Wireless Settings (Problems...)

[WoLFe]

I'm no stranger to wireless/Vista problems now.

I am on my 4th wireless adapter/NIC, and it is the one taken out of my old computer. It is a Sitecom Wireless PCI Adapter, 54G 115-L. I have the latest Vista drivers for it manually installed from their website. Similar problems to the 2 netgear devices and 1 dlink, but alot better (the drops out now are rarer but still frustrating and can vary from days to a few hours perhaps).

So effectively I am on the same equipment that the old PC was, and that didn't experience one drop out in two years to a BTVOYAGER2091. Maybe the crucial difference was it ran XP, not Vista.

Anyway since Vista is such a pain like this I assume it might be one of the options. I have looked through the more advanced options of "manage wireless connection" and the various properties but I don't know what to touch.

Ringing BT tomorrow anyway see if they have any clues. Basically if I can't fix this, I will have to go wired, but even then I have heard of similar problems under Vista... ?!

The worst part is the diagnosis of this problem. It's like a car running at 125mph flawlessly, then every now and then stopping dead.. say once every few days, once a day, twice.. totally random and unrelated to what it's doing.

Thanks.

Edit - I would just like to add I don't believe throwing more money at this is the solution.

I've already spent £35 on A Dlink USB, £30 on a PCI NIC from Netgear and £25 on their USB equivilent.

[Lanky123]

If you can go wired there is far less that can go wrong. I use homeplugs over wireless because that way I am happily confident that the connection will never drop.

I gave wireless a chance on this pc (Vista 64), but it was too much trouble and it's so much simpler this way.

[WoLFe]

How near to the PC and router do homeplugs need to be? There is a big lack of plugs at the PC and router for me, and I heard they don't work well through extensions.

[WoLFe]

Sorry to double post, but these home plugs sound great.

I have a new computer, so will the "Nvidia nForce Networking Controller" ethernet work with the plugs?

Also which are the best plugs to go for? The Solwise ones on Amazon look good!

[Lanky123]

All you need to do is get an ethernet cable from the router to the homeplug and from the other homeplug to the pc - no distance limit as such. If you can somehow get a very long ethernet cable from the router straight to the pc without homeplugs then even better, it'll be cheaper.

I have 2 power sockets next to my pc and my router. I ended up making room for the homeplugs by giving them a socket each and running everything else off a multisocket extension from the other.

Edit:

I have a new computer, so will the "Nvidia nForce Networking Controller" ethernet work with the plugs?

So long as the ethernet port on the back panel of your pc works connecting to anything (ie you've installed the motherboard drivers etc) then it should work with the homeplugs. If you want to be sure take the pc next to the router and and plug it in there with an ethernet cable. If it works there then there's no reason it wouldn't work with homeplugs bridging the gap.

Also which are the best plugs to go for? The Solwise ones on Amazon look good!

Which ones sorry? There's a couple of Solwise ones on amazon... Do you mean these? Should work fine , though you could probably save a few quid with these. Free scan delivery and you might get more support than with a 3rd party amazon seller.