Wireless is Connected but Internet Connection Repeatedly Drops

[Slapnut]

Right, I have a Netgear DG834Gv2 ADSL router connected to my PC, and I connect to the internet wirelessly on my laptop. The wireless has worked without trouble for a year but recently the internet connection drops every few minutes even though the wireless is still connected.

I've done all the petty little things like restarting the router, getting new wires etc. but nothing seems to solve the problem. I've even had a Ralink Wireless LAN Card installed, but it isn't solving the problem.

PC is an eMachines computer running on Windows XP, laptop is a Packard Bell also running on Windows XP, but I don't think that information would help as I haven't changed anything to either.

Help would be greatly appreciated,
Josh.

[Snurfen]

Welcome to CTH Josh

Have you monitored the connection via the admin pages of your router?
Does the internet connection drop there or does the desktop still work on the internet and the laptop doesn't?

[Slapnut]

No it's disconnecting on the desktop too.

It reconnects immediately after it disconnects, but obviously it's a real pain, especially if your in the middle of doing something.

[bAdWaYz]

Have you installed SP2 on either computer? Are there allot of other wireless networks in your area? You said your connection is adsl yes what MTU setting do you have in the router? Is there a keep alive setting that you need to set in order for your connection to stay active all the time?

[Slapnut]

I have SP2 on my laptop but I'm not sure of my desktop.
My neighbour also has wireless, but they have done for longer than me and I have only started to experience this problem recently.
And to be honest, I haven't got a clue what the MTU and Keep Alive settings are lol.

[Snurfen]

bAd, I was going to suggest going to the admin pages and watching the connection, see if it's up and down lie a brides nightdress.

On the pc, make sure it's connected to the router via a cat5 cable and type the address in a browser 192.168.1.1
The default account and password is admin admin on a Netgear, I think.

Go to the Status or connection page (can't remember - I'm on a Linksys right now) and watch the connection to see if it goes up and down as experienced on the laptop.

Try the original router supplied by the ISP/Telco and see if the same symptoms persist.
Also ask your ISP/Telco for a line test.

[Slapnut]

When logging into the router it doesn't actually show the connection.

[Snurfen]

Goign from memory here, but I think it's either connection or status down the left hand pane - I'll look up the instructions for yours (unless you have it handy).

Who is your ISP btw?

[Snurfen]

Better still, have a clicky and see what Netgear have to say about this very problem - their troubleshooting looks pretty damn hot!

[Slapnut]

Netgear's troubleshooting doesn't help in the slightest.

My ISP is AOL.

I logged into the router, went to router status but nothing seems to be changing.

[Slapnut]

UPDATE: It doesn't seem to be affecting some internet programs such as Internet Explorer and Ares, but it is affecting AOL and MSN Messenger, which is disconnecting every 30 seconds.

[Snurfen]

PASS - never touch AOL myself cos it's a rubbish service.

As for it affecting only a few net applications - seems unlikely to be a conection issue. What have you upgraded or installed recently? IE7 by any chance?

[Slapnut]

I upgraded Internet Explorer today and also installed Service Pack 2 today, but I've had this problem for a few weeks now.

And yeah, AOL is bad. I'm getting rid of it soon.

[bAdWaYz]

You might want to see if any software firewalls are blocking traffic for your AIM or MSN. Those type apps need to have an open connection to stay alive and some of them send out packets every so often just to keep connected.

[Slapnut]

Checked all that. Disabled my firewall. That shouldn't be the problem though as I've been running firewall way before the problem began.