losing broadband connection

[wendyl]

we have my PC (ethernet) 2nd PC with wireless connection also Laptop with wireless. The 2nd PC used by my husband has spells when connection is lost intermittently. This was a problem a while ago but had been fairly steady. The last 2 days connection has only lasted for at most a couple of minutes at a time when the connection is good but the rest of the time it will not connect. Can anyone advise where the problem lies and how to deal with please?

[Paulst30]

Which ISP do you use and if its broadband wireless you use mostly do you have any other wireless elements in the house, like a wireless DECT phone or a Sky satellite sender or video sender that transmits audio and video to another tv in the house?

These things can interferre with the Wireless broadband signal and cause it to disconnect.

[ACtheTROLL]

aaah! the joys of wireless networks ....
the cause could be so many things ...
your neighbour's wireless network (change channel)
your microwave, TV, Radio ..... basically anything electrical ....

Can you think of anything you've started doing again recently - or anything you do while hubby surfs?. Has hubby started sitting in a different chair (walls can cause reduced signal strength either by blocking or reflecting).

sit hubby in front of your Wireless access point .... how's that?

move him to where he sits when the problem starts .... what's between him and the WAP?

has the wap fallen behind a radiator? Has it been "tidied away" under the TV? ....

What is the second PC using to connect (usb or card in the back of PC?) - if USB .... is the arial masked by the PC box, radiator or ...

The ideal position for a wap is as high as possible in the centre of the house -
and for the PC ... out in the open ... above the box

A friend recently lost his connection .... turned out his wap had never worked .... his neighbour had moved house taking the wap he'd been using for months with them!

sorry ... but this sort of thing isn't always easy to find ....
then again is could just be as simple as a bad connection to the PC

[wendyl]

Firstly thanks to you both for suggestions. Paulst30 - we have none of those things ISP Freeola
ACtheTROLL When we had a similar problem previously (the intermittent one) we eventually thought it might be our neighbour's network and we did change channels and for a time things improved. Tonight there are 'no networks within range ' Earlier today 2 were showing besides ours (conexant) One of these was BT home hub. Our daughter, a few doors down on the opposite side of our road, has had this for a couple of months or so (had endless trouble with it too!) We have been with Freeola several years and no complaints. We have checked all the connections, nothing including hubby has changed position. I don't kno what you call the little gadget with two green lights which is on a high shelf above his PC as it always has been but the lower light flickers when we are having the problem if this gives any clue thanks again

[wendyl]

This may seem a silly question I am getting a message to check wireless switch is on. How do I know the answer to this? Where is it , what is it called? I tried a system restore in case hubby did something he was unaware of but to no effect!

[Paulst30]

Theres a little switch on the laptop that turns the Wifi on and off should be around somewhere.

Give me the laptop model and i'll check its location on the net, no need if you can do it on yer own :)

[wendyl]

thanks but it is Hubby's PC not the laptop with the message

[Mattk]

Does this happen mostly at night ?
I suspect it is your line that is at fault. I had a similar problem where my line would pretty much be fine during the day and then come evening time when more people were going online my connection would last minutes or even seconds before dropping out again.

[wendyl]

Yes Matt this was mostly happening in the evenings and first started at the time of World Cup! However this week it has been all day every day culminating in all the time as at present.
As to why its just the one PC puzzles me as it suggests to me the problem is there. I do not use the laptop a great deal but that is usually in the evenings and stays connected whether his PC is on or not.
Do you mean it may be the BT line at fault. Heaven forbid I should need to convince them after the weeks it took my daughter to resolve her broadband problems with them and there 'call centre' representatives!!!
Thanks I do appreciate your interest

[ACtheTROLL]

If the wired pc works ok it's not your line .... the problem is your network and not the dsl connection.

The message makes me wonder if the little unit with the lights (the network adapter) is faulty. Possibly the ariel??

When the light flashes ... the unit is trying to "talk" to the base unit - the other light indicates traffic passing between the two devices.

the problem with wireless is - because it uses a relatively high frequency ... the signal tends to be directional ... and has little penetration ...
it should be like ripples in a lake - 1 stone makes a clear regular pattern.
ripples in the bath ... soon the regular circles are broken by reflections and random waves .... and if you have nearby wireless also ... it soon becomes like pouring gravel into water ... no order ...

and there isn't any way of predicting .... next door may have no problems at all

.... try moving the green flashy thing higher or lower ... to the left/right.

If it plugs in to a usb port ... change ports (not the one next to it ... one of the others)

if still no joy It's time for hubby to try using the laptop .... in the same place he uses his normal machine .... if that works ... it's a reasonable bet that its the adapter.

If it is ... consider replacing with real wire (cat 5 ethernet is by far the most reliable)

or try a homenetwork setup with adapters that use your mains wiring - it's getting more popular as more people are trying wireless - the problems are getting more difficult to resolve .

[wendyl]

It really is kind of you to take so much trouble (on a Sunday) too ACtheTROLL
Your first sentence appears to confirm what I thought all along and the problem is the adapter. I will try moving it as you suggest also using my laptop in the same place. I have emailed the fellow who set it up in the first place. I think we settled for wireless because my PC is upstairs and Hubby's 'office' is downstairs and a wired connection a major hurdle. However, I am not the expert and things have moved on. Originally he used dial up and I used ADSL they were then 'networked' when broadband became available in this area Aug 05 I think. Failing any joy from the above suggestions. I will look into the wired option. His PC could do with updating in any case he's taken over mine when I upgraded on 2 occasions, having originally shown no interest whatsoever!! Thanks a million and I will let you know progress