Hi. I’d be very grateful indeed for any help with an extremely annoying problem: almost every time I connect to the internet, I lose the ability to view web pages after a certain period of time. This happens even though my laptop’s wireless connection to my router remains operative and uninterrupted, and I am apparently still connected to the internet.

I usually get cut off after about 30 minutes of surfing, though it sometimes happens after as little as 5 minutes, whilst at other times I can continue to surf indefinitely. The only way I can start viewing web pages again is to restart my computer, but then I’m just waiting for the next cut-off.

The cut-off does not appear to affect streaming media: I can continue, for example, to listen to an internet radio programme after I’ve lost the ability to surf (provided I’ve begun listening to it before the cut-off). Also, I can still use Google Earth and download updates for antivirus software & WINDOWS Update – but I can’t use my download manager, Gigaget. Seemingly, then, the only things I lose are the ability to view web pages and to download with Gigaget.

The problem occurs in both Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 (it also happened in IE7). It does not happen when I use a wired connection (it’s not practical, however, for me to use a wired connection all the time). Vista’s Network & Sharing Centre consistently RATES the wireless signal from my router as ‘excellent’ and continues to register a live connection to the internet – even when I’ve lost the ability to view web pages.

I can still ping after a cut-off, usually with the loss of no packets (although one or two occasionally go astray). (I’m not sure I quite understand what this means, but pinging is suggested in various places where wifi connection problems are discussed.)

There seems to be no shortage of other people experiencing the same problem, and plenty of proposed solutions, but none of those I’ve tried so far has worked. Inter alia:

- Restart browser
- Run browser with add-ons disabled
- Turn off computer’s wifi card for 10 seconds
- Unplug router for 10 seconds
- Change wifi channel
- Diagnose & Repair connection (in Network & Sharing Centre): I get the message ‘Windows did not find any problems with your internet connection’
- Run > cmd > ipconfig /release > ipconfig /flushdns > ipconfig /renew
- Get rid of CLTNetCnService, a part of Norton Antivirus (a trial version of which was preinstalled) which didn’t disappear when I uninstalled the programme, and which has been fingered as the culprit for this problem elsewhere.

Some other information about my setup:
- Sony Vaio VGN-N38E laptop
- LAN-Express AS IEEE 802.11g PCI-E Adapter (built-in; driver up-to-date)
- ZoneAlarm Basic firewall
- Avast Antivirus
- Spybot TeaTimer running (problem present even if Teatimer disabled)
- Vista Home Premium SP2 – recently carried out a full reinstall, but problem present before & after. I keep Vista fully up-to-date.
- BT Home Hub 2 router (proprietary router supplied by my ISP, BT – i.e. British Telecom)
- Happy to supply other information if needed

All suggestions will be most gratefully received, though, as you’ve no doubt guessed, I am no computer whizz: if anyone is able to reply to this post, I’d be very grateful if they could do so in the simplest language possible. This also means that if you need any further information, you might have to tell me exactly where to look! (Also, while I’m very keen to resolve this problem, I only connect to the internet once a day or so, so please don’t be offended if I don’t reply straightaway. In any case, the nature of the problem obviously requires that any proposed solution be tested for a little while first.)

Many thanks in advance
Feels like a problem with the BT router to me. Failing that a faulty wireless card. First thing I'd try is check whether a second wirelessly connected machine (if available) experiences the same fault at the same time. Have you tried rebooting the router during the outage? Have you looked for updated drivers for your network card?Thank you very much indeed for your reply. In response to your suggestions:

- I also have a Linux machine; it has never experienced this problem.

- Rebooting the router does not rectify the problem; the only way I've found to restart surfing is to reboot the computer.

- My wireless card's driver is up-to-date.

A further point (which I should perhaps have made in my first posting): the problem is not specific to this router: it also happened with a previous BT router. (However, (i) in researching this problem on the internet, I have not discovered it to be specific to / preponderant in BT routers; (ii) I have never connected wirelessly to any other router apart from these two.)

Thanks again & kind regardsOkay, good well that does narrow it down.

One of the issues with wireless networking is that while there are agreed international standards (IEEE 802.11g etc.) each manufacturer implements the standard a little differently. So supposedly compatible devices from different vendors MAY have subtle issues. It is usually very difficult to diagnose exactly where the ISSUE is arising - generally I give up and try a different bit of hardware.

In your case, the most logical (to me) options are to try older drivers for the wireless card or try a different (USB) wireless card. They aren't too pricey - you should be able to pick up one for £10-20 on eBay or elsewhere. I don't think you have the option of trying a firmware upgrade on the router (as a long shot) because when connected to a BT network, BT upgrades these boxes remotely and without your permission...!Thank you very much for your input - I'm very grateful.

There's no option to roll back the driver for my wireless card in Device Manager - I guess the laptop must have come with what's considered the most up-to-date driver preinstalled. I'll investigate if an older driver is available and, if that doesn't work, try a USB card instead. (Incidentally, my laptop's two USB ports are right next to each other and I ALREADY use a USB wireless keyboard + mouse - if I plug in a USB wifi card right beside the receiver for my peripherals, is there a risk of interference?)

Very many thanks againThere are known issues between wifi and Bluetooth. People experience varying degrees of success. Setting your router to transmit at one of the extreme ends of the 2.4Ghz spectrum (either channel 1 or 13) would help but would also knock out any "Super G" (128mbps) capabilities of the router in the process.

More technical info >here<.Thanks for that, and for all your very helpful replies. I'm very grateful to you for pointing some possible ways forward.

Thanks again & kind regards