Internet Connection Drops on XP

[Holy Nemo]

I have a Dell Inspiron 1520 Laptop with Windows XP. I am able to connect to the router but every minute or so it will tell me Connection is limited or no connectivity, then reconnects with no problems. It also does the same thing if I am using a hardline for internet. I am able to access the internet between the times that it does this. It is not the internet router because my desktop connects to the wifi and ethernet just fine, I have tested with one, the other, and both. Also I live in a fraternity house and my lap top is the only one that has this problem in the entire house. I also have trouble connecting to any internet on campus with wifi, it does the same thing.

One thing that makes it weird though is when I go home I am able to connect to the wifi there with 0 problems and it holds, and if I just close the laptop without shutting down, suddenly I am able to connect to any internet without problems even the internet at the house but once I shut the computer off this problem starts again unless I am at home.

I just need help finding out the problem and getting this to stop ASAP, please and thank you

[jaulo]

may i ask if you already tried reformatting your PC??

[drivenbywhat]

Your problem is probably too many wifi hot spots. A wireless nic will use the nearest connection. However, if it finds more than 1 hot spot it will "jump around" to the other ones. It's a slut, lol. So that is probably what you are experiencing. Every jump means it disconnects from the network you were on and needs to reconnect to the new one. Depending on what wifi settings you are using, xp or the nic's own settings, you'll have to change the settings to make sure it only uses your "preferred" network.

[Mihiri]

Your problem is probably too many wifi hot spots. A wireless nic will use the nearest connection. However, if it finds more than 1 hot spot it will "jump around" to the other ones. It's a slut, lol. So that is probably what you are experiencing. Every jump means it disconnects from the network you were on and needs to reconnect to the new one. Depending on what wifi settings you are using, xp or the nic's own settings, you'll have to change the settings to make sure it only uses your "preferred" network.

I agree. If it is not the case try a continuous ping to when connection is breaking. Then try a trace-route to identify which hop is causing the problem. But you said you have the same problem in other places with this laptop. So try to format and see whether its OS matter.   

[Allan]

may i ask if you already tried reformatting your PC??

You can obviously ignore this post.

[Hawkeye]

Your problem is probably too many wifi hot spots. A wireless nic will use the nearest connection. However, if it finds more than 1 hot spot it will "jump around" to the other ones. It's a slut, lol. So that is probably what you are experiencing. Every jump means it disconnects from the network you were on and needs to reconnect to the new one. Depending on what wifi settings you are using, xp or the nic's own settings, you'll have to change the settings to make sure it only uses your "preferred" network.

It is possible to tell windows to ignore all hotspots except for the one you want to connect to. BTW, why not use ethernet, is much bettter, faster speeds