How/why does a wireless card just stop working?

[pax]

We have wireless DSL at my house, for which I use my laptop and a USB wireless card. Today the Internet was acting a little funky, so I turned off the DSL box and turned it back on, and then tried plugging my computer in with the Ethernet cord (which is how I'm talking to you all right now).

Somehow, though, my computer...like, doesn't know my wireless card is there anymore! I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling the software for it, unplugging it and plugging it back in...to no avail.

What is my computer trying to tell me? Anyone have any ideas?

 

[ABEL]

have you rebooted your computer?
i don't know much about DSL, but my motto always is "when in doubt, reboot"

 

[ewen]

It's stopped working because you have a crap adapter (D-Link) that's causing everyone, it seems, who have that same adapter severe problems....I've been looking up ways to rectify your problem with it on network forums etc.

My advice would be to remove it from your PC, take it back to the store and get your money back. I've seen your purse/wallet....you're bound to still have the receipt.

 

[Liesje]

Mine stops working a lot. I bought the cheapest one I could find, which was a D-Link Air DWL-650 for $19. I can tell when it's being stupid b/c one of the green lights will blink, instead of both of them being on solid. Usually, all I have to do is pop it out for 5 seconds, push it back in, open the wireless network, and do the repair/renew the IP address and then it will connect again. Sometimes I have to do this at work/school where our wireless is setup to connect and authenticate autimatically. Maybe it's just a crappy card.

One thing to check is sometimes these pieces of hardware come with their own configuration software. The wireless configuration that comes with Windows is really all you need, and on some networks, having additional config utilities makes neither work. You could try removing any software that came with the card and just installing the card itself (if you pop it in and have Windows 2000 or XP, it should install it on its own).

 

[DaveC]

We have a D-Link one too. It sucks big, hairy, sweaty balls.

 

[Techie2000]

I use D-Link and have setup several clients with D-Link hardware and have had no issues with it. Linksys however would be another story...

 

[BAW]

I use D-Link and have setup several clients with D-Link hardware and have had no issues with it. Linksys however would be another story...

Linksys


Sometimes when I use my laptop with a wireless card in a room at the back of my house, I lose my 2Wire connection and someone's Linksys connection takes over. It only happens at a certain time of day so I think I'm crossing over with a neighbor's signal...its really annoying.

 

[ewen]

I use D-Link and have setup several clients with D-Link hardware and have had no issues with it. Linksys however would be another story...

You've been fortunate. The particular adapter that Pax had bought overheats extremely fast and also the software/drivers proved to be extremely buggy which resulted in the operating system hanging (severely). This is not an isolated case, as it were - when Pax told me about the problem, I looked on several IT forums and there were literally hundreds of people experiencing precisely the same issue that she was (from as far back as 2003 too).

Anyway, the problem has now been solved. She bought a new adapter by a different manufacturer.

 

[Techie2000]

Ah, well now that I think about it, I've never used the DWL-650. I've been sticking to the 802.11g stuff. Well the important thing is that it works...

BAW: If you can, I would recommend going in to your wireless connection settings on your 2WIRE portal and linksys card, and changing the wireless channel it uses. That will make it less likely to have that sort of interference.

 

[Liesje]

Ah, well now that I think about it, I've never used the DWL-650. I've been sticking to the 802.11g stuff.

That'll do it!