HP G7000 Wireless Internet Connection Problems

I have been having this problem for a long time now and a friend pointed me here to beg for some advice. My internet connection works fine for general browsing purposes and i have a good quality of signal strength where i usually use it.

The problem is, every time i run a game such as Football Manager or World of Warcraft my internet connection will be lost. This can happen as soon as 5 minuites after starting the game or can take up to an hour, but without fail it will happen. After this disconnection my wireless adaptor is still shown as being turned on however i am unable to detect any networks in range. The problem is not solved by turning the adaptor on and off and i am forced to restart the system.

I'm not sure what the cause of the problem might be, CPU and memory usage looks normal. I was wondering if perhaps overheating could cause issues like this? My laptop is generally quite warm but with the graphics card coming into play as well... I tested the internet connection whilst connected to world of warcraft but keeping the game minimised and i was not disconnected. I also installed Speedfan to monitor my core temperature and it measures at 55C idle, but after one minuite of switching to and playing the game this rose to around 75C. Not sure if i should include anything else sorry if i overloaded this a little but not very good with computers so wasn't sure what info i should include. Thanks in advance!

Oh almost forgot, its a Broadcom device. The driver version 5.10.38.26

 

That could be a tough one, but from the info you’ve provided it definitely sounds heat related. Here are a few things you might try.

Easy stuff first:

1. If available, use the unit in a cooler environment while gaming.
2. Make sure all of your vents are clear.
3. Try raising the rear of the unit to increase airflow. (Book etc… )
4. Get a can of air and try blowing the unit out if you’ve had it a while.
5. If your notebook has a fan option in the BIOS, select “Always On”.
6. Try removing the access door to the wireless card. (But do not let anything touch it when powered !! )
7. Try using a notebook cooler.
8. Last, this is a (perhaps silly) shot in the dark, but go to the wireless device in Device Manager and through the Properties/Advanced….. set your wireless type to match only what you use for gaming (i.e. if you’re gaming in “G” set “G only” as opposed to “B” & “G”). If you have “N” and are not using it, turn it off. Set Transmit and Roaming settings to “Moderate” or the minimum you need to get good wireless throughput if the wireless router/gateway is very near by. The thought is to try and minimize the power output (i.e. heat generation). Perhaps it may have some minimal effect and perhaps it won’t…. but it’s easy enough to try.

If none of that helps:

1. While on the wireless, stress the CPU using something other than one of your games. If your wireless still works, then you’ve narrowed it down to your wireless card and the GPU. If it fails then you know that it’s a general heat issue.
2. While on the wireless, stress the GPU using something other than one of your games. If your wireless fails with the GPU stressed, then you know that (for whatever reason) GPU heat (in conjunction with the CPU) is affecting the wireless.

If it turns out that heat (CPU, GPU, or combination of both) is/are killing the wireless card and you can’t keep it cool, then if the unit it is still in warranty send it in for repair. They might replace the wireless card and clean the internal components. If not, consider taking the unit apart and cleaning the fans. No Fun !!

Best of luck…..

 

Thanks alot for the advice. I'm trying the stress tests now, just to see if i can work out what the issue is. Currently running wPrime to max out CPU and the temperature is running at 82C after twenty mins but no disconnection yet.

I realise the conditions i usually use this in are far from ideal since i dont have a desk here. I will be moving to my student house in a week or so though and that should help things a little. Very cool house and i should have a desk free wherever i use it. I'm no longer under warranty so i will be trying my hardest to keep it cool if that does turn out to be the problem. If all else fails i may end up using a USB wireless adaptor when playing these games but i'm not sure if that will help matters. Going to try out using my brothers at some point to see if it helps maintain a stable connection. Thats very much a last resort though.

 

Well A. a USB or PCMIA or Expresscard adapter would in a way allow you to maintain your connectin as it is an external device nd your problemis internal.

USB - you could even use an extension lead

Alternatively its the laptop cooler - it does make a difference, my grandfather got one for one of our old laptops - so if you consider one, head over to accessories.

 

Thanks Detlev, i know it would solve the problem but im a bit strapped for cash at the moment and not sure how much a decent quality adaptor would cost. When my student loan comes in i will be in a better position. Laptop cooler does sound like a good option though and one i will certainly look into if i cant get it down enough by other methods.

In terms of the testing i am not sure what i could use to test the GPU. The CPU test, i maxed it out with the wPrime 1024M test which lasted 2015 seconds (about 33 minuites). No disconnection from the internet although i was briefly knocked off msn messenger.. but that was probably just a coincidence. The CPU temperature according to speedfan raised to and settled at 82C.

 

Ok the temperature must have been the problem, thanks a lot for the help, i have not cleaned it out yet or invested in a laptop cooler but just using it in a better environment and raising the back of it has meant that the connection lasts much longer than it used too. Still does overheat eventually but im going to try out the other cooling methods after i move out next weekend to sort it out properly. I have had it almost a year and a half and its not been cleaned out yet (after some rather heavy use on carpets / laps). Thanks alot for the help!

 

Well A. using a laptop on your lap shouldn't be a problem.
(I doubt your trousers are dusty)

But carpets are a "good ourceof dust".
So are bed - or areas close to beds.

Oddly enough, some laptops collect a lot of dust and others very little.

 

Yeah well its seen plenty of time on both beds and carpets so i guess it may need doing. Problem is im going to have to take it all apart to clean it out i think, it doesnt have a fan access panel. Im not sure if i can get away with just taking the keyboard and the upper panel off though, the manual says to take out the hard and optic drives first, who knows!

 

You're going to have to take apart EVERYTHING to get to the fan. I have opened up two HPs and there's a whole lotta stuff to remove, including the mobo.

Simplest approach: Blast a can of compressed air into the vents.

 

Vacuum cleaner works too.

The only danger is that the fan may spin too hard and it could damage the baring.

 

Hmm thanks, yeah i noticed that when i checked the service manual, do you think its worth taking the risk of damaging it? How likely is it that ill damage the barings?