Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

Internet Disconnects Randomly

Mar 1, 2004 7:09AM PST

My laptop will have good wireless signal strength and connect to the internet without trouble, then 2 minutes later (or 10 minutes later) the internet is lost, and I cannot get it back.

Here are the Statistics:
Compaq Presario 1500 Laptop with P4, 1.6, 512 ram, 40 gig drive, Windows XP Home, Explorer 6 Cable modem connected directly to Netgear MR314 Wireless router.
Desktop connected by Ethernet to router and works great, always.
Laptop connects with Netgear MA401 PCMCIA card.

Laptop will sometimes connect without trouble (10% of attempts) and will either stop working in a few minutes or will work until I close Explorer, then not work again.

The signal strength is excellent and does not appear to be the problem. In my "Internet Properties / Connection" page I have "Never dial a connection" clicked. I have also tired to run the connection wizard many times without success.

Here is what I have found, if I turn off everything then turn on starting with the modem, then router, then desktop, then laptop, the internet will work until Explorer is closed.

Here is another quirk, if I go to Control Panel, Internet Connections, Connections, then take my wireless card (which shows 100% signal) and right click, then click "Add to Bridge". I wait about 10 seconds, then right click again and then click "Remove from Bridge". At this point, the internet connection will work fine for anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, then it is off again.

I hope all these ramblings make sense to someone, as I sure could use some help.

Thanks,

Eric

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Re:Internet Disconnects Randomly
Mar 1, 2004 7:25AM PST

What happens if you connect the laptop directly to the router via ethernet cable? Do you still get the disconnects?

- Collapse -
Re:Internet Disconnects Randomly
Mar 15, 2004 12:06AM PST

Try the following. Go to My Network Places, Then right click -> properties on your card.
Under 'connect using' click configure. Then go to advanced tab.
On my card there is an option under 'power mode' or some such, make sure that it doesnt try and save power, select 'on all the time' or other such option. Reset after changing any of these flags.
See if the problem continues.

- Collapse -
thanks
Feb 1, 2011 3:32AM PST

I know this is 6-7 years old but I just had a computer die and grabbed my old xp and I've been having this issue for a week.
This solution worked for me. although mine was call 'power management' not 'power mode'.
Thanks again.