Wireless Internet Issues (Part 1,428,839)

[Vince]

So...I'm not really sure what the deal is with my computer. I have a wireless internet connection, and the connection is typically pretty weak, but serviceable. Since Tuesday, the connection is actually showing as stronger than ever - "Good" or "Very Good" instead of the usual "Poor." However...I can't connect reliably to anything. Internet sites either fail to load completely, or get a small bit of the site loaded then hang interminably (no failure to connect dialogue...it just hangs trying to load). iTunes tries to connect until I tell it to stop. My online computer games will begin to load, get to the "Success!" dialogue and then hang there until I shut them down.

All the while, the connection shows in my lower right corner that it's strong as heck. All the other computers in the house are having no problems. I have no Anti-virus software (something I've been meaning to rectify), but I have analyzed all of the processes running in my Task Manager, and can find no malicious processes that could possibly be interfering with my connection.

Any ideas? I've been meaning to replace the computer...but I was hoping to put that off for a few weeks yet.

[stevew]

Typically in situations like these, I re-install the software/drivers for the problematic area. Works most of the time, anyways.

[flere-imsaho]

Are you automatically connecting to a neighbor's network that, while stronger than your own, is not actually letting you have a valid IP?

[MJ4H]

Could aslo be interference from an appliance like a microwave or washing machine. You could try changing the wireless channel in your router settings.

[Alan T]

If you are kind of able to connect to the internet (stuff starts to load, but eventually times out or just hangs), then you are getting an IP address. Since the signal is strong, it doesn't sound like wireless signal strength.

You might be getting some interference like some suggested.. Something else you may want to consider though.. since you seem to have had a trojan on your computer recently anyways due to having no anti-virus software and the info about your WoW account being hacked, etc.. You might actually still have a virus on your system.

Sometimes what happens if you have an infected system, when you connect up, it will be actively trying to do various things because of that virus which eats up a decent amount of your bandwidth. You may want to load up your computer, and not actively do anything on it (Don't load itunes or a webpage, or any game or such), and then pull up your Wireless network connection status window. Watch the activity window to see how many packets are sent and received. If even without actively doing anything, if you see an extremely high amount of traffic being passed.. your system might just be best to just be wiped and rebuilt.

Don't mean to scare you, and normally I would look at other options before anything like this, but based on your previous experience it is something that popped into my head.

[sachmo71]

Does this happen with all types of browsers? If you haven't already, put firefox on that machine and see if it can connect. Also, plug it into the router and see if it's still having the same issues. I had an issue where my network connected fine, but I wasn't getting any pages. Turned out it was a conflict with another network. All I had to do was change my channel.

[Vince]

I already know the Microwave destroys my connection when it's in use...this is something different. I've installed / re-installed the drivers, and it remains the same problem. I'm also on the right network...I've tried the other networks in my range with no success either. Both IE and Firefox hang like this, so it's not a browser specific thing.

I am getting a pretty large amount of packets being sent out, so it looks like Alan might have it right. I've been meaning to get a new computer, this will just fast-forward the decision making process. Sigh.

[flere-imsaho]

Yeah, given what you've said you've tried, I'm going to have to go with Alan.

[Vince]

So I've noticed something strange. I'm sending a ton of packets, but I'm not receiving any in return. Actually zero packets received. This change the prognosis at all?

The fact that I put together a system I'd like to purchase and it's around $3,000 sort of increases my motivation to make the old one continue to work for a while

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by Vince

So I've noticed something strange. I'm sending a ton of packets, but I'm not receiving any in return. Actually zero packets received. This change the prognosis at all?

The fact that I put together a system I'd like to purchase and it's around $3,000 sort of increases my motivation to make the old one continue to work for a while

No, it doesn't necessarily change anything as far as what your system is doing. If you send packets out and don't receive any, that could also be a traditional network connectivity issue of some sort for you as well.

I wasn't necessarily saying though that you HAD to buy a new system. One option you could have is just simply rebuild your current one. That in itself should restore it back to original operating state as long as you have no hardware issues. Just save off anything you need to keep, and wipe the entire system. Re-install the OS and re-install the base set of applications you use at first. See if the problems still exist or have gone away.

[Vince]

Yeah, I know. But I've been meaning to buy a new one anyways. This is a good enough excuse to do that.