You guys seem to be the biggest pool of computer knowledge that I am going to be able to find for a while, so I figured I would ask about this here.

For some time, I have had an issue where I am playing a game, generally through Steam, and I would lose my connection. I would be able to tell because I would get "Lost connection to steam" a lot. I would gain it back sometimes shortly afterward, sometimes longer, but it would not only be doing this while I would be playing something in multiplayer. In fact, the earliest I can think of it was when I was playing Portal 1, attempting to do the radio achievement. At one point in my computer's history since this has started, I was forced to erase everything off of my computer and reinstall Windows for boot up problems, that was fixed, but not the connection thing. I am using the wireless card in my desktop, and the other computers in the network do not seem to lose connection during this.

Since now I am playing more online stuff, mostly with my sister, it is starting to get in the way, and it has always been annoying while trying to chat with someone, and it kicks me. Does anyone have any suggestions to fix this.

1 decade ago*

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Go to your Device Manager, find your wireless card, and make sure you dont have it set so it can enter a power saving mode.

1 decade ago
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Wow, that may actually be it, I can't beleive I been living with this, and 2 minutes after I post something on this, I get a reply that I actually think will work!

1 decade ago
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Fingers crossed! My USB wireless kept on minimising any fullscreen applications I had on, and turning off power saver fixed the issue.

1 decade ago
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Well, the problem has been intermittent enough for it to be hard to tell for a while, but I would seriously be surprised if this wasn't it.

1 decade ago
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Gut reaction is that you've got a weak wireless signal. Maybe getting a better card, or better antenna for your current card might help. It's also possible that you could replace the antenna on your router to get a strong signal out. Wireless can be a tough thing to diagnose issues with remotely, as there are so many things that can cause interference between a client and the router.

Another common issue can be having multiple networks set as preferred networks that you will automatically connect to. This can cause a momentary loss of connection when it sees that one is stronger than the other. Obviously, if you only have one wireless network in range, or saved, then this isn't the issue.

There is always the potential for your wireless card to be failing. This is unlikely, as is it unlikely that the port it's plugged into is failing, but swapping cards/ports (if alternates are available of course) might be a good troubleshooting route. Also, the obvious question comes up, could you go wired instead? If you game, wireless is never a good option if you want to play online. Many people do it and have no issues, but you'll always have a better connection through a 100/1000 mbit ethernet port than over wireless.

1 decade ago
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If you have any other option, you really shouldn't use wi-fi for gaming.

That may not be especially helpful for the particular problem you describe, but it sounds like the other folks have that covered, so here's a chuckle and some unsolicited advice instead.

1 decade ago
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Yeah, if I had a choice, I would prolly go with a hard line, just so I don't have any restriction in connection other than the provider. At the moment, I am stuck in my parents house until I can get a job, which is looking bleak for me. The area I am looking to get into now that I have gone through my classes for, and have certified for, there are no entry level positions; everyone want minimum 2 years experience. This is something that I have hated since I was looking for a minimum wage job, you can't get a job without experience, and you can't get experience without a job.

1 decade ago
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Closed 1 decade ago by crazyalan1988.