Frequent Disconnections with Linksys WRT54G Router

Boss-Hog · 01-31-2006, 08:37 PM

Hello,

I recently moved to an apartment building in which I live by myself but a friend of mine lives in a separate apartment directly below mine. As a result, we thought it would be a smart idea to split the cost of the internet access (RoadRunner) via wireless networking. Each of us have desktop PC's with no laptops (for the moment). My friend is the person with the high speed internet account and the actual cable modem.

After doing a bit of research, I decided to buy a Linksys WRT54G router and D-Link DWL-G122 wireless USB adapter for my PC. I set things up using a wired connection from his PC to the router, since the router is located directly next to his PC. I established a network key so that no one else could access the connection and I then upgraded the router to the latest firmware. I was happy to see the the D-Link adapter found the wireless signal without any problem with a signal strength of consistently excellent. Acquiring a network address required running a ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew from the command prompt on his PC, as there was an IP address conflict between our machines, but that solved that problem and we were both able to access the internet without any problems.

However, I have since noticed that my computer (again, which accesses the network wirelessly) seems to become disconnected several times throughout the day. When this happens, all internet functionality is lost and does not seem to be restored until I do one of two things: 1). reboot my PC or 2). use Window's repair utility to restore the wireless connection. After doing one of the two, this seems to restore the broken connection. Using the router configuration tool, I have the router set up to act as a DHCP host, as I'm under the impression that way, his PC does not have to be on for me to have connectivity. Even so, he doesn't turn his computer off, so this shouldn't be an issue. Both computers run Windows XP Pro SP2 with all the latest updates. Can someone please advise me what these random disconnections are due to and how to resolve the issue? Thanks!

suprasteve · 02-01-2006, 03:05 AM

I get the same problem with my laptop, I basically just reconnect, but maybe if you do mac filtering instead of wpa-psk you'd have fewer problems, usually you lose signal when the computer goes into sleep mode, rarely should you lose it while you're using it

Boss-Hog · 02-01-2006, 01:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by suprasteve

I get the same problem with my laptop, I basically just reconnect, but maybe if you do mac filtering instead of wpa-psk you'd have fewer problems, usually you lose signal when the computer goes into sleep mode, rarely should you lose it while you're using it

I'll try doing that. You're right - the problem does not occur when I'm actually using it, but as far as I know, my PC is not set to enter sleep mode. Just to be safe, how do I double check that? Are we talking the settings within Control Panel | Power Options? Thanks for the reply.

suprasteve · 02-01-2006, 09:05 PM

well its good for the computer to go into sleep mode if you're not using it, my laptop's usually in hibernation, my problem is the laptop doesn't store the pre-shared key, well actually it replaces it with something else, but anyways, whenever you leave your computer for awhile and your monitor turns off but you can move the mouse to turn it back on, that's sleep mode, I don't know if you can turn it off and I wouldn't turn it off, but it would probably be in power options somewhere

01-31-2006, 08:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
Boss-Hog New Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2	Frequent Disconnections with Linksys WRT54G Router Hello, I recently moved to an apartment building in which I live by myself but a friend of mine lives in a separate apartment directly below mine. As a result, we thought it would be a smart idea to split the cost of the internet access (RoadRunner) via wireless networking. Each of us have desktop PC's with no laptops (for the moment). My friend is the person with the high speed internet account and the actual cable modem. After doing a bit of research, I decided to buy a Linksys WRT54G router and D-Link DWL-G122 wireless USB adapter for my PC. I set things up using a wired connection from his PC to the router, since the router is located directly next to his PC. I established a network key so that no one else could access the connection and I then upgraded the router to the latest firmware. I was happy to see the the D-Link adapter found the wireless signal without any problem with a signal strength of consistently excellent. Acquiring a network address required running a ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew from the command prompt on his PC, as there was an IP address conflict between our machines, but that solved that problem and we were both able to access the internet without any problems. However, I have since noticed that my computer (again, which accesses the network wirelessly) seems to become disconnected several times throughout the day. When this happens, all internet functionality is lost and does not seem to be restored until I do one of two things: 1). reboot my PC or 2). use Window's repair utility to restore the wireless connection. After doing one of the two, this seems to restore the broken connection. Using the router configuration tool, I have the router set up to act as a DHCP host, as I'm under the impression that way, his PC does not have to be on for me to have connectivity. Even so, he doesn't turn his computer off, so this shouldn't be an issue. Both computers run Windows XP Pro SP2 with all the latest updates. Can someone please advise me what these random disconnections are due to and how to resolve the issue? Thanks!

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02-01-2006, 03:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
suprasteve Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,355	I get the same problem with my laptop, I basically just reconnect, but maybe if you do mac filtering instead of wpa-psk you'd have fewer problems, usually you lose signal when the computer goes into sleep mode, rarely should you lose it while you're using it

02-01-2006, 09:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
suprasteve Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 1,355	well its good for the computer to go into sleep mode if you're not using it, my laptop's usually in hibernation, my problem is the laptop doesn't store the pre-shared key, well actually it replaces it with something else, but anyways, whenever you leave your computer for awhile and your monitor turns off but you can move the mouse to turn it back on, that's sleep mode, I don't know if you can turn it off and I wouldn't turn it off, but it would probably be in power options somewhere