Likewise an older poster here (Jan 2006 it seems) I have a very very odd problem with my iBook. When at home, with my horrible d-link di-514 wireless router, if I disconnect the power source from my iBook, data stops transfering between my iBook and the router suddenly, the connection is not dropped though, only no data comes or goes... if I just plug in the iBook back, without touching or moving it, the data stream resumes working!!!
I do not have a mac store nearby, so I can't visit one to check. Any suggestions please?
In article 1140580441.166632.22740@redacted.invalid, "Lars_G" lars.gold@redacted.invalid wrote:
Likewise an older poster here (Jan 2006 it seems) I have a very very odd problem with my iBook. When at home, with my horrible d-link di-514 wireless router, if I disconnect the power source from my iBook, data stops transfering between my iBook and the router suddenly, the connection is not dropped though, only no data comes or goes... if I just plug in the iBook back, without touching or moving it, the data stream resumes working!!!
I do not have a mac store nearby, so I can't visit one to check. Any suggestions please?
Can you connect to other wireless networks with the iBook when on battery power?
Actually I can connect on battery to the office network, based on a half broken Linksys.. so it makes me think it's some compatibility trouble with the D-Link somehow, but my question is, what change ocurrs on the iBook side that breaks stuff? I've tried even comparing DIFFs of the registers between hooked on and on battery, and I see no real difference at all! I'm at a loss to find what's the trouble.
Also it's not a basic conectivity problem since it DOES work with the power on... But this limits my laptop usseage in the home very much.
And even when I will someday when I can afford it, change my wireless router, I'm not the kind of person who just changes routers and is done, I like understanding WHY a trouble happens, so I can broaden my knowledge, and find solutions to similar problems in the future.
Thanks for your review Jhon.
In article 1140636213.530608.260290@redacted.invalid, "Lars_G" lars.gold@redacted.invalid wrote:
Actually I can connect on battery to the office network, based on a half broken Linksys.. so it makes me think it's some compatibility trouble with the D-Link somehow, but my question is, what change ocurrs on the iBook side that breaks stuff? I've tried even comparing DIFFs of the registers between hooked on and on battery, and I see no real difference at all! I'm at a loss to find what's the trouble.
IIRC, the output power to the wireless transceiver is lower on battery than on AC. This could cause your problems, particularly if the link is dodgy to start with. This is very speculative however. One way of firming this up is to do some troubleshooting with a program like Macstumbler.
Such a program can tell you what your S/N ratio is at home compared to the office, signal strength, etc. I've used Macstumbler to tweak wireless networks that I've set up in the past, and have found that significant differences in signal strength and network reliability can result from simply changing the channel that the router is operating on. In one instance, I gained about 5dB signal just by changing channels, and there weren't any other wireless networks on either channel!
Also it's not a basic conectivity problem since it DOES work with the power on... But this limits my laptop usseage in the home very much.
When it works, is the connection slow or intermittent? If so, your on-battery connection might (for some reason) be slower or even more intermittent, causing data requests to time out. You could still be showing network signal even though nothing's going through.
And even when I will someday when I can afford it, change my wireless router, I'm not the kind of person who just changes routers and is done, I like understanding WHY a trouble happens, so I can broaden my knowledge, and find solutions to similar problems in the future.
Thanks for your review Jhon.
You might try looking for a used router in your area in any case. If someone near you has upgraded from an 802.11b only router to one that passes 802.11g, you can probably pick up the old router for $10 or so. Even a used 802.11g router might be affordable. Other than that, start troubleshooting and get back to us with some numbers.
Finally, please include some quoted material or a summary to your replies so that we can tell who/what you are replying to. It makes less work trying to remember what's been suggested and tried up to this point.
Such a program can tell you what your S/N ratio is at home compared to the office, signal strength, etc. I've used Macstumbler to tweak wireless networks that I've set up in the past, and have found that significant differences in signal strength and network reliability can result from simply changing the channel that the router is operating on. In one instance, I gained about 5dB signal just by changing channels, and there weren't any other wireless networks on either channel!
. I used iStumbler to discover a neighbor's wireless and mine were on the same channel, so obviously I changed mine. When I did so I also noticed that interference from the microwave disappeared!
-- Ted Lee Minnetonka, MN
Hi, it's me again, responding from a new usenet service I'm trying out.
I tried working with iStumbler, and switching channels and all..
No channel gave me any signal gain over another, and there is no
interference with other routers in all but a veyr remote part of the
house, What is disconcerting is that I decided to try and to make the
router broadcast EssID (it was off before for safety), in case the problem
was there, and I then activated WEP, 128 bit, to add a little droplet of
security (I know it's useless), to my connection, and when I reset
(software reset) the router, at the restart it gained a few Db in strenght
?? only a few, but it's odd since I did no change related to signal in
that reset...
Anyhow, the problem persists, and watching with iStumbler, I have no
signal loss, not a single Db less when I go into battery power.....
This is getting even supernatural.
On Wed, 22 Feb 2006 18:23:09 -0400, John Johnson null@redacted.invalid wrote:
In article 1140636213.530608.260290@redacted.invalid, "Lars_G" lars.gold@redacted.invalid wrote:
Actually I can connect on battery to the office network, based on a half broken Linksys.. so it makes me think it's some compatibility trouble with the D-Link somehow, but my question is, what change ocurrs on the iBook side that breaks stuff? I've tried even comparing DIFFs of the registers between hooked on and on battery, and I see no real difference at all! I'm at a loss to find what's the trouble.
IIRC, the output power to the wireless transceiver is lower on battery than on AC. This could cause your problems, particularly if the link is dodgy to start with. This is very speculative however. One way of firming this up is to do some troubleshooting with a program like Macstumbler.
Such a program can tell you what your S/N ratio is at home compared to the office, signal strength, etc. I've used Macstumbler to tweak wireless networks that I've set up in the past, and have found that significant differences in signal strength and network reliability can result from simply changing the channel that the router is operating on. In one instance, I gained about 5dB signal just by changing channels, and there weren't any other wireless networks on either channel!
Also it's not a basic conectivity problem since it DOES work with the power on... But this limits my laptop usseage in the home very much.
When it works, is the connection slow or intermittent? If so, your on-battery connection might (for some reason) be slower or even more intermittent, causing data requests to time out. You could still be showing network signal even though nothing's going through.
And even when I will someday when I can afford it, change my wireless router, I'm not the kind of person who just changes routers and is done, I like understanding WHY a trouble happens, so I can broaden my knowledge, and find solutions to similar problems in the future.
Thanks for your review Jhon.
You might try looking for a used router in your area in any case. If someone near you has upgraded from an 802.11b only router to one that passes 802.11g, you can probably pick up the old router for $10 or so. Even a used 802.11g router might be affordable. Other than that, start troubleshooting and get back to us with some numbers.
Finally, please include some quoted material or a summary to your replies so that we can tell who/what you are replying to. It makes less work trying to remember what's been suggested and tried up to this point.
In article op.s5niljjrqc6zzk@redacted.invalid, "Lars Goldschlager" blissfull@redacted.invalid wrote:
Hi, it's me again, responding from a new usenet service I'm trying out.
I tried working with iStumbler, and switching channels and all..
No channel gave me any signal gain over another, and there is no
interference with other routers in all but a veyr remote part of the
house, What is disconcerting is that I decided to try and to make the
router broadcast EssID (it was off before for safety), in case the problem
was there, and I then activated WEP, 128 bit, to add a little droplet of
security (I know it's useless), to my connection, and when I reset
(software reset) the router, at the restart it gained a few Db in strenght
?? only a few, but it's odd since I did no change related to signal in
that reset...Anyhow, the problem persists, and watching with iStumbler, I have no
signal loss, not a single Db less when I go into battery power.....
Well, we wouldn't expect the signal from the router (what iStumbler measures) to get weaker when the PB goes onto battery anyway. Now, however, you have a number to associate with the signal strength at your house.
Another test you could try is to set your PB up to share it's internet connection (so, connect it to a wire, turn on wireless, etc.) and then measure its signal strength using another computer. Measure your router's signal strength with the other computer as well.
This will tell you two things:
- if the two computers get different readings, that tells you that there is a difference in their reception (perhaps your antennae are malfunctioning) and whichever is higher tells you more.
- compare the numbers that the other machine records from the router and from your PB, and that allows you to compare broadcast strength.
More-or-less similar tests can also be done with a CardBus wireless card in your PB CardBus slot, as you did at the office.
Finally, I'd say that this is looking more like the router has an issue. If the router has external antennae, you might play with their location and orientation. If it's got the capability to use an external antenna, you might see about picking one up (but only if it's rather less expensive than a new router!). HTH
John Johnson wrote:
In article op.s5niljjrqc6zzk@redacted.invalid, "Lars Goldschlager" blissfull@redacted.invalid wrote:
Hi, it's me again, responding from a new usenet service I'm trying out.
I tried working with iStumbler, and switching channels and all..
No channel gave me any signal gain over another, and there is no
interference with other routers in all but a veyr remote part of the
house, What is disconcerting is that I decided to try and to make the
router broadcast EssID (it was off before for safety), in case the problem
was there, and I then activated WEP, 128 bit, to add a little droplet of
security (I know it's useless), to my connection, and when I reset
(software reset) the router, at the restart it gained a few Db in strenght
?? only a few, but it's odd since I did no change related to signal in
that reset...Anyhow, the problem persists, and watching with iStumbler, I have no
signal loss, not a single Db less when I go into battery power.....Well, we wouldn't expect the signal from the router (what iStumbler measures) to get weaker when the PB goes onto battery anyway. Now, however, you have a number to associate with the signal strength at your house.
Another test you could try is to set your PB up to share it's internet connection (so, connect it to a wire, turn on wireless, etc.) and then measure its signal strength using another computer. Measure your router's signal strength with the other computer as well.
This will tell you two things:
- if the two computers get different readings, that tells you that there is a difference in their reception (perhaps your antennae are malfunctioning) and whichever is higher tells you more.
- compare the numbers that the other machine records from the router and from your PB, and that allows you to compare broadcast strength.
More-or-less similar tests can also be done with a CardBus wireless card in your PB CardBus slot, as you did at the office.
Finally, I'd say that this is looking more like the router has an issue. If the router has external antennae, you might play with their location and orientation. If it's got the capability to use an external antenna, you might see about picking one up (but only if it's rather less expensive than a new router!). HTH
The plot thickens, I've convinced a friend to turn into mac as well (you can all cheer me now), and he's bought himself a 14" iBook, I'm running update on the thing now (most of it needs to be updated), and it's working on the same house, with the same router, without power cable, that is, in battery mode... so THERE is a peculiarity about MY iBook 12", and now I just NEED to find it.
It's just I should be able to afford a 2.4Ghz test lab even if I sell everything I possess, so there must be a way I can find the source of this madness
Btw watching packet counts, when I observe the problem (iBook 12" in battery power) I see packets are sent, but none are received.....
:|
Lars Goldschlager wrote:
John Johnson wrote:
In article op.s5niljjrqc6zzk@redacted.invalid, "Lars Goldschlager" blissfull@redacted.invalid wrote:
Hi, it's me again, responding from a new usenet service I'm trying out.
I tried working with iStumbler, and switching channels and all..
No channel gave me any signal gain over another, and there is no interference with other routers in all but a veyr remote part of the house, What is disconcerting is that I decided to try and to make the router broadcast EssID (it was off before for safety), in case the problem was there, and I then activated WEP, 128 bit, to add a little droplet of security (I know it's useless), to my connection, and when I reset (software reset) the router, at the restart it gained a few Db in strenght ?? only a few, but it's odd since I did no change related to signal in that reset...
Anyhow, the problem persists, and watching with iStumbler, I have no signal loss, not a single Db less when I go into battery power.....
Well, we wouldn't expect the signal from the router (what iStumbler measures) to get weaker when the PB goes onto battery anyway. Now, however, you have a number to associate with the signal strength at your house.
Another test you could try is to set your PB up to share it's internet connection (so, connect it to a wire, turn on wireless, etc.) and then measure its signal strength using another computer. Measure your router's signal strength with the other computer as well.
This will tell you two things:
- if the two computers get different readings, that tells you that there is a difference in their reception (perhaps your antennae are malfunctioning) and whichever is higher tells you more.
- compare the numbers that the other machine records from the router and from your PB, and that allows you to compare broadcast strength.
More-or-less similar tests can also be done with a CardBus wireless card in your PB CardBus slot, as you did at the office.
Finally, I'd say that this is looking more like the router has an issue. If the router has external antennae, you might play with their location and orientation. If it's got the capability to use an external antenna, you might see about picking one up (but only if it's rather less expensive than a new router!). HTH
The plot thickens, I've convinced a friend to turn into mac as well (you can all cheer me now), and he's bought himself a 14" iBook, I'm running update on the thing now (most of it needs to be updated), and it's working on the same house, with the same router, without power cable, that is, in battery mode... so THERE is a peculiarity about MY iBook 12", and now I just NEED to find it.
It's just I should be able to afford a 2.4Ghz test lab even if I sell everything I possess, so there must be a way I can find the source of this madness
Btw watching packet counts, when I observe the problem (iBook 12" in battery power) I see packets are sent, but none are received.....
:|
More into the drama. Do you remember the 14" iBook that used to work without AC in the same AP? Well, after performing all the system upgrades (tiger), it's stopped working without AC just like my laptop, so something in the update process is affecting this.