# wifi problems



## SammyFox (Aug 14, 2008)

whenever I run uTorrent, the internet disconnects every few minutes and so far I haven't found a way to fix this.

my laptop is a dell latitude d400 with 512mb ddr ram, 64mb onboard videocard (intel extreme graphics), a 40gb hard disk, the usual sound card network card and modem, and a Intel(R) PRO/Wireless LAN 2100 3A Mini PCI Adapter wifi card.


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## net-cat (Aug 15, 2008)

Sounds like your router isn't set up for BitTorrent.

Poke around in the advanced settings of you router and look for a setting the the effect of max connections and connection timeout. Most routers ship with a very low number of allowed connections (32-64) and a very high timeout (1-2 hours), which is not desirable for BitTorrent. Set them to something a little more sane. (1024 or 2048 connections, 2-5 minutes timeout.)

Not that "connection timeout" is not to be confused with the idle/inactivity timeout in your connection settings. Setting this down will not help you.


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## SammyFox (Aug 15, 2008)

and how can I do that? my modem/router is a 2wire                                               2701HG-G

I checked around but can't find what you are talking about


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## verix (Aug 16, 2008)

Do you drop from the router or do you drop from the internet? If the latter, what's your ISP? This is important because there are some ISPs that will fuck with your network if they detect you using the BitTorrent protocol.


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## SammyFox (Aug 16, 2008)

verix said:


> Do you drop from the router or do you drop from the internet? If the latter, what's your ISP? This is important because there are some ISPs that will fuck with your network if they detect you using the BitTorrent protocol.


the router. my mom has no problem on her side (though she's not using the wifi)

my ISP is Bell Internet (formerly Bell Sympatico).


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## Runefox (Aug 19, 2008)

Oh, my, you have one of those Siemens SpeedStream modems that Bell likes to give out, don't you? Those things crumble under Bittorrent, and are terrible for wireless stability. I recommend you grab a dedicated wireless router and bypass the modem altogether (you can do this by finding the sheet with your PPPoE login info and popping that into your router, then pressing in on the modem's reset button until all the lights light up and it reboots. That will put the modem into a state of just being a modem, ripping the router functionality off unless you set it up again. Just plug your router into the modem and let it do the dialing. Immensely better). Other than that, go to Advanced Settings in the Wireless Networks screen and then go to Configure. Under I believe the Advanced tab, turn off any power saving functionality and make sure your other settings are all auto. You might also make note of your wireless signal strength and your connection speed as you use Bittorrent, as this might help you source the problem if you didn't want to grab a router.

Also, Terragen!


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## Foamy (Aug 20, 2008)

CISCO systems to the RESCUE!!!


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## Runefox (Aug 20, 2008)

Well, CISCO/Linksys is good as long as you don't install the software onto your computers. Newer D-Link products are fairly decent, too (older silver box D-Links are flaky though). I would advise against brands like Belkin, NetGear, Microsoft (yeah, they do/did make wireless routers) or any astonishingly inexpensive routers. Surprisingly enough, TP-Link, a Chinese brand that's becoming decently popular in Europe, Australia, and central Canada, is a very solid product.


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## darkdoomer (Aug 24, 2008)

verix said:


> Do you drop from the router or do you drop from the internet? If the latter, what's your ISP? This is important because there are some ISPs that will fuck with your network if they detect you using the BitTorrent protocol.



i'd blame the isp for this one as well, since it seems to affect only his bittorent and not the other web apps (firefawks, msn... radio... )

advice? try a good proxy..
i wonder if 212.27.30.48 :3128 works with canadians isp's...


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## WarMocK (Aug 24, 2008)

Does this still happen if you use encryption?
If not, blame your ISP. ;-)


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## Runefox (Aug 25, 2008)

I doubt it's the ISP if the WiFi connection is actually dropping while leaving everyone else connected free to use it. That's symptomatic of a bad router/poor signal strength.


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