Internet Issues

[Labdabeta]

Hello. As a Software Engineer I admit a slight lack of knowledge with hardware. I am usually quite good with any hardware that is contained within the case, my issues lie in networking. Usually I fix my own computer problems, but now I have a couple networking problems that I frankly have no idea how to solve. I am wondering if anyone here can solve them:

1) My laptop cannot connect to the internet at all while in windows mode. When I "troubleshoot problems" it says the diagnostic policy service isn't running. I have tried manually starting it, but I cannot seem to get it to start. Oddly enough as long as I boot into Ubuntu I have no trouble whatsoever connecting to the internet. (This repair is non-essential since the only reason I want it is because I play certain games that have not yet been ported to Wine so I need internet on my windows partition to play them)

2) ESSENTIAL - I just moved into a new place, and there is no way for me to get wired internet. Luckily they have wireless. So I went out and bought a wireless N adapter and installed it. It worked fine at my house where I tested it, but now in this apartment I am having issues. Basically I can get a bit of internet after 0.5-1.5 hours of messing around with the tp-link software and the router (which I bought, and is also tp-link). However when I do get internet it always follows this pattern: 11Mbps (as stated by speedtest.net) for about 5-10 minutes, then 0.6 Mbps (again as stated by speedtest.net) for about 10-15 minutes, then nothing. As I am taking an online course during the summer it is obviously unacceptable to have this kind of internet connection. Last time I got my little half-hour of spotty internet by unplugging all the plugs from my adapter and plugging them all back in, but I know there has to be a better way, especially since my laptop has absolutely no trouble with the internet at all. Any suggestions?

[Wil 0' Wisp]

Hi 1) First off try the basic tricks 1) Use the command prompt to see if the NIC has aquired an IP address, knows about the DNS server and the gateway, confirm for yourself these are valid and correct for the network you are on(if you can confirm these with the unbantu setup) 2) Check you haven't accidentally set the network up to fixed values which don't correspond to the actual values required. (via the network properties of the adapter) You didn't post the O/s version of windows so its hard to direct you there. You want is network connections, right click, goto properties then select the TCP/IP properties.
If the values are correct. Try using ping to see if you can get a response from the gateway etc DNS server (ping IP address viz ping 192.168.1.1
Use nslookup to see if DNS will resolve to an external website. nslookup server/website viz nslookup google.com you should see a response from the DNS server it address and theip of the site being looked up.

2) Since you don't state exactly the make and model of the endpoint kit etc .
What you need to have is the all same manufactures kit it will be easier and less problematic to set it up. A endpoint kit modem/router (ADSL/CABLE modem router) a wireless access point (combined with the modem router or a Wireless router/access point) and then a wireless repeater some where close to your working location. Set all this up (if possible ) right next to each other in the same room so you don't spend time hauling your self backward and forwards. If it does work in the same room the and you can connect from the repeater right through to the Internet then you can move and install it where yo want it.
Or Home plug units to transfer network service to a switch or a wireless acces point close to where you want to work.

[c-tech]

Hi Labdabeta.
What Windows version are you running? Have you installed the correct drivers for the W-LAN card? You can try checking this by going to your Device Manager under Computer Management and checking to see if the card is being properly recognized.
For the second problem, please try using the tools under the Network->Tools menu on your linux distribution to diagnose the problem. Also, go to the terminal and use the ifconfig command to check for any errors that might be occurring on the wireless card. Good luck.

[Labdabeta]

Sorry about the lack of information. Both computers are running windows 7. The laptop is the only one with a linux distribution installed since the second one has a small SSD for my system and it is mostly full, so I don't want to add a linux distribution to it (I am thinking of buying a relatively fast HDD just for a linux drive, but have not yet done so). If you think it would help I could give you the exact models of both my wireless adapter card and my router. On my laptop the wireless card is working fine (at least according to the device manager, and my intuition since I can connect to the internet on my Ubuntu partition), but my desktop's might not be. The device manager does say that the device is working fine, but when I look at its lights they seem to turn off then back on every few seconds (the status and activity lights). Interestingly enough skype seems to work (I have only tested the chat system though). The issue with the desktop then is just that no website will load in any reasonable amount of time (google.com takes a solid 5 minutes to load, daniweb takes maybe 10). Also starting in a couple days I will be taking an online course, so if I cannot get the wireless to work I may have to look for another place to live that will have wired internet. I need to know if you think I will be able to get stable wireless internet, or not. Thank you.

[Labdabeta]

Okay, problem solved. It turns out my wireless headset was causing interference. This explained the extremely odd symptoms such as youtube videos that would load a large chunk of their video then suddenly stop as soon as I began listening to them, and why when I got frustrated and put on music the problem got worse. Thanks for your help anyways :)