Patience running thin

I know a lot about computers, but there are so many one can learn. Now, I am really unsure if this is the Sony Vaio laptop issue, or if it is Windows Vista issue. I will further explain myself, I purchased a Sony Vaio laptop last week. I have connected the laptop to the internet wirelessly. The router is a Linksys WRT54G, using automatic DHCP. All works fine and whatnot, but I have the trouble(s) of random disconnections. I'm familiar with disconnections, and I can narrow it down to, 'it is not my router or my modem.' So what is it? Provided, I have two screenshots;



this next one is in the "router configuration" category. If this has to do with my router, I have no idea what I can do to help it.



So right, I have read somewhere that setting it to Static IP will help, but I'm not familiar on how to set that up. Someone help me? I have tried once already, it did work, but I just want to hear another method. My method was going into the LAN and changing the IP there.

Thanks.

Raithed said:

I know a lot about computers, but there are so many one can learn. Now, I am really unsure if this is the Sony Vaio laptop issue, or if it is Windows Vista issue. I will further explain myself, I purchased a Sony Vaio laptop last week. I have connected the laptop to the internet wirelessly. The router is a Linksys WRT54G, using automatic DHCP. All works fine and whatnot, but I have the trouble(s) of random disconnections. I'm familiar with disconnections, and I can narrow it down to, 'it is not my router or my modem.' So what is it? Provided, I have two screenshots;

this next one is in the "router configuration" category. If this has to do with my router, I have no idea what I can do to help it.

So right, I have read somewhere that setting it to Static IP will help, but I'm not familiar on how to set that up. Someone help me? I have tried once already, it did work, but I just want to hear another method. My method was going into the LAN and changing the IP there.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

Hi Raithed,

I don't know much about network issues either but maybe changing the auto tuning level and chimney offload might help. There are related links inside the tutorial worth looking at as well.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/72308-auto-tuning-tcp-ip-receive-level.html?ltr=A

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/187927-chimney-offload-state-enable-disable.html

Raithed said:

I know a lot about computers, but there are so many one can learn. Now, I am really unsure if this is the Sony Vaio laptop issue, or if it is Windows Vista issue. I will further explain myself, I purchased a Sony Vaio laptop last week. I have connected the laptop to the internet wirelessly. The router is a Linksys WRT54G, using automatic DHCP. All works fine and whatnot, but I have the trouble(s) of random disconnections. I'm familiar with disconnections, and I can narrow it down to, 'it is not my router or my modem.' So what is it? Provided, I have two screenshots;


So right, I have read somewhere that setting it to Static IP will help, but I'm not familiar on how to set that up. Someone help me? I have tried once already, it did work, but I just want to hear another method. My method was going into the LAN and changing the IP there.

Thanks.

Click to expand...

To get to where you'd recognize it from XP/2000:

Control Panel > Network and Sharing Center > Manage network connections

This should be recognizable from XP/2000. From there:

Find your network connect and right-click on it > Properties > select Internet Protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4) > Properties > put in your network details.

If you are unsure what network details to use, leave it set for DHCP and try opening a command prompt (cmd.exe) and typing "ipconfig /all" and hitting enter. You should get all the information you need to set it manually from that.

I have not ran across this issue with Vista. I will presume that if you're having a problem staying connected with your wireless link, it is probably either a hardware error with your laptop's wireless adapter or poor drivers.

Perhaps you could contact Sony and see if they have any recommendations/advice? If not, you may need to RMA the unit to them.

I have the most up-to-date driver, is it possible to downgrade one? I am unsure. If it's a hardware, I checked and it says it is working properly. It's just odd, I have had this laptop for less than two weeks.

Well, over the years, one of the things that I've noticed is that wireless is eff'ing fickle. On occasion, I have seen a wireless card not work with an access point/router for no particular reason - often when different brands are involved.

Have you tried updating the firmware on your router?

I guess after that I'd start doing basic diagnostics, such as:

• Does your wireless adapter work reliably with other access points?
• Do other devices work reliably with your router?
• If you have a PCCard or USB wireless adapter, does it work reliably in your laptop with your router?

Trying out those different configurations should help you deduce where the problem is.

Just remember that you have the most leverage with your manufacturer while inside the money-back guarantee period. After that, you're at their mercy.

I have updated my firmware the other night. I have called Linksys tech. support, and I got the update. By the adapter, do you mean the card? I have nothing attached to my laptop. There is another laptop, my HP, it works very good with my router. And I don't have a PCCard or USB wireless adapter. What's a PCCard?

I have turned autotuning to normal, and chimney to enable.

Raithed said:

I have updated my firmware the other night. I have called Linksys tech. support, and I got the update. By the adapter, do you mean the card? I have nothing attached to my laptop. There is another laptop, my HP, it works very good with my router. And I don't have a PCCard or USB wireless adapter. What's a PCCard?

Click to expand...

Linksys tech support is unlikely to be able to help, unless this is a widespread problem effecting a large number of users. Otherwise... not so much.

"Adapter" is short for "network adapter" - in this case, your wireless network adapter, which is built into the laptop. Other network adapters are available for laptops, either via USB or PC Card.

Since you have another laptop that works with that router, you can probably rule out the router as the problem.

Now you're down to a) your new laptop's wireless adapter, b) your new laptop's wireless drivers, or c) Vista.

Now, Vista is used by a lot of people in a lot of different places, and has been out for a while now. In short, it's unlikely it is actually Vista at the heart of your problem.

What is much more likely is that you either have defective wireless adapter in your laptop, or it has shoddy drivers. OR - it just plain doesn't like your Linksys router.

Have you tested your new laptop at another location? A friends house? A coffee shop? Someplace where you can leave it connected for a long enough period of time to see if it pukes.

Also, if you have wireless encryption/authentication enabled, have you tried disabling it just to see if that effects reliability?

Your easiest solution may be to go buy a different brand/model wireless router and see if it works better. If so, then problem solved. If not, then you want to return your laptop to the manufacturer for a replacement, ASAP. (Afterwards, you could return the new router to the store you purchased it from... though this is somewhat dishonest.)

No, I haven't. The laptop came with the autotuning to highlyrestricted IIRC, and the chimney was disabled, whichever that was, I did the opposite and set autotuning to normal. So far so good, no disconnects after I had done this. And I was online for 2+/- hours, usually about 30+/- minutes in, it would disconnect, or something like that. The router was bought a year ago.

Glad I could help out Raithed, hope it works out for you.