Inspiron 6400 + Intel 3945ABG Wireless Connectivity Problems. Annoying.

Question

The wireless card on my laptop keeps dropping the connection after an unexpected period of time. Sometimes this happens after 5 minutes, sometimes after 5 hours. When it drops the connection, it will fail to reconnect to the network. If I try to refresh the network list, it will be unable to detect any networks. One way to temporarily solve the problem is to repair the connection within XP. It will then connect to the network, but the problem will usually persist repetitively, with the connected time in between progressively decreasing. If I shut down the computer, it will repeat the cycle (connected for unexpected time, connection drop, repair, connected for a shorter time, repair, connect for an even shorter time, etc).

Things that have been done in attempt to rectify the problem:
- Uninstalled the card from the Device Manager, and reinstalled.
- Installed a wide variety of drivers, including the oldest and newest Dell drivers, a few in between, as well as specific Intel drivers.
- Disabled the Dell Wireless utility's ability to manage the connection
- Disabled power saving features and set Power Management to Maximum.
- Had Dell replace the wireless card.
- Had Dell replace the LCD back cover (housing the wireless antenna which has wires connecting to the wireless card). Had that done just this morning in fact, but the problem started acting up again earlier tonight.

There are several other Dell and non-Dell computers connected to the same wireless network without problems. I've used this same laptop to successfully connect to the same network without problems for at least 9 months, up till now. I've had a reformat in between, but I do not suspect it has anything to do with it, and I do hope not to have to do that again anyway.

Any suggestions on a fix? Or at least an idea on what may be causing this problem? I've read about heat-related problems, heard of motherboard issues, but I'm stumped, and Dell's latest suggestion was the LCD back cover.

Gina Q · Answer

Please go to Add/Remove programs and uninstall the XP drivers. Then install the Vista Drivers.   You can find a link to the driver you need in this post found at the top of the board.   Wireless Drivers for Vista

Rich97 · Answer

I don't have the Intel Pro Set  software on my computer, as  far as tech support could find.  I am assuming Vista is managing the connection.  I have tried the latest driver from Intel, same problem.

xvi · Answer

Yup. I'm currently using Windows to manage the wifi. And yeah, I've also tried using Intel drivers. Message Edited by xvi on 04-17-2007 09:33 AM

Rich97 · Answer

Yes Gina, I have tried all of that. This issue happens when connected to various makes and models of routers. Problem happens a various loactions, whether the router is boradcasting the SSID or not.

Message Edited by Rich97 on 04-16-2007 06:05 PM

Rich97 · Answer

I have the same problem with my new E1505 using Vista.  I called tech support and they loaded the XP driver for this card.  It worked for a few days, then I had the same problem again.  Within Vista I checked the problem reports and it said the problem was caused by the driver for this card.  It said to contact the computer manufacturer.  I think I need to elevate this problem through DELL as I have already called tech support.

Gina Q · Answer

My appologies, I thought I had read that you had Vista. I see that the other user has Vista. Sorry. You are correct, for XP run the XP drivers. The other user since he has Vista needs to run the Vista drivers. You might also try the drivers from Intel. You can find them at www.intel.com.

Have you tried disabling the Intel Pro set manager and using the Windows Manager?

Message Edited by DELL-Gina on 04-16-2007 05:31 PM

xvi · Answer

Aren't those Vista drivers? I'm on XP. And as I mentioned before, I've tried a multitude of different drivers throughout the troubleshooting process, unfortunately none of them resolving the issue.

xvi · Answer

Yeah that would probably be a good idea. I've been corresponding with a Dell representative by email. After coming to an agreement that it may be a hardware failure rather than software, they've opted to replace parts. So far, 2 separate component replacements hasn't solved the problem. I'm starting to think we're back to a software failure. What's very irritating about this problem is that its very unpredictable. Right now it's been running fine for about an hour. Yesterday it went for a few hours. I know when it's about to fail when my net speeds start to decline, and then it'll eventually stop loading pages.

Gina Q · Answer

On the Vista system if the router is hidden you need to create a profile manually and make sure that you check off the following two boxes in the profile. Start this connection manually; and Connect even if the network is not broadcasting Also, have either of you tried at other locations? If so, do you have the same problem?

xvi · Answer

No I don't think I've tried that, but the thing is, 1 of my neighbors has got a wireless router too, and usually when I refresh the list of networks, their router shows up alongside mine. When the problem occurs, I can't see any networks whatsoever when I attempt to refresh the network list. It only truly refreshes the list after I repair the connection or reboot the computer.

I can give it a try, though I highly doubt it is any fault of the router. As I stated in my original post, I've used this same computer to successfully connect to the same router for at least the past 9 months, and several other Dell and non-Dell computers are connecting to the network simultaneously without problems.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

Inspiron 6400 + Intel 3945ABG Wireless Connectivity Problems. Annoying.

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