My computer and my wireless are in a fight

September 2, 2007 12:31 PM

My computer and my wireless are in a fight

SO, I got a new Toshiba Satellite (and paid good money for the topoftheline option), and while I understand computer jargon, I'm not very well-versed on the systems surrounding the G, E, B, whatever systems that are used to connect.

I've been told that this computer can connect to any wirelss system, old and new, however when I'm in a coffee shop or at a friends house, the wireless (even though it's a high-speed system and my friends' crappier computers are being used as well) runs incredibly slow on MY computer IF it even runs at all.

Can someone explain why this happening? What can I do on my end to adjust my computer to different settings, etc?

posted by bamassippi to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Are you using the wireless software that came with your card or Windows' built-in wireless software? You might try switching to the alternative, whichever you are using.

Have you done any specialized configuration to connect to your home network? Specifically, have you set up a static IP address or DNS server?
posted by zixyer at 2:08 PM on September 2, 2007

How exactly is it running slow? Are servers slow to respond, then the page loads quickly, or vice-versa? Have you contacted Toshiba support about this?
posted by bizwank at 2:13 PM on September 2, 2007

G, E and B are wireless connection standards, where B is the slowest and G is the fastest—and the rate of speed comes from how much bandwidth can be transmitted per second, which, as I understand it, depends on the wavelength of the signal being broadcast. B is also the oldest, and G is the newest. These letters are short for IEEE 802.11b, 802.11e, and 802.11g, respectively—the IEEE being an international body that governs electronics standards, and within each standard, for instance 802.11 (for wireless Internet) you often have updated versions of the specifications that govern that protocol/standard for transmitting information or what have you.

So that's a quick primer in the wireless standards you're dealing with. As for "high speed," well, that's relative. It sounds like your computer's wireless card can use each of the three standards to connect to a router—the question is what standard the router is broadcasting with. Even if your computer can pick up higher-bandwidth (and from your perspective, higher speed) G signals, the router may not be able to broadcast those signals. So there may be a mismatch there, and it may be causing problems either at the router end or on your computer's end.
posted by limeonaire at 2:51 PM on September 2, 2007