The device driver for your network card is preventing PC from entering standby or hibernation

I recently discovered another problem that comes up often when you update your computer to Windows XP SP3. It seems as though you can’t put the computer into standby because somehow a network card prevents it from going to bed. Turns out, you now have to tell Windows XP that it can turn off the card to save power. Here’s how you can stop the computer from giving your errors when you put it into standby or hibernation. In addition to that, you can also prevent your computer from loosing the wireless connection when it resumes from standby or hibernation mode.

First, click on Start and then click Run. Of course, you’ll need administrator privileges to be able to do so. Then type in

ncpa.cpl

And in the window that comes up, right click on your wireless network card or network card in use at the moment. It’s usually going to have the blue monitors, if you have more than one network card, you’ll have to right click on the one that bears the word ‘wireless’ in its name. Then click ‘Properties’.

In the properties window, go to the ‘General’ tab and click Configure'.

Click the Power Management tab and uncheck the box that says Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power and click OK.

Once you do this, also click OK in the properties windows, and now your wireless card will play nice with the operating system. So, when you wake up your computer from standby or hibernation, it’ll make sure your card is able to go out and talk to your router (i.e. stay connected with the router) and it’ll also allow your computer to go into standby mode or hibernation mode without causing any errors.

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Top 10 ways to secure and improve your wireless network

A while ago I posted a couple of tips on how to speed up and improve your wireless network, and one of the tips in that was to secure your wireless network. Well the truth is, it's extremely easy to secure your wireless network, but most people do not secure their networks!

That's bad, very bad, because anyone who decides to 'tap' into your wireless network can easily steal your information (especially if you happen to do a lot of online shopping) and even steal your Internet (did I mention they can use your Internet connection to download songs illegally and get you into trouble?).

So follow this article and secure your wireless network! It is imperative for everyone who has their own wireless network in a home or small business setting to take the following steps to ensure the well being of the network.

1. Give your router an admin password - Learn how to change the admin password for your router by reading the manual or checking the manufacturer's support website.
2. Change your routers SSID - Your router's SSID is like its name. If you set this to default, your neighbour might be accidentally using your wireless connection or you might accidentally use your neighbour's connection (which is a crime). You want to be sure that you can distinctly identify your router and prevent others from accidentally connecting to it, which will make your Internet slower.
3. Use at least WPA2 Encryption - Not using encryption is like yelling your credit card number out loud. Anyone paying attention and snooping in on your wireless network can intercept all data that goes between the wireless router and the computer. Make sure you use at least WPA2 encryption. If your router doesn't have a WPA2 option then you might want to upgrade to a newer router or check for a firmware update.
4. Use a hard to break pre-shared key - Make sure it is 63 characters long and make up of random letters, number and characters. Since you don't have to remember anything (you only need to set this on your router and computer/console once) A great way to generate good passwords is to use the GRC Passwords Page. It generates a key for you automatically. I recommend you use WPA2 and use a 63 character random ASCII string. Remember, once you use the key on your router, you'll need it for your computer too, so making a text file of the key might be helpful.
5. Disable SSID Broadcast - Once your set up your router and initiate the wireless network, it is a good idea to turn off the SSID so people might not get tempted to try and use your network.
6. Enable MAC Address Filtering - MAC in this case means Media Access Control, not a Mac. It allows you to specify the machines (i.e. only your machine) that can connect to your network.
7. Try to broadcast only in Wireless G - If possible try and broadcast only on a 802.11 G band so that people with 802.11 B hardware will not be able to connect. If you have a laptop or device that needs 802.11 B, then obviously this isn't an option.
8. Make sure to turn off any extended range functionality if living in a small house. Extended range mode will only make your router send out more powerful signals and make your network susceptible to attacks.
9. Change Miscellaneous settings - Disable features such as gaming mode, and enable features such as discard PING from WAN side. This will prevent an attacker from compromising your network by repeatedly pinging your router to death.
10. Update Update Update - If you haven't ever updated your router's firmware, then it's high time you do so. Make sure you stay informed about the latest developments in the wireless world too.

Do the tips above make me sound like a security freak? I think not. Better safe then sorry, right? You be the judge.

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Troubleshooting Wireless Internet Problems

Does your wireless internet disconnect all the time? Here are a couple of tips that will help you find and solve the problem so that you can happily browse the web once again without having to worry about the wireless connection stopping midway when you're busy chatting with someone. Keep in mind though that if it is an increase in speed is what you want you might want to check out the speed up your wireless connection post.

If you're experiencing connection issues then it is usually one of the following problems:

Wi-Fi Channel - Usually if several users are using the same channel in the same wireless frequency, the connection between the router and the user will always be disrupted by some other person's radio waves.

This is a common occurrence in Apartment buildings and areas where there are a lot of wireless hot-spots. To fix this problem take a look at the how to speed up your wi-fi connection post.

Distance between router and computer - If your laptop or computer is too far from your wireless router your connection will obviously suffer. Along with that, if you happen to have a lot of walls (or even worse steel/iron re-enforcements between the walls) your connection will gradually attenuate over time. The best way to fight this is buy a wireless range extender that will regenerate the signals so they can travel further.
Cordless Phones and Microwaves - Yup, your cordless phones and microwaves can actually cause disruptions in your wireless network. This is because they too usually use the same frequency (2.4 GHz which can be either called 802.11 b (old standard) 802.11 g (current standard) or 802.11 n (new standard)) as your router does.

So the best way to solve this is either get rid of your phone or get a router that broadcasts information on another frequency such as 5 GHz. Keep in mind though that your hardware, i.e. your laptop must also be compatible with a 5 GHz (802.11 a) router. Most modern laptops usually have support for this, but if you have an older laptop or a wireless card this might not work. In that case you'll have to replace the cordless phone and get one that runs on the 5 GHz frequency.

Router or wireless card problems - Last but not least, the problem might actually lie in your router or wireless card. The best way to check this is to test it with alternative hardware. For example if you suspect the router has problems take it to a friends house and test it out. The same can be done for the laptop, where you can take it to someone else's house and make sure it works right.

You might also want to do a quick search on the internet to find out if other people are experiencing the same kind of problems with the specific brand/model of router or wireless device you have.

Encrypt and secure your network - This is the step that most people neglect. Many don't even know what encryption is. If you are one of those people then you'd better catch up. You can take a look at my wireless security tips post to ensure you know how to encrypt your network.

Encryption prevents people from stealing your internet or messing around with your network. And of course doing so will certainly hinder the speed of the network. Therefore, you're better of setting an administrator password on your router and using at least WPA encryption.
If all instances mentioned above fail to cure the problem, post a comment and I'll do my best to reply as soon as possible.

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Let Windows repair your Wireless Connection

Do you get frustrated when your wireless connection suddenly gets disconnected? Well, have I got the solution for you. Here's how you can get windows to automatically fix the problem if your wi-fi connection disconnects constantly. Remember, your network needs to be in proper working order for this to work. If you want to know how to make your wireless connection better and faster make sure you check out tips on speeding up your network. Only use this tip if you experience problems in your connection once in a blue moon, if you experience problems regularly you might want to take a look at my post on troubleshooting wi-fi problems.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you have a wireless connection icon in your taskbar. The instructions for Windows Vista are a bit different, however if you have Windows Vista laptop or computer you probably have the wireless icon in your taskbar already.

1. Click Start
2. Click Network Connections. If you can't see a Network Connections link then alternatively you can click on Control Panel > Network Connections.
3. Right click on Wireless Network Connections and click on Properties
4. Then put a check box beside 'Show icon in notification area when connected' and 'Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity'.
5. Click OK.

Once this is done you'll most likely see a computer icon with waves coming out of it on your desktop. Just right click on it and hit repair. Windows will then disable your network adaptor (a.k.a. wireless card), re-enable it and then automatically reconnect you to your wireless network.
If you just want to reconnect to your wireless network or choose a different wireless network simply click 'View Available Wireless Networks' and you can then choose the wireless network you want to connect to. Just keep in mind that using your neighbor's connection is a crime so make sure you know the SSID of your router.

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5 ways to speed up and improve your wireless network for free

First off I need to mention that I live in an apartment complex, and getting wireless to work properly is extremely hard, and I guess I can say that I've learnt a lot form tweaking it so much. Recently I read a similar article on Microsoft's website, but most of the stuff in there is impractical. All they seem to say is upgrade all your devices and buy more stuff.

So here are 5 tips that are guaranteed to make your wireless connection work better for free. These "tweaks" can be performed in most settings and it shouldn't be a much of a problem to implement in your home or even office network. Make sure you secure your wireless network too though.

1. Find the right channel for your router. First make sure that you don't have any cordless phone in your own house that might be causing interference. If you find that your wireless connection gets weaker whenever you get a call, try changing the channel on your cordless phone. Then download net stumbler on one of your computers with a wireless card (it should work with most cards). Open it and check what channel other people are broadcasting on. People will usually be using either channel 1, 6 or 11, so try to stay away from these channels, but you never know. Then change your router's channel to some other channel no one else is using. You'll need to know how to work with the router configuration page to do this.Keep in mind though that other people might have cordless phones running on the same channel which might interfere with the your signal, so you'll have to use the trial and error method to find the perfect channel.
2. Switch to OpenDNS. Although this tip is more of a improve your "Internet speed" tip, its still good for getting better speeds through your wireless network. And since most people use their wireless network for Internet, I recommend replacing your ISP's dns service with OpenDNS. Instructions on how to configure your router to use OpenDNS can be found on their website. Basically its just copying and pasting a couple of IP addresses, so I won't mention how to do that here.
3. Move your router. Yes, although this is pretty self explanatory, most people ignore this tip. Try to move your router to a central location in your home. Although this might be kind of hard, since you're bound by the location of your high speed modem, phone line or even your cable line, its not always impossible. You don't have to move the router from one room to another, just moving it from one side to another side of the room should suffice. All you need to do is get 2 long pieces of Ethernet cable, it doesn't matter which kind since most routers have "wire management" so it'll accept any kind of cat-5 crossover, rollover or straight through cable and use that instead of short cables. This will enable you to move your router so that it is a bit more closer to the center of your home or closer to your laptop if you only use a laptop.
4. Change your wireless card settings. Most wireless cards are configured to the default settings of using wireless QoS and so on, so you'll want to tweak it to make it interface faster with the network. To start tweaking first press the Windows + Pause Break key if you are on Windows > Go to the hard ware tab > Click on Device Manager > Under Network Adaptors double click on your wireless and go to the Advanced tab. Here's what you can tweak on most cards:
   • Mixed more protection - Use CTS-to-self. This will make the speed faster since you are in a small home network
   • Power Management - Use the highest value, because this will make your card work faster. You might want to choose a medium or low setting if you want extended battery life though.
   • Roaming Aggressiveness - Use either the medium or lowest value in a home setting, so that your card won't keep searching for new connections, it'll just stay happy with the network in your home and won't connect to your neighbour's network.
   • Throughput Enhancement - Make sure you enable throughput enhancement to have the fastest speeds
   • Transmit Power - Use the highest option to connect to your network properly and get the fastest speeds
5. Update drivers/firmware and maintain your network. Here are a couple of things you should do with your network:
1. Update your drivers for your wireless card (usually found on the manufacturer's website) and the firmware on your router. Go to the manufacturer's website to get the latest firmware. Instructions on updating your firmware can also be found there.
2. Give your network a unique SSID and encrypt it! Why? Because your neighbour might be accidentally using your connection and making it slower, or someone might be using your network to download stuff on the Internet... so it is best to give your network a unique SSID and use at least WPA encryption if WPA2 isn't a choice. More instructions on that coming soon...
3. Make sure to also change the password to the router so that some one else does not modify the setting. I recommend setting a big password so it is impossible to crack.
4. Make sure your laptop and the router are using the 802.11 (wi-fi) G standard. Sometimes, if your laptop is set to use only wi-fi 802.11 B, even though it supports G, your router will only communicate to it using B, and not G which is way faster.

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