Wireless Network Collapse (Urgent - Help Please!)

[Cunjo]

Specs:
Gateway Laptop with XP Home
Avaya Gold Wireless PC Card
Microsoft MN-500 Wireless Base Station
Westell Wirespeed DSL Modem

Laptop is connected to the Base Station via wireless with the Avaya card. This computer (that I'm posting from) still has a solid connection via Ethernet to the same router.

My wireless network just collapsed. One minute I was working online, and the next all my connections were terminated and I was left with no wireless connection.

I tried pulling out the Avaya Wireless Card and re-inserting it to force the drivers to reload. I got an alert saying that one or more wireless networks were available, but when I tried to connect to it, it disappeared again.

I rebooted. When I got back up, I was connected to the internet again via the wireless connection. The connection lasted about two minutes (long enough to open my browser and connect with Trillian and Teamspeak) but then it died again. Nothing.

I went over to the router and unplugged it (would have done this sooner, but I didn't want to have to reprogram it again), waited 30 seconds, and plugged it in again. A minute later after it's warmed up, I get the notification that a wireless network is available. I tell it to connect (have to confirm it manually, since it's now unencrypted after the router reset), but it doesn't connect, and just gives me the notification that it's available again, asking me to confirm again as if it had just found the network again. No matter how many times I confirm, it just sends me instantly back to square one - the instant I connect to it, it disconnects and finds the network again, asking me if I want to connect.

I turn EVERYTHING off. The router, the modem, the computer. I wait a few minutes, and then plug it all back in again. When I turn the computer on, I have no wireless connections available. A few minutes later, it sudden;y appears and I manage to connect. The connection is solid, and fluctuates from Excellent to Very Good and back to Excellent. However, the connection lasts only a matter of seconds this time, and I don't even have time to load up Trillian before it drops it, and I'm back to the "One or more wireless connections available" confirmation boxing... fifteen minutes of frustrated configuration messing and troubleshooting later, the network just disappears again, and I'm left with no available networks.

That's where I'm at now... I need to know if it's a Hardware problem (and which piece of hardware if it is), a driver problem (and how to fix it if it is) or an OS problem (and if I should just kill myself now if it is, because there's no way I can reinstall and still save all my data this time). It is now 00:25 local time and I have less than 14 hours to figure it out and fix it at this point... the clock is ticking.

[Cunjo]

It's a bit early to be declaring it fixed, I think, but for the moment anyway it appears to be relatively stable again... ran a system restore to some point yesterday around noon, and it hasn't fallen off yet... just keeping my fingers crossed.

A bit ago it appeared that it would manage to reconnect itself to the internet any time I let it alone for a while and came back to wake it from the screensaver, only to disconnect again a minute or so later... which would appear to substantiate the theory that it's a software-related problem.

[Cunjo]

Negative... it's down again

[Cunjo]

Just bought a new wireless router... a belkin wireless G.

A word from the wiser, never buy a Belkin wireless router. It won't work AT ALL with any machines that aren't running its own crappy software. It wouldn't even connect via ethernet with this box, because it's running Knoppix, and I can't use their installation CD on it. I just spent $40 on an ugly paperweight.

[Nick]

i have that belkin router, have you read the insructions and gone to 192.168.2.1 and set it up properly?

[Cunjo]

192.168.2.1 is reserved by the old router, Belkin took 192.168.2.2. I tried that, but it wouldn't work. When I plugged in the Belkin, it would tell me it was available, and I could connect to it, but when I did I had no connection to the internet. When I tried going to 192.168.2.2, the router kicked me off. It did this repeatedly until I gave up.

[Cunjo]

Ok... I bought a new wireless PC card. that seemed to fix it... so far.

[Ethereal_Dragon]

Have you checked the laptops power scheme's to see if it shuts off the wireless adaptor after a set period of time? Does this happen both when the laptop is plugged into wall power and when on battery power, or more with one than the other?

For the Belkin router, you will want to DISABLE DHCP in that router, and let the gateway router perform all DHCP operations.