Can't figure this out

[nitro237]

OK, I have a Dell E1505 laptop that is about a month old. It has Media Center on it. I took off all of the standard Dell bloatware off of it.

I have a Linksys WRT54G router. Most of the time the internet is as slow as dialup using the laptop wireless and I can't figure out why. Other times it is as fast as a wired connection. It's not my router because it does the same thing at my girlfriend's house.

Another issue is it takes an extremely long time to boot up or shut down.

Any ideas?

TIA

[wpublic]

do you get a lot of connectivity notices in the taskbar (assuming win2000/xp)?

do you have both wireless and wired NICs enabled? if so, try disabling one. also try setting up a static IP( a separate IP for each NIC).

check your startup programs and event logs for anything out of the ordinary.
try re-running the network and internet setup wizards.

[nitro237]

Originally posted by wpublic
do you get a lot of connectivity notices in the taskbar (assuming win2000/xp)?

do you have both wireless and wired NICs enabled? if so, try disabling one. also try setting up a static IP.

check your startup programs and event logs for anything out of the ordinary.
try re-running the network and internet setup wizards.

Just normal connectivity notices

Both wired and wireless NICs are enable. A default setting disables the wired NIC when running on battery and enables automatically when you plug in the power.

I went into MSCONFIG and shut down everything that was not vital.

I think I might just reformat and install XP Pro and see what happens.

[EvilHorace]

Being that it's new and that everything electronic and new has websight's, forums of their own, I'd first go to Dells with Qs as odds are better that you'll get your (possibly Dell specific) questions answered there.

I took off all of the standard Dell bloatware off of it

I've never had a Dell computer but it's possible that you might have removed something that you shouldn't have. Just a guess.

[nitro237]

Yeah, I am throwing in the towel. I am reformatting now. I will see what happens then. Thanks

[FlyingPenguin]

Pity I didn't get to you before the format. I don't think that's the problem.

I was going to ask if this only occured using Wifi - my guess is that hardwired works fine.

I also suspect you have a Dell brand internal WiFi card. I can't remember the number, but it was notorious for this sort of thing. It would be VERY slow to pickup DHCP and would occasionally slow down or loose connectivity. I can't remember the model off the top of my head, but if you tell me the model of your internal wifi card I'll be able to recognize it if it's the same one.

Updating drivers didn't help. The only thing that helped was to use a static IP, which wasn't practical when I traveled. Eventually I replaced the card.

[nitro237]

Originally posted by FlyingPenguin
Pity I didn't get to you before the format. I don't think that's the problem.

I was going to ask if this only occured using Wifi - my guess is that hardwired works fine.

I also suspect you have a Dell brand internal WiFi card. I can't remember the number, but it was notorious for this sort of thing. It would be VERY slow to pickup DHCP and would occasionally slow down or loose connectivity. I can't remember the model off the top of my head, but if you tell me the model of your internal wifi card I'll be able to recognize it if it's the same one.

Updating drivers didn't help. The only thing that helped was to use a static IP, which wasn't practical when I traveled. Eventually I replaced the card.

Yep, only when using wifi

It has a Dell brand wifi card, model is 1390.

Using a static IP would be a real pain since I use it at several different places

[FlyingPenguin]

Not sure if the 1390 was the one I had the problem with. I seem to remember it being a different number.