Wireless Adapter Problem

Hi guys! I have an ASUS F3Tc notebook, with an Atheros AR5006EG 802.11g adapter connected to a D-Link DI-524 router. I'm using Windows XP SP2, and update it on a regular basis. The network has been working great for the past month, excellent signal everywhere in the house. A couple of days ago, I noticed that my internet connection dropped, and thought that I got disconnected from the router. The weird thing was that Windows showed the notebook as connected, receiving excellent signal. I tried pinging the router, but got no response. I then tried searching for wireless networks, but none came up. After this, I disabled and re-enabled the adapter using both the notebook's built-in switch as well as Network Connections. Even after doing this, no network was found. I then restarted the notebook, and everything went back to normal for a few hours. After that, same thing happened. I updated the drivers with the latest stable ones from the manufacturer's website, switched the broadcasting channel from my router, unplugged my wireless mouse, but no luck. I'm sure this problem isn't caused by the router because there are 7 wireless networks in my area, and after the signal is lost, I can't see any of them. A bit before this started happening, I did a BIOS update and installed 1 GB of ram. Although I don't think that's the issue, you never know. Help is greatly apreciated guys. This drives me crazy..

 

Try switching the channel of the router.Can you stay connect when connected directly to the router ?

 

Thanks for the reply. Switched the channel, same thing happens. I can stay connected to the router directly.

 

Here are some suggestions:

1. Enter your BIOS and reset to default values. Reboot. Enter your BIOS and apply any custom BIOS settings.

2. Remove your wireless card (drivers only if it's an internal card) and reinstall.

3. Consider flashing back to the previous BIOS to see if the problem disappears.

 

Hey kegobeer, thanks for the advice.
1. I did this right after flashing.
2. The card is internal. Tried different versions of drivers, but no go.
3. I would, but my old BIOS is nowhere to be found .

Could this be a problem of overheating?

 

Try this driver and see if it helps any.
ftp://lizzi555.dyndns.org/Download/WLAN/Atheros/atheros_xp32-5.3.0.56-whql/

 

Unfortunately, that's the driver I'm currently using. Thanks for searching though.

 

What are you using to control the wireless?

 

The default windows client. I've been using it in the past as well, when there were no problems.

 

You might want to give the Atheros Client Utility a try.

http://notebook.free-driver-downloa...-Client-Utility-4.1.1.231i153-Windows-XP.html

I have this installed on both my Thinkpad and Inspiron, and it works great with the driver I suggested prior.

 

Thanks! I'll try that as soon as I get to my notebook. Damn, I wish I had it with me . Any other suggestions in the meantime?

 

Well, I tried changing the application, but still no-go. I think I'll try a clean windows install tomorrow. If that doesn't help, at least I know it's not software that's causing the issue.

 

That's what I'd do now if that driver and client utility didn't do it.

 

Doesn't ASUS have all old BIOS versions listed on their website? Usually a manufacturer has at least the last few updates available for download.

 

Unfortunately, the only ones available for the F3Tc are the latest two. The one I used to have was a bit older than these, but if all else fails, I'll try flashing with the second one.

 

A lot of times they will provide it to you upon request.

I know what your going through, I ran in the same type of problem with my averatec. After PM every one I could find on forums I finally got one 2 3 weeks latter. I have since been providing to users on request along with the service manual. I found that since floppy drives are no longer common no ones know the procedures on how to backup the BIOS any more.

Averatec won't give you the time of day.

 

Thanks for the tip. I'll try mailing them about it.

 

Well, apparently the clean install did the trick. Thanks for all the support guys. I'm happy things got back to normal. However, I can't stand but wonder what caused it..

 

Who knows - with Windows it's hard to say. The OS was probably mad at you for something.

 

Do you use any "housecleaning" software like CCleaner or any Registry cleaners to keep Windows humming?

 

I was wrong in my previous post. Clean install didn't fix it. It happened again today . Looks like my only option now is a BIOS downgrade.