Confused by wireless signal strength
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I have a WMP54G wireless PCI NIC made by Linksys in one of my PCs. This PC dual-boots between XP 32-bit and 64-bit. Out of preference, I spend 99% of my time under the x64 version. The NIC doesn't come with 64-bit drivers; however after doing a bit of research, the 64-bit Ralink RT2500 drivers reportedly work great as an alternative for this card. Indeed, as far as drivers go, they seem to work fine. Here's the problem. While under x64, the signal strength is constantly fluctuating (wildly)--it can range from "excellent" to completely dropped within a few seconds. It'll spend some moments at "low", and eventually come back to "excellent". Lather, rinse, repeat. Things seem to get progressively worse with time. The router broadcasting the signal is in the next room, less than 20 feet away, and I have a laptop sitting next to this machine (inches apart) that has a constant, rock-solid connection. I also have another PC much farther away, sitting in the basement (the router and the other PCs are on the second floor), and it also has a good constant connection. So, you'd think that PCI NIC is simply defective... The strangest thing is that this very same machine, simply rebooted to run under XP x86, gets a constant and reliable connection just like all the other systems in the house. I've let Netstumbler run for half an hour--the signal strength graph was straight as an arrow. Unfortunately, Netstumbler doesn't run under x64, but as mentioned, while under x64, the systray utility is telling me that the signal is low one second, excellent the next, then back to low again, etc. I find it hard to blame the driver. Suggestions and wild speculation welcomed.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
I find it hard to blame the driver.
Those software guys, always find a way of blaming the hardware... :) Actually, for me, it seems pretty obvious that the drivers are the problem here...
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I have a WMP54G wireless PCI NIC made by Linksys in one of my PCs. This PC dual-boots between XP 32-bit and 64-bit. Out of preference, I spend 99% of my time under the x64 version. The NIC doesn't come with 64-bit drivers; however after doing a bit of research, the 64-bit Ralink RT2500 drivers reportedly work great as an alternative for this card. Indeed, as far as drivers go, they seem to work fine. Here's the problem. While under x64, the signal strength is constantly fluctuating (wildly)--it can range from "excellent" to completely dropped within a few seconds. It'll spend some moments at "low", and eventually come back to "excellent". Lather, rinse, repeat. Things seem to get progressively worse with time. The router broadcasting the signal is in the next room, less than 20 feet away, and I have a laptop sitting next to this machine (inches apart) that has a constant, rock-solid connection. I also have another PC much farther away, sitting in the basement (the router and the other PCs are on the second floor), and it also has a good constant connection. So, you'd think that PCI NIC is simply defective... The strangest thing is that this very same machine, simply rebooted to run under XP x86, gets a constant and reliable connection just like all the other systems in the house. I've let Netstumbler run for half an hour--the signal strength graph was straight as an arrow. Unfortunately, Netstumbler doesn't run under x64, but as mentioned, while under x64, the systray utility is telling me that the signal is low one second, excellent the next, then back to low again, etc. I find it hard to blame the driver. Suggestions and wild speculation welcomed.
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I have a WMP54G wireless PCI NIC made by Linksys in one of my PCs. This PC dual-boots between XP 32-bit and 64-bit. Out of preference, I spend 99% of my time under the x64 version. The NIC doesn't come with 64-bit drivers; however after doing a bit of research, the 64-bit Ralink RT2500 drivers reportedly work great as an alternative for this card. Indeed, as far as drivers go, they seem to work fine. Here's the problem. While under x64, the signal strength is constantly fluctuating (wildly)--it can range from "excellent" to completely dropped within a few seconds. It'll spend some moments at "low", and eventually come back to "excellent". Lather, rinse, repeat. Things seem to get progressively worse with time. The router broadcasting the signal is in the next room, less than 20 feet away, and I have a laptop sitting next to this machine (inches apart) that has a constant, rock-solid connection. I also have another PC much farther away, sitting in the basement (the router and the other PCs are on the second floor), and it also has a good constant connection. So, you'd think that PCI NIC is simply defective... The strangest thing is that this very same machine, simply rebooted to run under XP x86, gets a constant and reliable connection just like all the other systems in the house. I've let Netstumbler run for half an hour--the signal strength graph was straight as an arrow. Unfortunately, Netstumbler doesn't run under x64, but as mentioned, while under x64, the systray utility is telling me that the signal is low one second, excellent the next, then back to low again, etc. I find it hard to blame the driver. Suggestions and wild speculation welcomed.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
I find it hard to blame the driver.
Why? It's not the correct driver for the card. :doh: The important question is, does the connection work? Who cares what signal strength it's reporting if the functional part of the driver works?:-D
"...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9
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I have a WMP54G wireless PCI NIC made by Linksys in one of my PCs. This PC dual-boots between XP 32-bit and 64-bit. Out of preference, I spend 99% of my time under the x64 version. The NIC doesn't come with 64-bit drivers; however after doing a bit of research, the 64-bit Ralink RT2500 drivers reportedly work great as an alternative for this card. Indeed, as far as drivers go, they seem to work fine. Here's the problem. While under x64, the signal strength is constantly fluctuating (wildly)--it can range from "excellent" to completely dropped within a few seconds. It'll spend some moments at "low", and eventually come back to "excellent". Lather, rinse, repeat. Things seem to get progressively worse with time. The router broadcasting the signal is in the next room, less than 20 feet away, and I have a laptop sitting next to this machine (inches apart) that has a constant, rock-solid connection. I also have another PC much farther away, sitting in the basement (the router and the other PCs are on the second floor), and it also has a good constant connection. So, you'd think that PCI NIC is simply defective... The strangest thing is that this very same machine, simply rebooted to run under XP x86, gets a constant and reliable connection just like all the other systems in the house. I've let Netstumbler run for half an hour--the signal strength graph was straight as an arrow. Unfortunately, Netstumbler doesn't run under x64, but as mentioned, while under x64, the systray utility is telling me that the signal is low one second, excellent the next, then back to low again, etc. I find it hard to blame the driver. Suggestions and wild speculation welcomed.
I'm thinking the fluctuation may be caused by some compatibility issue with another piece of hardware or driver. I have two of the same WMP54G cards for my PCs, well technically one is a v4.0 and the other is a v4.1. My main PC had the same fluctuation problem (in addition to losing it's connection every ~3 hours). The other MCE PC had a rock solid signal strength & speed. After swapping the cards, and wiping both machines, the main PC still has the fluctuation & slow speeds (without the connection loss problem) while the MCE is still rock solid. I've seen similar problems with a video card - it ran really hot in one PC, and perfectly cool in another. Could be a motherboard issue, or something else completely. I'm glad my connection isn't going down every 3 hours, but still dreaming of reliable connections. I may end up running CAT5 around my house. I've had it with Linksys (don't get me started on the WRT54G-v5). [edit] I ended up using the Ralink driver on the MCE machine which has the rock solid connection since there weren't Vista drivers put out by Linksys. Ralink is the maker of the chipset used in the card, so I think you are safe there.
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Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
I find it hard to blame the driver.
Why? It's not the correct driver for the card. :doh: The important question is, does the connection work? Who cares what signal strength it's reporting if the functional part of the driver works?:-D
"...a photo album is like Life, but flat and stuck to pages." - Shog9
> Why? It's not the correct driver for the card. If I remember correctly, according to the forum discussions I was reading before deciding to try that driver, the chipset on that card is actually made by Ralink, not Linksys... > The important question is, does the connection work? Who cares what signal strength it's > reporting if the functional part of the driver works? The connection is up and down--not just the signal strength reported.
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I'm thinking the fluctuation may be caused by some compatibility issue with another piece of hardware or driver. I have two of the same WMP54G cards for my PCs, well technically one is a v4.0 and the other is a v4.1. My main PC had the same fluctuation problem (in addition to losing it's connection every ~3 hours). The other MCE PC had a rock solid signal strength & speed. After swapping the cards, and wiping both machines, the main PC still has the fluctuation & slow speeds (without the connection loss problem) while the MCE is still rock solid. I've seen similar problems with a video card - it ran really hot in one PC, and perfectly cool in another. Could be a motherboard issue, or something else completely. I'm glad my connection isn't going down every 3 hours, but still dreaming of reliable connections. I may end up running CAT5 around my house. I've had it with Linksys (don't get me started on the WRT54G-v5). [edit] I ended up using the Ralink driver on the MCE machine which has the rock solid connection since there weren't Vista drivers put out by Linksys. Ralink is the maker of the chipset used in the card, so I think you are safe there.
> I've had it with Linksys (don't get me started on the WRT54G-v5). Sounds like we've both been at the same place! :-D > Ralink is the maker of the chipset used in the card, Yes, according to the posts I found before using their driver. > so I think you are safe there Others in this thread would disagree. I'll look for an alternate driver. Please keep me posted if the situation changes on your end.
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I'm thinking the fluctuation may be caused by some compatibility issue with another piece of hardware or driver. I have two of the same WMP54G cards for my PCs, well technically one is a v4.0 and the other is a v4.1. My main PC had the same fluctuation problem (in addition to losing it's connection every ~3 hours). The other MCE PC had a rock solid signal strength & speed. After swapping the cards, and wiping both machines, the main PC still has the fluctuation & slow speeds (without the connection loss problem) while the MCE is still rock solid. I've seen similar problems with a video card - it ran really hot in one PC, and perfectly cool in another. Could be a motherboard issue, or something else completely. I'm glad my connection isn't going down every 3 hours, but still dreaming of reliable connections. I may end up running CAT5 around my house. I've had it with Linksys (don't get me started on the WRT54G-v5). [edit] I ended up using the Ralink driver on the MCE machine which has the rock solid connection since there weren't Vista drivers put out by Linksys. Ralink is the maker of the chipset used in the card, so I think you are safe there.
If two cards have the same chipset, it does not mean their drivers are interchangeable. You are missing the most important part in the picture - the firmware. Most wireless cards are based on just a 2-3 chipsets (atheros/ lucent/ conexant). In some cases the drivers kinda of work because they usually write their firmware from a reference design, so they are similar.
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> I've had it with Linksys (don't get me started on the WRT54G-v5). Sounds like we've both been at the same place! :-D > Ralink is the maker of the chipset used in the card, Yes, according to the posts I found before using their driver. > so I think you are safe there Others in this thread would disagree. I'll look for an alternate driver. Please keep me posted if the situation changes on your end.
Daniel Desormeaux wrote:
Others in this thread would disagree.
Yeah, I'm sure they know more about drivers/firmware than me. I think for me, I had to install the Ralink software (whatever it was) then Vista could successfully install the Linksys driver. Without thw Ralink software, Vista failed to install the Linksys driver (which obviously sent me to the internet to find a solution that worked).
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> Why? It's not the correct driver for the card. If I remember correctly, according to the forum discussions I was reading before deciding to try that driver, the chipset on that card is actually made by Ralink, not Linksys... > The important question is, does the connection work? Who cares what signal strength it's > reporting if the functional part of the driver works? The connection is up and down--not just the signal strength reported.
Just because Ralink made the chipset doesn't mean the card is exactly the same as their reference board.
Matt Newman
Even the very best tools in the hands of an idiot will produce something of little or no value. - Chris Meech on Idiots -
If two cards have the same chipset, it does not mean their drivers are interchangeable. You are missing the most important part in the picture - the firmware. Most wireless cards are based on just a 2-3 chipsets (atheros/ lucent/ conexant). In some cases the drivers kinda of work because they usually write their firmware from a reference design, so they are similar.