Intel Pro 2200 Problems

Wasn't that related to 802.x authentication being on?  Did you see my ver A 614+ has 2.18 firmware?

yeah, thanks for the info regarding the di-614+.  i'm testing out a new $20 524 at the moment.

I think I've narrowed my problems down to a new wireless network in the area -- netstumbler has never picked up anything before but I opened it up again when I started getting continual disconnects.  looks like some nice people in a house nearby have a 11g d-link router setup broadcasting on chan6 -- I wouldn't be surprised if it is channel bonding as well as  1 and 11 offer only marginal increases in stability for me.  It's pretty consistent with netstumbler: their signal increases, mine disconnects or lags.  I feel that intel could make better drivers, (as I don't think a wlan on the same channel should necessarily be the end of the world), but so be it.

Tomorrow I'm either going to hop in the car or walk around with my laptop (weather depending) and pinpoint the house in question.  Given they're currently unsecured (possible MAC filtering -- I can't get a clear enough signal to tell), I figure I can offer them some help in exchange for them killing the bonding and or moving to 1 or 11.

Oddly enough, if I enable CTS/RTS, stability improves dramatically but peak throughput takes a beating -- does CTS/RTS work for interference from other networks??  furthermore, why would it make a difference when I'm the only client on at the moment

Also, in regard to your other suggestions, 802.1x authentication is not possible with WPA-PSK enabled so it's really not something WPA users need to worry about unchecking.

I recently installed the Intel Pro/Wireless 2915ABG in by Inspiron 8200. Having a lot of problems with signal strength/speed. Tried changing settings, etc.

(We should be using the same drivers).

The only solution I have found is to change the setting for the Transmit power. It is supposed to be at max by default, but changing it seems to solve the problem. Unfortunately, I have to change it everytime I log off or shut down the system.

I think it is either:
1) a bug in the drivers
2) a planned degradation when the card is installed in a system that is not Centrino certified?

I read that fix elsewhere as well -- it doesn't really help much for me.  Going back to the 8.1.0.28 drivers (from 9 something) improved stability a lot but it's still less than perfect.  I would give those drivers a try (although you lose a lot of functionality and things like AES).   Gumble, intel needs to work this out

I've tried it with and without the Intel management utility. No difference.

I let Windows manage the connection instead of the Intel utility because the Intel utility doesn't play well with Windows. When I log off or shut down, I get the pop up box that [one of the Intel utility services] has not shut down and will be terminated in [whatever] seconds. Not fun.

Nope. Still needs the Transmit Power setting to be changed.
Starts with Signal Strength Low. Within a few seconds of changing the Transmit Power setting, Signal Strength goes to Excellent.

Let me modify my previous post. I was not using the Intel utility, but it was installed and even when not used, it runs services. I removed the utility (which removed the device), then reinstalled the device and manually installed the device drivers. Right now, it seems to be operating correctly. I logged off and back on with no loss of power or connectivity.

I'll just have to watch it to see if this is a solution.

Perhaps not. My speed keeps dropping too.

we've got different problems it seems -- my signal stregth is always excellent but the speed keeps dropping

i experienced all the problems mentioned with intel 2200bg card with slow downstepping
with wifi connection.

i have corrected the problem on my laptop and hope this will help others.

first my environment:
dell latitude d600 (even though this is latitude, i believe this is applicable to all)
2BG RAM
60G HD
Intel 2200BG Card
Win XP SP2

software installed was the intel 9.0.x version of the intel pro software where connections
would initially connect @ 54MB then downgrade to 1MB

the problem is the advanced "power" saving settings for the driver doesn't work.  when
doing the normal install/re-install the OS reverts to the old (newest driver 9.0.X).

how did i fix the problem?

1. download the intel pro 2200bg version 8 from the dell site. mine was dell file (R72810.EXE)

2. deinstall the intel pro software.  this should result in intel software uninstalled and
   no Wifi Card shown.

3. reboot your machine. when your machine reboots, it will find the 2200bg and want to
   reinstall the drivers. it will look for w29n51.inf.  most likely you will find this
   under WINDOWSOS\system32\reinstallbackups\ \Driverfiles.
   let windows reinstall the wifi card.

4. Change the driver for the wifi card

   Start > Settings > Control Panel > System
   Click on Hardware > click on "Device Manager"
   Expand "Network Adaptors > right mouse click on intel 2200bg > Update Driver
   Unzip the downloaded file from Dell > point the update driver screen to \Drivers\R72810\Drivers\WINXP

   This should revert the drivers to 8.0.12.12000

5. Install the 8.0 Intel software - Dellunzip\Drivers\R72810\Setup.exe

Make sure that you are left using the 8.0.12.12000 drivers.

I hope this helps all those who are having problems!

Please feel free to email me if you need more info:
jlpowell73@comcast.net

Cheers,
Jim
  

I had no problem uninstalling and reverting to the 8.xx version drivers.  The problem was much less severe but still less than optimal.  Fortunately, I bought from a sweet ebayer who is sending me a replacement card (slim hope that it's hardware related).    I'll post back regardless.