Macbook/Macbook Pro internet connection

Hi. I'm sorry if this thread is in the wrong section. I actually don't know where it belongs but I really want to figure this out as soon as possible and I didn't know where to turn. So if you could please help me by telling me which section I should go to or help me with my problem, anything would be of great assistance.

I'm actually "brand" new so I didn't look through all the threads because there are a ton, so if there is another thread just like this, then please link me there. Thanks a lot!

Anyway, my problem is weird. In my thoughts anyway. I'm not too slow on the whole technology stuff but I'm at a wall. It could just be my laptop, which is a MacBook '06, that's SUPER old. My brother has a MacBook Pro, which I believe he just bought last year. So we are both using the same internet connection through a wireless router NetGear (which could also be the problem, I realize).

So for some reason I use the internet and every so often it drops out (like the Airport signal is totally grey) and my connection just stops. When I restart my browser (Firefox) the pages can't load again even if the signal has come back fully. This never occurs with my brother's MacBook Pro. He always seems to be using it and it never drops out for him.

The other thing is that when I totally restart my laptop sometimes the connection still doesn't work and I'm wasting my time restarting it once or twice more. It's really a pain in the *ahh well you know where.

Help?

I moved your post to the correct forum where you'll likely receive more replies.

Since your MacBook is an old one, the problem could be hardware related. Maybe a failing airport card in the machine. If you still have your original install disk (probably Tiger), boot the machine with it and run the Apple Hardware Test. See this LINK for more info and how to run the tests.

Thank you very much but I just tried this and it said that there was "Nothing wrong found."
Any other suggestions?

Try to narrow it down: hook an ethernet cable from your MacBook to the Netgear Router. Is the internet steady? No problems?

Also, if you're currently using any kind of encryption from the Netgear for wireless, try turning it off temporarily to see if the problem goes away.

Ok, I know the first one doesn't work because I've tried that many times before. I've also tried to reset the router as well. Both don't work. I'll try to turn off the encryption when I have the time and let you know. Thanks for your help.

Did it just conk out or have you never been able to connect to this router? From reading over the past few months - there appears to be no shortage of threads that discuss the quirkiness of the older MBs and certain vendor routers - with no apparent explanation that I've seen. So - are we dealing with a quirk - or were you able to connect for the past few years and it's just suddenly started flaking out on you?

Do you have this problem if you try it on another router?

Edit: I just read your last reply - you said you plugged directly into the NetGear router and couldn't connect????

BrianLachoreVPI said:

Edit: I just read your last reply - you said you plugged directly into the NetGear router and couldn't connect????

Click to expand...

Sorry. I wrote that wrong. I've tried it many times before and it does work.

Also, to answer your other questions, I can connect to this router but for some reason it just always lags and when it does my connection fails. For example, if I was using my browser, the internet disconnects, and I try to refresh a page it won't and then I'd get the "Connection Failed" page.

Previous to this NetGear router, I had an Ativa54g router which worked really well for the amount of time that we had it. I think after my brother had got his laptop, it started to die so we invested in the NetGear one, which we thought was of good grade (my uncle also has various NetGear routers). But like I mentioned in my first post, every time it lags I'm disconnected from the internet and have to restart my entire laptop. This has always been the case with this router from the beginning.

I tried to reinstall the router again but this has changed the outcome.

Troubleshooting a wireless network can be difficult to comprehensively step through via keyboard - but have you read through this? Mac-Forums Blog » Networking » Wireless Networking FAQ

There are many potential problems but before digging into lower levels need to isolate at the highest level.

If you take your current MB and connect it to a wireless network (not your Netgear) - do you have the same issue. For instance - if you head to your nearest Starbucks or Panera - can you connect - and do you experience this issue.

Did this problem only materialize once you switched routers - and did it occur immediately after the switch - or has it been a progressive degradation in performance?

The fact that your brother can connect to that router just fine - and I'm assuming you're trying to connect from the same location - indicates that the router isn't the issue. What remains is the performance of your laptop - either degraded for some HW reason, supposed quirkiness of those older MBs with certain manufacturers, or perhaps a setup issue.

Have you tried turning off the encryption on the router as chscag suggested - to see if you notice improvement?

When you say the signal "drops out" - are you saying that your MB stops seeing the router completely for a period of time?

It feels like a failing WiFi chipset - but need some more info.

I have some more questions but let's answer these first.

Ok well, I still haven't tried turning off the encryption yet. I'll try to do that as soon as possible. As for the connection in other areas, it does work but these are places where I suppose it's exceptional connection considering the high amount of laptops needed to be used (my school). I never study at Starbucks. I have no idea how people study with noise like that.

Yes, when I say the signal "drops out" I mean that my laptop stops seeing it. I was kind of hoping that it wasn't due to the age of my laptop because I don't have the money to buy another one at the moment and I'm going to study abroad soon with it.

The problem started happening with the Ativa54g router. At that time my brother's laptop connection would "drop out" too and therefore we decided that it was time for another router.

So right now, we're either at Hardware issue or WiFi chipset issue, correct?

sily52 said:

So right now, we're either at Hardware issue or WiFi chipset issue, correct?

Click to expand...

I consider those to be the same thing - but I'm not sure. It would be helpful for you to validate that it currently works with another router just fine - that changes the analysis quite a bit.

Please do confirm that it truly does currently work with another router - even if it does have "exceptional coverage". If you're working just fine with another router - then I'm not so sure about it being a HW problem, at least not a failing, just lesser performing potentially.

Do you have "less than exceptional coverage" at home? If your brother's laptop and yours are in the exact same spot - does his work - while yours does not? If you're in the same room as the router - does the problem persist?

Also - please do try the encryption change as suggested earlier.

alrighty. I just did the encryption change and all works well. now what does that mean?

It means we're probably looking at one of the quirks that seem to have existed with some of the older MacBooks especially as 802.11i was coming online. You could try moving the encryption to WPA (as opposed to WPA2) and see if you still maintain performance - otherwise your options are pretty much limited to either just using WEP (not recommended if you're concerned about security) or getting a USB dongle as a surrogate wireless chipset upgrade (if you're not ready to upgrade your computer) - or - use this as a fine excuse to get a new machine

This is so stupid because now, even though I have connection, sometimes it just stops working - at least my browser anyway. GAHH!

Interesting. I still like the idea of a new machine but...let's hunt further just for fun. Now that you have a steady connection - we'll move to the SW side of the house. This get's a little trickier as there are a lot of little things to try - and since we're not witnessing the phenomena - we're just going on the snippets of data presented.

A few things to look at - and see if the symptom persists.

• Try a different browser - and/or try resetting your current one
• Flush DNS cache - you can use Onyx (I think there's an Onyx for your old machine) or go to Terminal and type
  Code:

  dscacheutil -flushcache

• Repair disk permissions - because it feels good to do

Those first two are good for starters.

I would personally look at setting a static IP on your MacBook. I had to do this to my iPhone as another iPhone and MacBook pro kept knocking out my signal. Now works flawlessly.

You will need the router IP and DNS addresses and choose a unique address for your mac.

I'm not at my mac so I can't help with doing this, but google
Is great. Search for setting a static ip OSX.

Ok. As soon as I finish a bunch of papers for the end of my term for school I will do this because I have all my pages saved for research papers and what not.