Specs:
Gateway Laptop with XP Home
Avaya Gold Wireless PC Card
Microsoft MN-500 Wireless Base Station
Westell Wirespeed DSL Modem
Laptop is connected to the Base Station via wireless with the Avaya card. This computer (that I'm posting from) still has a solid connection via Ethernet to the same router.
My wireless network just collapsed. One minute I was working online, and the next all my connections were terminated and I was left with no wireless connection.
I tried pulling out the Avaya Wireless Card and re-inserting it to force the drivers to reload. I got an alert saying that one or more wireless networks were available, but when I tried to connect to it, it disappeared again.
I rebooted. When I got back up, I was connected to the internet again via the wireless connection. The connection lasted about two minutes (long enough to open my browser and connect with Trillian and Teamspeak) but then it died again. Nothing.
I went over to the router and unplugged it (would have done this sooner, but I didn't want to have to reprogram it again), waited 30 seconds, and plugged it in again. A minute later after it's warmed up, I get the notification that a wireless network is available. I tell it to connect (have to confirm it manually, since it's now unencrypted after the router reset), but it doesn't connect, and just gives me the notification that it's available again, asking me to confirm again as if it had just found the network again. No matter how many times I confirm, it just sends me instantly back to square one - the instant I connect to it, it disconnects and finds the network again, asking me if I want to connect.
I turn EVERYTHING off. The router, the modem, the computer. I wait a few minutes, and then plug it all back in again. When I turn the computer on, I have no wireless connections available. A few minutes later, it sudden;y appears and I manage to connect. The connection is solid, and fluctuates from Excellent to Very Good and back to Excellent. However, the connection lasts only a matter of seconds this time, and I don't even have time to load up Trillian before it drops it, and I'm back to the "One or more wireless connections available" confirmation boxing... fifteen minutes of frustrated configuration messing and troubleshooting later, the network just disappears again, and I'm left with no available networks.
That's where I'm at now... I need to know if it's a Hardware problem (and which piece of hardware if it is), a driver problem (and how to fix it if it is) or an OS problem (and if I should just kill myself now if it is, because there's no way I can reinstall and still save all my data this time). It is now 00:25 local time and I have less than 14 hours to figure it out and fix it at this point... the clock is ticking.
Gateway Laptop with XP Home
Avaya Gold Wireless PC Card
Microsoft MN-500 Wireless Base Station
Westell Wirespeed DSL Modem
Laptop is connected to the Base Station via wireless with the Avaya card. This computer (that I'm posting from) still has a solid connection via Ethernet to the same router.
My wireless network just collapsed. One minute I was working online, and the next all my connections were terminated and I was left with no wireless connection.
I tried pulling out the Avaya Wireless Card and re-inserting it to force the drivers to reload. I got an alert saying that one or more wireless networks were available, but when I tried to connect to it, it disappeared again.
I rebooted. When I got back up, I was connected to the internet again via the wireless connection. The connection lasted about two minutes (long enough to open my browser and connect with Trillian and Teamspeak) but then it died again. Nothing.
I went over to the router and unplugged it (would have done this sooner, but I didn't want to have to reprogram it again), waited 30 seconds, and plugged it in again. A minute later after it's warmed up, I get the notification that a wireless network is available. I tell it to connect (have to confirm it manually, since it's now unencrypted after the router reset), but it doesn't connect, and just gives me the notification that it's available again, asking me to confirm again as if it had just found the network again. No matter how many times I confirm, it just sends me instantly back to square one - the instant I connect to it, it disconnects and finds the network again, asking me if I want to connect.
I turn EVERYTHING off. The router, the modem, the computer. I wait a few minutes, and then plug it all back in again. When I turn the computer on, I have no wireless connections available. A few minutes later, it sudden;y appears and I manage to connect. The connection is solid, and fluctuates from Excellent to Very Good and back to Excellent. However, the connection lasts only a matter of seconds this time, and I don't even have time to load up Trillian before it drops it, and I'm back to the "One or more wireless connections available" confirmation boxing... fifteen minutes of frustrated configuration messing and troubleshooting later, the network just disappears again, and I'm left with no available networks.
That's where I'm at now... I need to know if it's a Hardware problem (and which piece of hardware if it is), a driver problem (and how to fix it if it is) or an OS problem (and if I should just kill myself now if it is, because there's no way I can reinstall and still save all my data this time). It is now 00:25 local time and I have less than 14 hours to figure it out and fix it at this point... the clock is ticking.