A few exploratory thoughts first....
1) When you go to Start > (My) Network Places > View Network connections on your new machine, is the wireless connection showing as enabled? When you click on the icon and click the 'view wireless networks' connection, do you see your network there....and are you showing as 'connected' ?
I'm asking as an XP user so please bear with me, I hope you can interpret this for a Vista system ..:)
2) When you go to Start > (Run) > and type in devmgmt.msc to pull up the device manager, are the network adaptors showing as OK - or are there any yellow exclamation marks to be seen? (you might need to expand the box with a '+' in to check this)
3) One more thing: check the workgroup name on your new computer and compare it with those on your other computers. Are they using the same workgroup name? To check this, go to Start > then right-click (My) Computer > select 'Properties' from the little dropdown menu > Computer Name tab. Can you 'see' the other computers in your network (Start > (My) Network Places > View Workgroup Computers)
You may have already tried these ideas, but at least it is a place to start :)
Hello Steve
Many thanks for your generous feedback! Glad you have been able to connect, if only briefly. :(
If you could only connect for a few seconds, I'd wonder about firewall settings. However, if the laptop connection is fine while in the same room as the router, yet drops out as you move away, I'd agree that signal strength/interference might be a problem.
As changing the router channel hasn't helped, boosting the wireless signal looks like the next step. If you have an aerial on your network adaptor already, here are a few more ideas:
1) Sometimes just situating the router in a more central and open location helps, and moving the antenna around until the signal improves ( a helpful friend comes in handy here)
2) Replacing one of the router antennae with a 'booster' antenna might also help. This is fairly inexpensive to try.
3) A range extender or repeater could also be used to boost your signal
5) There are also alternative products like Netgear's ethernet extender, : this uses your powerlines to extend your home network.
The latter two require more outlay, so personally I would only try them if all other options are exhausted, and you're certain that signal strength is the problem. :)
I hope you are able to connect up soon. Good luck, and if you still have difficulties, please come right back to Fixya....:)
One more thought....if possible, borrow a friend's laptop and see if their signal drops in the same way, just to check there is no problem with your network adapter
:) Oh, excellent! Congratulations on getting online, and many thanks for your kind feedback!
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Good morning eecom,
I've tried all your suggestions and finally got connected to my home network , briefly ! I think my problem now is bad reception of the signal.Sometimes the signal is weak but then it dissappears completely which is usually the case.There is about 15 metres between the router and new PC with two walls in between.I also have cordless phones and the neighbour's router which could be causing interferrence.I've tried changing the channel on the router but that didn't help.
Should I get a better aerial (or antenna) for my adapter card and would it be better to put it on the router?
isnibbs alias Steve
Success ! I'm on the internet. I turned off the Firewall and also raised the router up to a high position and it worked ! I was able to switch the firewall back on again so it was probably a weak signal.
Thanks for all your help.Much appreciated.
Isnibbs alias Steve
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