can anyone advise me about my laptop and connection problems?

[brimfull]

This has been going on for ages.

The problem is when I try to connect to the internet I keep getting the "server not found" or "timed out" pages.

This is really intermittent.Sometimes I can't connect for hours and hours,other times a few minutes or seconds even.

I have spoken to tech support with talktalk numerous times as well as Netgear support.

The little icons on the bottom of the page say signal strength is good,speed varies a lot but have had problems when the speed is good.

Same problem with Internet Explorer and Mozilla.

I am a thicko when it comes to computers so don't know all the lingo.

And apologies if I don't respond as I may lose connection.

PLease someone must know the answer.

need to work out the budget with dh

I take it they don't really last very long then

£1600 is way more than we can afford.

This one is about 3 yrs old.

thanks for all you help

Oh god no, you can get a perfectly good one for £500, probably less - mine has to be mega high spec because I run all these power hungry programs (I justify it to DH as like a travelling salesman having a decent car )

Plus prices have dropped dramatically

can't get a Mac for £500 though

So did you sort out your connection issue ? with LittleLapin or get sidetracked dreaming about Macs ?

Develo plugs are fab - PC world do advertise them on their site but when I went into my local one 3 assistants I asked all looked at me as it I was mad! Maplins staff tend to be more knowledgeable and have a better and easier refund policy

(Hi LL, its Kaloo20 - still can't get over what fab secret santa MN gifts my family received)

Belkin are way better than Netgear, and I quite like the look of the Dell XPS 1530 (with a few upgrade tweeks)

want to totally clarify one thing

If you are connected with a network cable do you experience that same issues??

If this is only when connected via wifi then I am sure the issue is just interference... Netgears are just as good as any other make no matter what others may say.. I am classed as a 'network professional' by trade and have used then for years.. also recommmend them to others...

If your issue is just when connected via wifi then here are two things to check (these are the cause of 99% of home wifi issues)

1 - the antenna in the back on the router is screwed in tight (finger tight not monkey wrench tight)
2 - the router has the latest firmware on it
3 - the wifi card have the latest driver
4 - power management for the wifi card is not set to maximum
5 - the channel on the router is not the same as another router nearby

Let me give more info for point 5... out of the box most routers are set to channel 11.. there are actually 13 channels available in Europe (1 to 13).. if two routers are put near eachother on the same channel (frequency) the bandwidth (11 or 54mb) is shared and the clients get confused about who they are connecting too.

I suggest changing your channel in the router to 1 in the router and seeing if this helps...

You can use this tool to find all the routers in your neighbourhood and their associated channels.. from this you can then select a channel that is not in use... fyi it is better to choose a channel the furthest away from one already in use...

when I said 'two things' obviously I was drunk

Sorry I haven't replied.
Have been off line due to the laptop dying when dh dropped it.

Have pc working now and awaiting a new cable for the laptop.

Thanks for the information opinionateddad.I'll try and check out the netgear properly but your points 2,3,4and 5 are too technical for me .

Is it not just a problem with my older version of netgear not being compatible with talkatlk as per the previous poster in this link