Wireless Card going bad?

[JD Green]

I have a Toshiba laptop (about 3 years old) running Windows 7 that drops the wireless connection quite frequently. Is this a sign that the wireless card may be on its last leg? What else could I look at? I've got a total of about a dozen computers/laptops/tablet and smartphones in total and this is the only piece of hardware with this issue, so I'm tempted to think it's not my router settings or network, in general.

If it's the wireless card, are these things "one size fits all" for laptops or will I need a specific one for this laptop model? Any brand/model favorites or others to stay away from?

Thanks, in advance for any pointers.

 

[OVERKILL]

What brand of chipset is on the card?

 

[AandPDan]

Check for a driver update from Toshiba.

 

[JD Green]

Overkill

The wireless card is: Realtek RTL 8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
CPU: Intel Core i3 370m
Motherboard: Intel Chipset

 

[JD Green]

AandPDan

My drivers are updated about once a week with Driver Booster, so my wireless card has the latest available from Realtek.

Thanks.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: JD Green
AandPDan

My drivers are updated about once a week with Driver Booster, so my wireless card has the latest available from Realtek.

Thanks.


OH NO!!! DO NOT USE PROGRAMS LIKE THAT!!!! They are the spawn of [censored]!!

Seriously, they are nothing but adware/malware riddled tripe and may be the entire reason you are having problems.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: JD Green
Overkill

The wireless card is: Realtek RTL 8191SE Wireless LAN 802.11n PCI-E NIC
CPU: Intel Core i3 370m
Motherboard: Intel Chipset


In Device Mangler, what version does it show for your driver?

Realtek shows: 2021.0.0203.2012 as the latest.

http://www.realtek.com.tw/downloads/down...;Downloads=true

You can use that link to download it.

 

[JD Green]

Overkill

Sorry for using that stuff, hope I didn't hurt anyones feelings.

Anyhow, the Realtek driver you listed is the one I've got installed.

Anything else I can check?

 

[97prizm]

Only go through the Toshiba website for updates as many times the firmware may be different for different brands.

 

[2004tdigls]

those wireless cards fail all the time, if you remove the back cover you will see it there up against the motherboard, the heat and the fact the heat can't escape kills them

try a usb adapter (just borrow a friend's for a few minutes), if it solves your problem simply disable the card in the device manager settings

http://store.linksys.com/Adapters/Linksy...7VVviewprod.htm

 

[Rand]

flaky realtek cards on laptops flake all the time.

why I paid +20$ for the intel one in my lenovo

 

[Subdued]

Those driver update programs are a sham.

There is no need to update hardware drivers unless you're having a problem or they add extra functionality you need.

In fact new drivers can cause your pc to suffer regression - the introduction of symptoms it didn't have before.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Honestly I would start with installing a driver that is one or two revisions OLDER.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Rand
flaky realtek cards on laptops flake all the time.

why I paid +20$ for the intel one in my lenovo


This is true. I'm sure the OP could probably get an Intel-based card on E-bay for like 20 bucks.

 

[UG_Passat]

plug the laptop into the router using a network cable.

disable the wireless. If it works, then it's either the wireless adapter or the wireless router.

But since you have other stuff that works fine... it's the adapter. You can buy USB wireless adapters for fairly cheap these days