Well, as I suspected, I did nothing.  I restored the computer back to its original state through the Dell PC Restore by Symantec utility, added no other programs except the updates from microsoft auto update (and there were 49 updates), installed the router and upgraded the firmware to v 1.0.3.5, and the speeds are still erratic.  Wonder if it has anything to do with any of the updates like possibly the update for XP Service Pack 2 or the firmware upgrade?  Anyone having this problem or have any ideas?

 

Husky, what other information might you need to troubleshoot?

 

thanks for any and all help.......thomas

Tom,

 

Your Dell 1500 and Netgear 834B both use the Broadcom chip infini family. so they should work together a lot better than my Dell 1500 and Belkin N1 Atheros chip.

 

My speed also varies but no lower than 108 . This is due to interference from noise and networks close by.

 

Try a simple power cycle to see if it will help you. Could be a sync problem. Pull the power plug off the modem, router and then power them up, modem first. wait about a minute then router.

 

If you do get 270 occasionally then you do have n speed. You just to get it stabilize it there.

A user posted this solution back in November. See if it helps you.

Solution for Dell 1500 Wireless + Netgear WNR 834 B router (Rangemax NEXT)