Wireless - signal strength, kinda funny

kamojamo · Dec 9, 2008, 09:11 AM

I don't know about you but I find this funny.

Right now I'm on a cheap, old-ish, Toshiba Sattelite with dodgy 54mbps wireless lan connected to the internet via a wireless router.

This laptop is sitting on top of my desktop PC, where the signal reaching the laptop and the desktop should be exactly the same, the antenna are within inches of each other.

The PC is quite nice, it's specs are easily better than the laptops in every way, cpu speed, amount of ram, amount of hdd space, graphics card and, importantly, the wireless card. In this PC it is a D-Link DWA-556 "Xtreme N Pci Express Desktop Adapter". A wireless N card.

On the laptop, sitting right here, internet browsing is a breeze, files download quickly, files on other computers are accessible quickly and easily through the network.

On the computer, next to the laptop, browsing the network freezes explorer or it loads just the pc i'm on, internet explorer wont even load the homepage, outlook stays at 0% when sending receiving. OCCASIONALLY i can get a small document through the network after waiting forever (and several tries). Vista says it's connected to the network and it appears everything is correct.

The best bit is, the router is a wireless N Xtreme router to, in fact: the router from the exact same series - they were supposed to go together seemlessly.

The funny part, my laptop, with rubbish, stock, slow, basic wireless works perfectly next to this desktop and I just looked over and next to the PC is the box the pci express wireless card came in which reads "6 X Range, 14 X Speed". hahahaha

Any suggestions as to why this is being a PAIN IN THE ASS!!! haha.

take care

kamojamo

Polaris573 · Dec 10, 2008, 06:07 AM

Are you able to ping the router or otherwise connect to it in any way?

Pinchy · Dec 10, 2008, 06:34 AM

Sounds like a driver problem to me. Uninstall drivers for the Dlink, downloaded latest of Dlink site and install them.

I have the same WLAN card and from downstairs, it gets 76% signal strength to my wireless N router. A centrino G laptop gets about the same signal (if not better). I don't know why its the case, I find it stupid. That being said tho, the N card obviously has a faster network connection.

mrhuggles · Dec 10, 2008, 09:32 AM

does wireless N have anything like g-mode protection?

francis511 · Dec 10, 2008, 10:11 AM

Could be anything. Tried slowly going thru all the router`s settings?

mrhuggles · Dec 10, 2008, 10:31 AM

i remember when i got my first router, i googled every single feature 1 by 1 cuz i was really curious about everything, it was fun

Dec 9, 2008, 09:11 AM	#1
kamojamo Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 75 (0.04/day) Thanks: 57 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts System Specs	Wireless - signal strength, kinda funny I don't know about you but I find this funny. Right now I'm on a cheap, old-ish, Toshiba Sattelite with dodgy 54mbps wireless lan connected to the internet via a wireless router. This laptop is sitting on top of my desktop PC, where the signal reaching the laptop and the desktop should be exactly the same, the antenna are within inches of each other. The PC is quite nice, it's specs are easily better than the laptops in every way, cpu speed, amount of ram, amount of hdd space, graphics card and, importantly, the wireless card. In this PC it is a D-Link DWA-556 "Xtreme N Pci Express Desktop Adapter". A wireless N card. On the laptop, sitting right here, internet browsing is a breeze, files download quickly, files on other computers are accessible quickly and easily through the network. On the computer, next to the laptop, browsing the network freezes explorer or it loads just the pc i'm on, internet explorer wont even load the homepage, outlook stays at 0% when sending receiving. OCCASIONALLY i can get a small document through the network after waiting forever (and several tries). Vista says it's connected to the network and it appears everything is correct. The best bit is, the router is a wireless N Xtreme router to, in fact: the router from the exact same series - they were supposed to go together seemlessly. The funny part, my laptop, with rubbish, stock, slow, basic wireless works perfectly next to this desktop and I just looked over and next to the PC is the box the pci express wireless card came in which reads "6 X Range, 14 X Speed". hahahaha Any suggestions as to why this is being a PAIN IN THE ASS!!! haha. take care kamojamo

System Name:	Jamo's Beast
Processor:	Core2Duo E6750 (2.66Ghz, 1333fsb, 4mb l2c, 2 phys core)
Motherboard:	Asus P5K-SE (intel p35 cs, 1333fsb, ddr2 1066mhz, PCI Ex, SATA 2)
Cooling:	exhaust tricool on slow
Memory:	2 X 1GB Kingston Hyper-X 1066mhz (only running at 800 due to mobo)
Video Card:	Gigabyte Radeon HD3850 512MB
Hard Disk:	WesternDigital 250 GB SATA 2
Optical Drive:	LG DVD DL Burner SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	SAMSUNG SyncMaster 730B (17")
Case:	Antec NSK 4400
Sound Card:	OnBoard 8 channel (also have an SB Live for it's MIDI Port)
PSU:	Antec EarthWatts 550w
Software:	Windows Vista

Dec 10, 2008, 06:07 AM	#2
Polaris573 Senior Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Little Rock, USA Posts: 3,284 (1.09/day) Thanks: 68 Thanked 765 Times in 451 Posts System Specs	Are you able to ping the router or otherwise connect to it in any way? __________________ Lector benevole, legum servi sumus ut liberi esse possimus. Accipere quam facere praestat injuriam Fold for Techpowerup!

Processor:	LGA 775 Intel E6550 Core2 Duo "Conroe" 2.33Ghz 4MB L2 Cache
Motherboard:	Abit IX38 QuadGT -- Intel X38 Chipset
Cooling:	Arctic Freezer
Memory:	6GB G.Skill DDRII 800 4-4-3-5
Video Card:	Sapphire HD 4850 512 MB PCI-E
Hard Disk:	1 TB Seagate 32MB Cache, 250 GB Seagate 16MB Cache
Optical Drive:	Asus DVD Burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer X203w
Case:	Coolermaster Centurion 5
Sound Card:	Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music
PSU:	OCZ StealthXStream 600 Watt
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Dec 10, 2008, 06:34 AM	#3
Pinchy Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sydney, Australia Posts: 4,650 (1.80/day) Thanks: 302 Thanked 360 Times in 344 Posts System Specs	Sounds like a driver problem to me. Uninstall drivers for the Dlink, downloaded latest of Dlink site and install them. I have the same WLAN card and from downstairs, it gets 76% signal strength to my wireless N router. A centrino G laptop gets about the same signal (if not better). I don't know why its the case, I find it stupid. That being said tho, the N card obviously has a faster network connection. __________________ mATX rig: TT Lanbox Lite, GA-G33M-DS2R, q9300, 4GB G.Skill Pi PC8000, 2x640GB Samsung F1's in RAID 0, LG 20x DVD+/RW, HIS IceQ HD4670 512MB, Gigabyte G-Power PRO, TT 450W TR2 RX Modular PSU HTPC: i-Cute iBox, GA-MA780GM-S2H, 4850e, 2GB G.Skill PC6400, 1x640GB WD SE16, Onboard HD3200, D-link XtremeN PCIe, Leadtek WinFast DVR3100 H Tuner, 450W Vantec PSU Server: Custom made case, EPIA Mini-ITX mobo, 1GHz VIA, 1GB PC2700 SO-DIMM, 1TB WD, Gigabit PCI LAN card, 60W 12V AC adapter

System Name:	UltraPC
Processor:	E8500 Core 2 Duo, 1333Mhz FSB, 3.16Ghz @ 4.5GHz (got into Windows @ 4.75GHz)
Motherboard:	ASUS P5Q-e
Cooling:	CPU Cooler - TT V14 Pro, 2x120mm CM Blue LED fans, 1x90mm CM Blue LED fan
Memory:	G.Skill Pi 4GB (2x2GB) Dual Channel DDR2 PC8000 (1000MHz), 5-5-5-15
Video Card:	Sapphire HD4850 512mb with ASUS EAH4850 BIOS
Hard Disk:	2x 500GB Seagate 7200.12 Raid 0
Optical Drive:	Dual layer 22x SATA II Samsung DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Acer AL1912, 19" LCD screen
Case:	Thermaltake Soprano Black ATX case
Sound Card:	Onboard 7.1, Speakers - 5 + Sub + Monitor speakers
PSU:	Thermaltake 850W Toughpower Cable Management - Quad (2x18A and 2x30A) 12V rails
Software:	Win 7 Pro x64, MSN, CS:Source, etc etc

Dec 10, 2008, 09:32 AM	#4
mrhuggles Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,519 (0.74/day) Thanks: 32 Thanked 181 Times in 172 Posts System Specs	does wireless N have anything like g-mode protection? __________________ CPU-Z validation sig pics temporarily blocked

System Name:	HP Pavilion dv6-3250us
Processor:	Intel Core i5 480M 1.06ghz - 2.93ghz
Motherboard:	HP 144C
Memory:	G.Skill 8192 MB DDR3 Dual Channel 532.2 MHz (4:16) @ 7-7-7-20
Video Card:	Intel HD 766mhz
Hard Disk:	TOSHIBA MK7559GSXP (750GB)
Optical Drive:	hp CDDVDW TS-L633R
CRT/LCD Model:	15.6" 1366x768
Case:	Toshiba Pavilion dv6
Sound Card:	IDT
PSU:	6cell 55WHr
Software:	Windows 7 Home Premium

Dec 10, 2008, 10:11 AM	#5
francis511 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: N.Ireland Posts: 2,363 (0.98/day) Thanks: 145 Thanked 277 Times in 257 Posts System Specs	Could be anything. Tried slowly going thru all the router`s settings? __________________

Processor:	Core I5 750
Motherboard:	MSI P55-A FUZION
Cooling:	Titan Fenrir
Memory:	8 gb Hyper X 1600
Video Card:	Geforce GTX 275
Hard Disk:	OCZ Vertex 2 40g SSD /74g Raptor /1 TB samsung F3 /320g suxxor (Maxtor)
Optical Drive:	USB dvd-rw
CRT/LCD Model:	Viewsonic VX2260wm
Case:	Xigmatek midgard
Sound Card:	X-fi Titanium
PSU:	Corsair 950 w (Hur Hur !)
Software:	Windows se7en

Dec 10, 2008, 10:31 AM	#6
mrhuggles Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,519 (0.74/day) Thanks: 32 Thanked 181 Times in 172 Posts System Specs	i remember when i got my first router, i googled every single feature 1 by 1 cuz i was really curious about everything, it was fun __________________ CPU-Z validation sig pics temporarily blocked

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Overclocking is Easy! Get Results!	Kursah	Overclocking & Cooling	131	May 12, 2010 12:14 AM
Basic Network guide	Mussels	Articles	29	Jan 28, 2008 03:14 AM
Wireless router/adapter problem.	Cybie1111	General Hardware	10	Jan 20, 2007 09:19 PM
ASUS Launches World's First Wireless Music Skype Phone	malware	News	1	Sep 19, 2006 07:45 PM
How to improve wireless signal	FLY3R	General Hardware	8	Jun 13, 2006 05:20 AM