Wireless Modem Problem

Ok. Long story short.

Got a brand new HP DV4040US laptop from Best Buy. Took it home, works great. The wireless connection in my house works even better than my DSL. It's about 1/3 faster than my DSL.

I downloaded a virus and had to reformat my HD. I downloaded all the drviers for it. After reinstalling Windows XP and all the drivers, I noticed that my wireless connection is about 1/2 as SLOW as it was when I first bought it. The driver I have for it is up to date, so what am I doing wrong?

P.S. The ONLY thing I don't have installed that was on my laptop BEFORE the format was the Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. Is THIS why it's running a lot slower than before?

>I downloaded a virus and had to reformat my HD

That's a bit of a warning sign to begin with. NO VIRUS SHOULD NECESSITATE A COMPLETE REINSTALL.

Anyway, the deed is done, but did your laptop not come with a factory restore disc? Have you turned off Windows Firewall? SP2 turns on the firewall as default, so turn it off within Control Panel.

^^^^^^

I know my actions were a little haste, but you don't know how BADLY it infected my computer. I don't have the correct knowledge to correct things manualy, and on top of that I don't have the money to take it to a professional. AND on top of that I wouldn't want to even waste my time putting up a post here asking how to correct it.

Secondly, it came with ALL the CDs and drivers. Not a real factory restore disk per se. But instead the Windows XP setup disk, a bunch of drivers, and a few extra crap I don't really need. Like demos and such.

Third, SP2 is not the reason my connection is slow. Like I said, BEFORE the wipe I had it installed by default. My connection was great. NOW it's not installed, and my connection isn't that great anymore. Personally, I don't think that's the problem, but I never know. If I don't know how to handle a simple virus, then I must not know what I'm talking about.

Ah, sorry - I misread it there. My bad. Okay, have you reinstalled any wireless management utilities that came with the laptop on its utilities disc? In my experience of various models of laptop, some wireless adaptors work better when you allow Windows to run the show, while others work better with the manufacturer-specific utility that usually gets installed along with the drivers. Enable/install it if Windows is handling the wireless, or vice versa, and see if that makes a difference.

Well, right now the driver I'm using is from the company, Intel. I'm not sure how to switch it to a default windows driver.

Sorry. Just trying to bump this up to the top of the line. Hope this does not offend anybody.

if it was better with SP2, install SP2 and see if its better now ...

>>5
You're not changing the driver, just the utility that handles the wireless card. IIRC, Intel wireless stuff usually puts a little green icon in the notification area, and if you double-click it, it opens up the options pane where you can set it to "let Windows handle my wireless connection". If that's not there, Windows is probably already handling it.
>>7
Seconded.

Ok guys. Just FYI, let me give you more information about my situation.

1. My laptop came with all the correct drivers and XP Home with SP2. (As stated above.) When I reformatted, I did NOT install the version of XP Home that came with my laptop. Instead I used a previous version of XP Pro that I had purchased at an earlier date. (Before the purchase of said laptop.)

2. After installing all the drivers and the version of XP Pro that did NOT come with my laptop, everything was running fine, but not my wireless connection.

3. I called HP directly and they told me that the reason it might not be functioning properly is because I did not install the version of XP that came with my laptop. They stated that I needed to install the OEM version of XP or something along those lines.

Does this make sense to a lot of you? Could this be the reason my wireless modem is not working properly? I would love to get more feedback from you guys, because unfortunately the other suggestions listed above did not work.

>>9
maybe this might help
http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html?pageDisplay=support

type in the name of the laptop and it lists the drivers

>>10

Unfortunatly I installed all the latest drivers from the HP website and still no good news. But like I said in 9, does what HP said really make sense? Could that be the reason my wireless connection is not at max potential? I just don't want to waste my time reinstalling everything just to find out it's not going to work.

By the way. Thank you for everybody trying to help me in my time of need. I surely wish nothing but the best for each of you.

HP was feeding you a line of bull. The tech you spoke to couldn't resolve your problem, and they get performance ratings based on the percentage of user problems they don't fail to solve. He gave you a task that would take longer than his shift to complete so when you called back he wouldn't take your call, and someone else would get the performance hit. When a tech tells you to reinstall windows, you are being bullshitted.

Give me more information and I might be able to help you out. Where is your "wireless connection" coming from? Are you stealing it from a neighbor with an insecure network or something? Do you still have DSL in your home?

>>12

My wireless comes from some unknown source. I think it's not a neighbor's because it's not secured. (Sorry about the lack of info on that.) In fact, I KNOW it's not the neighbor's because, I'm sorry to say, my neighbors aren't really, let's just say, competent to have anything as "high tech" as wireless. It's the same connection I've been using BEFORE and AFTER the wipe. So it's definatly a problem with my hardware.

I still have DSL because my wireless connection is not really mine. Just in case it gets cut off I have a backup connection.

I tried changing the settings on the modem itself, such as range, power usage, etc. to the max or best on each setting. Still that was no use.

Also I installed a very old version of XP Pro that I have used instead of the version of XP Home that came with the laptop. (Like stated above.)

Basically, I cannot find the software that came with my laptop (a little lazy to look for it.) and used NOTHING that came with my laptop. The drivers I got from hp.com and XP was something I had a while ago.

I'm thinking that reinstalling the XP Home version that came with my laptop would be a likely solution, but if you say that it's bullshit, then I'll try to find another way. But still, I think that HP would do such a thing as to make all the software proprietary so I would HAVE to go to HP for all of my Windows needs.

Thanks again for your help.

This is 12.

I am not going to help a moron steal internet from his neighbor, thanks.

ps. you are stealing the internet from your nextdoor neighbor and complaining that it's slow

this is >>14

pps. you are stupid

>>15

Wow... thanks.

*If you’re lazy, skip to the bottom.*

In regards to 14.

First off, I would like to state that it was only a few months ago that I began my experiences with wireless. So I guess you can say that I’m pretty new at this and don’t know much about it. It was my assumption that if a wireless connection was not “locked” or “secure” then it is open to the public. If this is false, then I apologize for my ignorance.

Secondly, I know my neighbors. I asked them if any of them had purchased wireless connections for their homes. None of them had. I asked all the people literally all around my home. They all have cable. (The ones that have ANY type of connection at all.) I would also like to state that I should not have called my neighbors “Technologically Uneducated”, if you will, because apparently they know how to use a cable modem. But this is a little out of context right now. Also, my parents and I moved to this complex approximately one month before I bought my laptop. This is relevant because today I went to the main offices of my housing complex asking why there is a wireless connection coming to my house if none of my neighbors ordered it. And they gave me a very simple answer for that. Wireless access is a FREE AMENITY for all those who stay here. I didn’t ask if it was included in our rent, therefore making is “free”, because it’s not like I’m paying it, so I went on my merry little way back home. For those of you who think this is a total lie, think about all the hotels in the US that offer free wireless for guests. I know a few that do. So why do my neighbors have cable and not use the FREE wireless connection that is given throughout the complex? How should I know? Maybe because it’s faster.

Third, 14/15 should stop trying to act like self righteous Neo Jesus. Thanks to him, there is a 95% chance nobody else will give me a serious post to help solve my problem. Before he goes judging people he should get all his facts straight, instead of feeling like a knight in shining armor to all those with open wireless connections. This post that you are reading right now was completely unnecessary, until Mr. Hero made me out to be a thieving, uneducated, immoral retard. So Mr. Anonymous, if you want to feel like God amongst mere mortals, here is a great website you should check out. Go to http://www.4chan.org/ and click on the /b/ board. There are plenty of people who you can think are “inferior” to you. But don’t be surprised if the other users will disagree with you.

I will still check this thread for more serious replies, but most likely there will be a bunch of posts stating that I’m dumb and not 1337 enough to fix a simple problem with my wireless connection. Please prove me wrong. I just want to get this fixed. That’s all. Thanks to those who have helped me and will help me get though this.

This is >>17

ps. Don’t act like the first to cast stones, asshole.

LOL...maybe someone else is using the WiFi LAN in your complex too. Have you consider that?

Yes I have. But it's very hard to believe that everybody in my neighborhood is making my connection slow only RIGHT AFTER I reformatted my computer. I’ve been on this same connection approximately 4 or 5 months from now, and it’s always been working just fine, with very few bad connections. And I mean VERY few, like once every two months for only an hour or so. So I think the chances are very slim that everybody knew that I was wiping my HD and then, and only then, jumped on the free wireless bandwagon.

I still think that I need to just look for the original disks that came with my laptop and just install everything. I think I’ve run out of options right now, and seeing that everybody INSISTS that it’s because of all the people in my complex using the connection like a town bike I think everybody else has run out of ideas also.

I’m not going to do the deed until late at night when I get off work, so if anybody else has a say on what to do please tell me. I’m still open for any ideas.

Once upon a time...DSL was fast...suddenly half speed...new phone blamed.

Moral: Phones hooked up directly to a phone line without a DSL filter will cut your connection speed perfectly in half.

>>21

Once upon a time... Anonymous #21 was declared mentally retarded... suddenly he made an equally retarded post... releasing him from his lease blamed.

Moral: DIPSHIT NEEDS TO LEARN HOW TO READ AND COMPREHEND!!!

He said it was his wireless connection that was fucking up. Not his DSL connection. Your attempt to act like an internet smartass had failed horribly. Grow a brain please.

I'm just saying if it's EXACTLY half speed, there's the possibility that it's not a problem with the drivers.

>>23

Thanks for the suggestion.

>>17

If it's not yours and isn't shown to be explicitly designated as public (most public gateways such as hotel connections make the hotel's gateway page be the first you see), it's safe to assume that you SHOULDN'T use it.

Thinking that it's OK just because it isn't protected isn't going to hold up in court.  Go and buy an off-brand wireless access point.  The default settings make it an open connection.