oxident:

Hi Dan!

Thanks for the links. I've tried the version you've found and it also seems to work a little bit better than the original one shipped with the R2H. But even after spotting the best channel the wifi stability is really ridiculous.

Now I'm going to face the problem "from another side" and install Vista. Some people here said that the card performs much better in this OS.

I've experienced exactly the opposite, for the most part. XP's connection had always been rock-solid for eleven months. After my baby came back from repair (the BIOS episode), the wireless has been just as on-again-off-again in XP as I saw it - didn't see it - saw it - didn't see it in Vista Enterprise. We're talking about three separate installs, here. Maybe it's because I've been too lazy to do all the chipset updates and remove all the junkware.

oxident:

Another idea would be to exchange the wifi module ... it sounds a bit tricky but according to http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=676590&native_or_pdf=pdf it looks like the wifi module isn't hardwired. Perhaps one could try to find a better wifi stick and remove its case and connector. But that's definitely too much for me ;-)

chris

Now that my warranty's up, I've been thinking more and more about doing this. I've been in it a few times. I've had three different external USB adapters attached, and I do not recall any issues with those, so I do believe this is the way to go. If I break it, well, I won't have any choice, I'll have to buy a P1620.

Now, what I really want to know is why I can never get Netmotion Mobility XE to work in Asus' install of XPTPCE (and Asus have imaged the thing three times in the course of my hardware-related repairs). Time for me to work from scratch, perhaps?

Hi MiniMage,

I'm not too good at electronics and all that, but I was always looking forward to get started :-) so if you ever do it and find a nice way of replacing the Zydas with a USB wireless stick let us know!

Never used Netmotion Mobility XE, but does it say as an error? It works with the USB stick adapters but it doesn't with Zydas?

Dan

minimage:

I've experienced exactly the opposite, for the most part. XP's connection had always been rock-solid for eleven months. After my baby came back from repair (the BIOS episode), the wireless has been just as on-again-off-again in XP as I saw it - didn't see it - saw it - didn't see it in Vista Enterprise. We're talking about three separate installs, here. Maybe it's because I've been too lazy to do all the chipset updates and remove all the junkware.

That's exactly the same problem I had the first days after installing Vista. Then I've removed the Asus Wireless Console 2 and the wireless adapter stood visible and enabled all the time. Again, besides the BSODs when being to far away from the AP :-(

chris

About three days ago, I bit the bullet and installed Vista for the fourth time. This time, I didn't use the ISO I got from work; I used the ISO I got from MS. I also did not put in a key. I chose the Ultimate install, rather than Enterprise. For the first time ever, upgrading was an option. I knew taking this option would throw too many changed variables into my experiment, but I couldn't resist. Because of my weakness, I cannot know for sure if the SKU or the lack of a clean install (or both) is the reason why my wireless is stable in Vista for the first time in a year. The processor can spike up to 100%, and the wireless will sometimes disconnect, but it doesn't completely disappear from Device Manager (it almost always conked out noisily as soon as I tried to use it in Enterprise).

I didn't want to do this experiment. I was afraid I'd have much better luck with Ultimate, since Jenneth and Warner did. I'm not unhappy about not having to use my external Zydas adapter; I'm sad that I may have to choose between:

1. using my only Ultimate license on a machine that can't fully utilize it (rather than my desktop) or
2. going back to Enterprise (just thinking about what I'd have to go through to get there makes me whimper) and hoping I eventually find a wireless adapter I can cram into the R2H before I buy my next machine.

 I did forget another change to the system. When my R2H returned from Asus repair, it had BIOS version 208 installed.

Hey guys,

You might wanna try the XP Service Pack 3, the signal strength seems to have improved, now stable at good-very good...

Windows XP Service Pack 3 Network Installation Package for IT Professionals and Developers http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=5B33B5A8-5E76-401F-BE08-1E1555D4F3D4&displaylang=en

I had same problems.



I virtually un installed all asus bloat ware (Multi***, Splendidn, Data Security Mge, Asus Live Update, Norton, power4phone, ...... infopen, ...). Eat uninstall give performance boost. But At the end I was left with one problem. i.e.




- High CPU usage, task mge taking 13 -20% time.
- Wifi unstable and low signal



I tried uninstal if wireless console 2 and reinstall, uninstall of drivers and install latest but nothing helped. I uninstalled other things as well, like dial keys, adobe etc .... I udated to XP SP3, no joy.



Then I uninstalled power4gear and that SOLVED the problems. So looks like as mentioned above, the micro management of power is causing problems. You can uninstall it or or play around it to solve WiFi and taskmgr problems.



My task mgr is down to 3% and Wifi is rock solid now and show 4 bars 3 rooms away (earlier it was barely one).




Hope this helps every body.



Tama.

I found an alternative to uninstall of power4gear. Open ControlPanel, Click on "Power Options". Change Power Schemes to "Max Performace" or any other except for "Power4gear". That should solve cpu load and Wifi issues. Have fun guys. Tama.