Sony Vaio Z wireless issue

I have a sony vaio Z, its the vgn-z650n. I have it loaded with Windows 7 Ultimate. I am having a strange issue with the wireless. I will have sudden speed decreases and/or the internet will stop all together. The wireless connection is never actually dropped. When I have it hooked up with ethernet, it works perfectly fine with no issues. I never seemed to have the issue before, and I've had Windows 7 for a while, so not sure if its a driver issue. My internet was recently changed to cable and is MUCH faster than before, I think that is why I am noticing it more. Any and all suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

If you're still running on the Windows 7 default driver, try updating your drivers.. is your card an Atheros, Intel, or Broadcom?

 

I believe it is the intel (shows Intel Wifi Link 5100 AGN in device manager). And I do have the most current wireless driver from Sony.

 

I can almost guarantee that these drivers are newer than the ones on the Sony site, they were released January 7, 2010... try these.. *64-bit* and *32-bit*

But as far as loosing connectivity, you say it doesn't drop the connection totally, but can you still ping when this problem happens?

 

Thanks for the link! those are newer drivers than what I have. My internet will just stop working, but windows shows that I am still connected to the router with internet access. I having not tried to ping a sight when this happens. Even with this new driver, after doing a speed test with ethernet plugged in its downloading at 24000kbps but with only wireless its at 14000kbps. Maybe this is normal? Thanks for the quick replies!

 

Eh, I wouldn't say that's normal. The only thing wireless does is increase latency but even then it's negligible. Which router do you have? And what are your DNS addresses if you don't mind me asking... You could always try OpenDNS or GoogleDNS. The DNS on most cable provider's networks are really bad judging by latency and time to resolve.

Google DNS:
8.8.4.4
8.8.8.8

OpenDNS:
208.67.220.220
208.67.222.222

 

It could be my router. Its just a $20 Airlink 101 router. How do I find my DNS address?

 

Right click on the network icon on the taskbar and select "Open Network and Sharing Center". In that window click on the highlighted network icon that should say whatever your wireless connection is called...



Then once that box comes up click properties..



Now highlight TCP/IP on IPv4 and click properties..



Now click "Use the following addresses:" and input your own, and you will have effectively bypassed your cable provider's DNS services...

Now close all that and press the windows key + r and bring up a run box. Type in CMD and it will launch a Command Window. type in
"ipconfig /release" now watch it do it's thing...
"ipconfig /renew" now it will reacquire network addresses and flush out all the old ones.. Now it should work lickety split.

 

Thanks!! I dont think you could have made that any easier. I used the google DNS you provided above. I'll have to do a speed test now. With the new drivers the internet has not slowed down or stopped like it did before.

 

Glad it's working! You can try PingTest.net. It will give you a GREAT idea of the quality of your connection, or if you need to call the cable company to see if they can improve the quality of your line. Below is my test on an AT&T EDGE connection.. HORRIBLE! On cable your pings should be under 50ms and jitter should be a lot lower than mine as well.