

I've tried updating and downgrading the drivers, nothing happened.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[TerryNet]

It will probably have "RTL8187B" on it somewhere.

 

[JohnWill]

It will also have two very small cables connected to the card.

 

[simonhayes_]

I checked this but all seems fine.

Other than restarting, the only other way to get this working again is by disabling/enabling the wireless network connection...

 

[JohnWill]

Did you reload the drivers?

 

[simonhayes_]

Hey,

yes i've unistalled and reinstalled the drivers, still the same problem.

Sometimes it will stay connected for hours then cut out, sometimes it will be seconds.

Its very strange and frustrating.

 

[TerryNet]

What, if any, non-Windows firewall or security suite do, or did you ever, have on the machine?

Try ...

(From a JohnWill post)

TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Vista or 7.

Start, Programs\Accessories and right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" to open a command prompt.

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.

 

[simonhayes_]

Firewall, just windows' one i believe.

Also, does it make any difference if i say, the problem was happening, so i re-formatted my entire laptop (encase it was a virus etc) yet the problem still occurs?

I will try this information in a short while.

Thanks for everyones help so far.

 

[TerryNet]

Also, does it make any difference if i say, the problem was happening, so i re-formatted my entire laptop (encase it was a virus etc) yet the problem still occurs?

Somewhat. Firewalls and stack repairs are looking for corruption problems that are unlikely in a new install.

Still worth trying the stack repairs though. My next thought is that the adapter or the part of the motherboard to which it connects is defective. If that is the case you can try an exact replacement, but my recommendation is to get an external card. External can mean USB or, depending on the type of slot, a PCMCIA or ExpressCard.

 

[simonhayes_]

That was going to be my next option, how much should i be looking to pay for a usb one? (they do make usb wireless adapters yea? ones that arent mobile broadband?)

 

[TerryNet]

You can see a range of prices on this page. (I'm a satisfied customer of buy.com, and have no other relationship with them.)

A downside of a USB adapter with a laptop is the temptation to move the laptop while it is attached, which can lead to port damage if the adapter gets damaged.

I cannot recommend one, but will offer that I have had great success with a Airlink101 AWLL6080 300N USB wireless adapter that I bought a couple years ago on sale for $20. I actually prefer the AWLC6080 Cardbus adapter (on that same page), but cannot use it on my HP because it has an ExpressCard slot.