t400 - staying connected to a wireless network

I've been fishing the internet on this topic and saw some past advise on the Lenovo site for a writer with a situation that seemed exactly like mine. They said to do this:

1) download a new driver for the wifi card at
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2964&lang=eng

2) and/or do this: "change the Wireless Mode ( http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/wlan/sb/cs-025787.htm) for the wireless card from Default settings (which were 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g) to ONLY 802.11b and 802.11g."

So I started out at #1, following the download instructions from the link, which the system seemed to do, but (sorry for being so literal!) I don't know what to do next. Do you need to run something or activate something? I let it download to some default location but I could do it again if that would be better.

I haven't tried #2 yet...That also seems daunting but I haven't read the link yet and hope to learn about how to access a wireless card default setting.

So far no answer from the Lenovo forum in the original post where I picked up the advice so I hope one of you guys can help me out...haven't failed to yet! Maybe you think this is a bad idea?

Many Thanks.

(btw I'm running vista-business)

 

I have been experiencing problems connecting, and staying connected to wifi with my t400. is this a work around for all three wifi cards? I went with the Intel WiFi Link 5100

 

The thread at Lenovo was about the 5300 which is what I have.

 

I have zero issues with my card—try shutting off any Power Saving for the Wireless Adapter in the Windows’ Power Options.

 

My 'Power Manager' is set to 'highest performance'. Is that what you mean? I don't know how to find anything about the Wireless Adapter in the Power Manager menu.

I also can't do the #2 bit about 'change the Wireless Mode'. I have 'Intel PROSet Wireless Tools' but 'Wifi Connection Utility' is not one of the options.

Thanks!

 

if you want to play around with your wireless card-

control panel>>network connections>>wireless network
connection>>properties>>configure>>advanced

this will bring you the configuration options for your card. you will find the wireless mode at the bottom of the list of configuration options. you will need to uncheck use default value.

i would frankly be surprised if this helped, but give it a try!

personally, i don't think the intel proset software is that good. i don't have it installed. i just installed the intel driver for the 5300, and let windows take care of the wireless connections.

 

ooow 000111, yummy, I'm at a new place in my computer!

1) There was an option to search the computer and internet to 'Update Driver' and the system said I had the best one already installed. So I'm ok there?

2) There's a check box in Power Management that says to allow the system to turn off this device to save power. Should I un-check that?

3) I clicked everything I see to click and couldn't locate anything about this: "change the Wireless Mode ( http://www.intel.com/support/wireles.../cs-025787.htm) for the wireless card from Default settings (which were 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g) to ONLY 802.11b and 802.11g."

 

1) i don't believe that windows does a perfect job of driver updates. if you want to be sure you have the latest driver, go to the intel website and download it. you can compare the date of your current driver to the release of the intel driver. my driver is 7/8/08, for instance. there is a more recent driver, released 10/8/08, but since my wireless has been working well, i'm not going to update the driver.

2) i would leave that checked. your computer should not be turning off the wireless while you are using it. but keep that in mind as something to experiment with if all else fails.

3) hehe. you will not see that. you will see a list when you get to the advanced page (the second tab, power management being the last).
the first item on the list is; 802.11 channel width, or something like that. the last thing on the list is wireless mode. you can change your wireless mode there. you will have to uncheck use default value and click on the drop down menu.

 

000111 - FORGET #3 - I see where you were taking me. Thanks.

 

000111 - oops, I was typing while you were answering. re #1, I did download that driver but I don't know what to do next about 'run' or 'load' or something...

Many Thanks again for your patience and followup!

 

i think the intel drivers are pretty easy to use. just double click on the downloaded file, select to let it run if windows complains, and follow the prompts (usually a reboot after installation).

remember also that it may not be your computer- the router can get weird as well. wireless tends to be a bit finicky and is a bit of an 'art' as well as a science. every couple months, for instance, i have to reset my linksys for no apparent reason.

you could also try using windows to control your wireless connectivity. go to control panel>>network connections>>wireless network connection>>properties>>wireless networks>>then check use windows to configure my wireless network settings.

you might have better luck with that. you may have to input your password again, if you have one.

it would also help if i knew more about your problem. could you describe it in detail? do you have a lot of wireless networks in the vicinity?

 

Soooorry, this is going to get tedious for you! I double clicked my little heart out and ended up with a list of files...no exe or anything that looks familiar (DPINST32, IpROdIFx, 3 .DLL files, a catalog and security for NETw5v32 and .sys for NETw5v32. Double clicking on these is not really 'doing' anything.

I have been in the nine circles of hell with my isp (Verizon). They are not bad people...but I have to restart the connection, reboot the computer and/or the modem at least twice per day, and that is pitiful. I've had 2 new modems and 3 service tech visits. They are convinced it's interference although my several working positions are in the same room as the modem when this happens. I could go on. But I will spare you.

So left to try is:

1) figure out how to get that driver installed (can you give me any more guidance?)

2) change to let windows manage the network settings (I'll give that a try soon)

3) change that a-b-g to b-g (I'll try just the driver first)

ok, Thanks Again!

 

so, the file is called;
Intel® PRO/Wireless and WiFi Link Drivers-Only for Windows* XP (7127KB)

make sure that is the one you downloaded. when you unzip the file, you want to double click the exe file, which is called;
dpinst32.exe. you might have to look around a couple folders to find it.

good luck. wireless problems are a drag.

oh, and one more thing. if there are a lot of networks that the wireless card can connect to, it might be wandering from one to the other. under the configuration page for the wireless card, there is a roaming aggressiveness option, or something of the sort. setting this to the lowest point possible might help in this situation. just another guess.

 

Done! Now let's see if I can get through the night without having to re-connect. One 'thing' at a time. Hope you have a great evening. Good deeds make for sweet sleep.

 

Hi 000111, are you here this morning? I didn't work much last night and am ok this morning (fingers crossed?!) but I would like to see what you mean by the last paragraph because I do have many nearby wireless networks.

I can follow the first directions you gave me:

control panel>>network connections>>wireless network connection>>properties>>configure>>advanced

but along the way I'm not seeing anything like a roaming aggressiveness option. Can you please give me another hint on that one? THANK YOU!

 

once you are at the advanced page- it will be on the property list, you will have to scroll to about midway down. it is called;
roaming aggressiveness.

you can try to turn it all the way down and see if that helps.

 

I don't have any of these issues, could this be a hardware problem that you are having?