FX5900 said:
what is WiFi management software?
Did you install some utility with the WiFi device for your computer? It will usually show up in the system tray at the bottom right of your desktop, near the clock. This utility shows signal strength, allows you to set up accounts with networks, and may perform some diagnostics. It usually has the name of the manufacturer on it. Windows XP has a built in WiFi service utility (called Wireless Zero Configuration). The problem sometimes is that these two utilities interfere with each other. More specifically, WiFi is managed in a fashion something akin to PPPoE where this utility "dials-in" and a connection is negotiated. A beacon is sent out that continues this relationship between the client and the AP. If two applications/services try to manage the same WiFi card in your computer, this may be disrupted. For this reason, you should only use one management utility.
I find the Windows XP built-in utility to be quite good, but it may lack certain features of custome ones supplied with your hardware. Theoretically, only the management software that comes with the WiFi card guarantees the use of all its features (may require updated software from the vendor), but I have found cases where the opposite is true, where Windows does a better job.
To check this you must find out if you installed some mangement software with the WiFi device in your computer. I cannot really help you with this part. To find out if the Windows XP WiFi utility is running do this:
1. Right click "My Computer" and select "Manage" (requires Administrative account)
2. A "Computer Management" window should appear with two panes dviding the window vertically. The left side has the categories and the right pane shows the output from the selected utility.
3. On the left pane click the plus sign next to "Services and Applications" (bottom), new sub-categories should be shown.
4. Click the sub-category "Services", the right pane should now show all installed services in alphabetical order (by default).
5. Locate "Wireless Zero Configuration" in this list.
6. Next to the service name you should see its description, status, and startup type.
The rest should be fairly obvious. If you are running a 3rd party utility from the hardware manufacturer and wish to keep on using that, then stop and disable the Wireless Zero Configuration service. If you want to use Windows' utility, make sure it is started and uninstall any management software you may have installed from the hardware manufacturer. Double-clicking the service opens its management window/dialogue.
You may also find your third party manager installed as a service in this list, but I don't know the names and this becomes complicated. Your starting point should be that two of them are not running at the same time.
PS. The Windows UPnP service can also be seen and modified in this fashion. This is, of course, different from disabling UPnP on the router.
It seems the problem is general even with a wired connection. Have you considered plugging the modem directly into your PC to isolate the issue as one with routing/WiFi and not a general ISP/line/modem problem? I take it Internet browsing is still working.
BTW, disable the Windows Firewall when you are testing. People will hate me for saying this, but I'd permanently disable the Windows Firewall when running behind a router. No need to firewall twice. It mainly leads to problems and no additional security.
