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Thread: Computer help

  1. #21
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    Oct 2002
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    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by 56BISON73 View Post
    Yeah, likely excuse. As soon as you get the hook up we wont see you at home games anymore. You will just be sitting back at home sipping your home made cheap lattes watching the Bison on TV.
    Riddle me this, Mr. Genius... Would you rather he take up prime real estate in the FFD napping with knitting needles in his lap, or would you rather he open that seat up to a more appreciative fan and do this on his couch at home???
    Gay-Communist-Bully-TAB

  2. #22
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
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    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by 56BISON73 View Post
    Ok heres another issue. When I use my lap top at home its pretty slow. Does this have abything to do with my router. Its is a linkys and may be 5-7 years old. Does linksys have updayes for old routers or should I just go out and buy a new one?
    We might be able to fix this without a new purchase, but first I'm going to need a bit of information, and I'm going to go into teacher mode for a bit.

    Wireless networks are governed by an electrical engineering specification known as 802.11(pronounced eight-oh-two-dot-eleven). There are three versions that have been typically used for home systems: 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n(or b, g & n). 802.11b has been obsolete for a number of years. It was great when the internet was mainly used for surfing web pages and the occasional music download, but it chokes on video. 802.11g is a big upgrade from b and is still in use. It can handle HD content like ESPN3, but only one stream at a time. If you've got a couple laptops watching HD content while using your smartphone for something else, then g is going to have problems. The current standard is 802.11n. It's designed for multiple devices streaming HD content at the same time. The thing is, they are all compatible with each other. A g laptop can communicate with an n router without any problems; they just drop down to the best standard they have in common. In this case, g.

    So we need to know what your laptop and router are capable of, and then find out if they are actually communicating at that level. It's been known to happen that two g devices can hiccup and start communicating at b speeds for no good reason. If that's happening to you, we can bump your speed up with just a few setting changes. I'm going to assume that you are running Windows 7 or Vista on your laptop. First, let's check what speed your network is running at. Go to the bottom right corner of the screen and click on the signal strength meter(the stairstepping thing). All the available wireless networks should appear with your network at the top and it should say "Connected" next to your signal strength. Hover the cursor over your network and a box should appear with a bunch of information like this:

    Name: (your network name)
    Signal Strength: Excellent (if it says anything else, let me know)
    Security Type: WPA2-PSK (it should say some version of WPA - if it says Unsecured or WEP, let me know; those are bad*)
    Radio Type: 802.11n (if it says 802.11b, let me know)
    SSID: (same as first line)

    *unless you have a networked Wii, then WEP is the best you can do


    Let's also see your network speed. With your cursor on the same spot as before, right-click and then click on Status. Just above the first green bars should be a line that reads "Speed". 802.11b should be 11Mbps, g should be 54Mbps, and n should be somewhere between 150Mbps and 600Mbps depending on your hardware(300Mbps being the most common).


    Next, we need to find out what you've got for a router and built-in wireless card. Click on your Start Button and then click "Network" on the right side of the menu. On the main portion of the screen, there should be a category called "Network Infrastructure" with your router listed. Right click it and then click on Properties. A box will appear and you need to click on the "Network Device" tab at the top. On this page, the manufacturer and model of your router should be listed. Give me that info and I'll find out what it's capable of.

    Now close that box and go back to the Network page. Toward the top, it should say "Network and Sharing Center". Click it. On the left side will be a link for "Change adapter settings". Click it. There will probably be two or three options: "Local Area Connection" (this is your Ethernet port), "Wireless Network Connection" (this is the one we want) and maybe a listing for an old-style phone modem(this might also be a Local Area Connection). Under the "Wireless Network Connection", there should be two lines of info. The first line is the name of your network that you saw back in the info box. The last line should be the name of the wireless card in your laptop. There's a good chance that it will say Intel followed by a model number, but it could be something different(for instance, mine is a cheap knockoff made by Atheros). Note that info down. If that info isn't showing, right click on the wireless connection and click properties. A box should appear with the info you need toward the top(Connect using: ...).


    Here's all of the info I need. Copy it, paste it, fill it out, and reply it.

    Radio Type(from info box):
    Speed(from Status):
    Router manufacturer and model(from Network): Linksys
    Wireless card manufacturer and model(from Network and Sharing Center):


    Get me that info and I'll do a little digging to find out what you need.

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    West Fargo
    Posts
    7,728

    Default Re: Computer help

    Get a wireless router.
    Get a Roku for $60 and set up a PlayOn channel for espn3.
    Get a decent TV, since now you can watch more stuff.
    Watch Espn3 and every other streamed outlet out there through the roku.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Fifty Lakes, MN
    Posts
    34,812

    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammersmith View Post
    We might be able to fix this without a new purchase, but first I'm going to need a bit of information, and I'm going to go into teacher mode for a bit.

    Wireless networks are governed by an electrical engineering specification known as 802.11(pronounced eight-oh-two-dot-eleven). There are three versions that have been typically used for home systems: 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n(or b, g & n). 802.11b has been obsolete for a number of years. It was great when the internet was mainly used for surfing web pages and the occasional music download, but it chokes on video. 802.11g is a big upgrade from b and is still in use. It can handle HD content like ESPN3, but only one stream at a time. If you've got a couple laptops watching HD content while using your smartphone for something else, then g is going to have problems. The current standard is 802.11n. It's designed for multiple devices streaming HD content at the same time. The thing is, they are all compatible with each other. A g laptop can communicate with an n router without any problems; they just drop down to the best standard they have in common. In this case, g.

    So we need to know what your laptop and router are capable of, and then find out if they are actually communicating at that level. It's been known to happen that two g devices can hiccup and start communicating at b speeds for no good reason. If that's happening to you, we can bump your speed up with just a few setting changes. I'm going to assume that you are running Windows 7 or Vista on your laptop. First, let's check what speed your network is running at. Go to the bottom right corner of the screen and click on the signal strength meter(the stairstepping thing). All the available wireless networks should appear with your network at the top and it should say "Connected" next to your signal strength. Hover the cursor over your network and a box should appear with a bunch of information like this:

    Name: (your network name)
    Signal Strength: Excellent (if it says anything else, let me know)
    Security Type: WPA2-PSK (it should say some version of WPA - if it says Unsecured or WEP, let me know; those are bad*)
    Radio Type: 802.11n (if it says 802.11b, let me know)
    SSID: (same as first line)

    *unless you have a networked Wii, then WEP is the best you can do


    Let's also see your network speed. With your cursor on the same spot as before, right-click and then click on Status. Just above the first green bars should be a line that reads "Speed". 802.11b should be 11Mbps, g should be 54Mbps, and n should be somewhere between 150Mbps and 600Mbps depending on your hardware(300Mbps being the most common).


    Next, we need to find out what you've got for a router and built-in wireless card. Click on your Start Button and then click "Network" on the right side of the menu. On the main portion of the screen, there should be a category called "Network Infrastructure" with your router listed. Right click it and then click on Properties. A box will appear and you need to click on the "Network Device" tab at the top. On this page, the manufacturer and model of your router should be listed. Give me that info and I'll find out what it's capable of.

    Now close that box and go back to the Network page. Toward the top, it should say "Network and Sharing Center". Click it. On the left side will be a link for "Change adapter settings". Click it. There will probably be two or three options: "Local Area Connection" (this is your Ethernet port), "Wireless Network Connection" (this is the one we want) and maybe a listing for an old-style phone modem(this might also be a Local Area Connection). Under the "Wireless Network Connection", there should be two lines of info. The first line is the name of your network that you saw back in the info box. The last line should be the name of the wireless card in your laptop. There's a good chance that it will say Intel followed by a model number, but it could be something different(for instance, mine is a cheap knockoff made by Atheros). Note that info down. If that info isn't showing, right click on the wireless connection and click properties. A box should appear with the info you need toward the top(Connect using: ...).


    Here's all of the info I need. Copy it, paste it, fill it out, and reply it.

    Radio Type(from info box):
    Speed(from Status):
    Router manufacturer and model(from Network): Linksys
    Wireless card manufacturer and model(from Network and Sharing Center):


    Get me that info and I'll do a little digging to find out what you need.
    This is my old lap top Dell Inspiron 6000, windows XP, 54 mbps,excellent, Intel R pro wireless 2915abg. Linksys WRT54G
    If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles"

    When you play football, you gotta like the taste of blood, And 50 percent of the time, it's your blood.

    It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, supposing it to be new.

    "The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer."

  5. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Location
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    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by 56BISON73 View Post
    This is my old lap top Dell Inspiron 6000, windows XP, 54 mbps,excellent, Intel R pro wireless 2915abg. Linksys WRT54G
    Okay, a new router alone won't help you. To get faster internet speed over your wireless connection, you would need both a new router and a new wireless card for your laptop. Your bottleneck is probably either the laptop itself or your connection to your ISP(cable or phone company or wherever you get your internet from).

    Let's go back to your first comment that your laptop is slow. Is it slow at home but not on the road, or is it slow all the time? If it's the latter, it's probably just that your laptop is getting old and you didn't notice it until you got your new desktop some months ago. Some extra RAM might help if you currently have 1GB or less. Other than that, you're probably SOL. If it's the former, then is the internet on your desktop also slow? If both are slow, then it's probably your internet bandwidth. If your laptop is fast on the road but slow at home, and your desktop is fast at home, then maybe a new router and wireless card are in order. But I really doubt that. My internet speed through Cableone is 50mbps. That's really fast for home use. There are faster speeds available, but 50mbps is in the top class of realistic speeds. Only on the rare occasions that I might max out my internet connection would your router have a hard time keeping up(my internet = 50mbps, your wireless = 54mbps). Your problem is probably elsewhere.

  6. #26
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Fifty Lakes, MN
    Posts
    34,812

    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by Hammersmith View Post
    Okay, a new router alone won't help you. To get faster internet speed over your wireless connection, you would need both a new router and a new wireless card for your laptop. Your bottleneck is probably either the laptop itself or your connection to your ISP(cable or phone company or wherever you get your internet from).

    Let's go back to your first comment that your laptop is slow. Is it slow at home but not on the road, or is it slow all the time? If it's the latter, it's probably just that your laptop is getting old and you didn't notice it until you got your new desktop some months ago. Some extra RAM might help if you currently have 1GB or less. Other than that, you're probably SOL. If it's the former, then is the internet on your desktop also slow? If both are slow, then it's probably your internet bandwidth. If your laptop is fast on the road but slow at home, and your desktop is fast at home, then maybe a new router and wireless card are in order. But I really doubt that. My internet speed through Cableone is 50mbps. That's really fast for home use. There are faster speeds available, but 50mbps is in the top class of realistic speeds. Only on the rare occasions that I might max out my internet connection would your router have a hard time keeping up(my internet = 50mbps, your wireless = 54mbps). Your problem is probably elsewhere.
    The lap top is 1.60 GHz proc, 512 MB Ram, 70.1 GB Hard drive. At some hotels it moves right along. Others not so good. They got a new modem at my partners place in prior Lake because they now get 10Megs and it works fine there. Before it ways way slow. I was wondering if I need to reinstall the OS? Will that help? Its been about 4 years since Ive done that. I just remembered that on occation I would get a pop up that said my wireless adapter was disconnecting when I would unplug the power supply. Iam am at second tier on speed at home. Up to 3megs.

    I did update the firmware on the router and its doing better but still not great.
    If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles"

    When you play football, you gotta like the taste of blood, And 50 percent of the time, it's your blood.

    It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, supposing it to be new.

    "The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer."

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Fifty Lakes, MN
    Posts
    34,812

    Default Re: Computer help

    Just did a speed test on my desk top and then the lap top. Both almost the same. Does this lend to the lap top being the problem?
    If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles"

    When you play football, you gotta like the taste of blood, And 50 percent of the time, it's your blood.

    It is characteristic of the unlearned that they are forever proposing something which is old, and because it has recently come to their own attention, supposing it to be new.

    "The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer."

  8. #28
    Join Date
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    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by 56BISON73 View Post
    Just did a speed test on my desk top and then the lap top. Both almost the same. Does this lend to the lap top being the problem?
    Haven't really been wanting to bring this up, but... Methinks you might need to take it in for a thorough checkup. For STDs. Good luck.
    Gay-Communist-Bully-TAB

  9. #29
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    1 block from AG's house.
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    Default Re: Computer help

    Quote Originally Posted by UND Thundering Herd View Post
    Haven't really been wanting to bring this up, but... Methinks you might need to take it in for a thorough checkup. For STDs. Good luck.
    You've seemed to slow down this last year...

    Notorious--Bisonville all-time POTY
    Proud member of TOHBTC[/B]

  10. #30
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    Default Re: Computer help

    Wii is compatible with WPA and WPA2 although not WPA2-PSK TKIP for some reason. AES works fine though.
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