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Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2020 5:16 pm
by Ralph-Wiggum
So this is a weird problem. I recently moved and have a different internet provider than in my last place. Previously, I never had any network issues. At my new place, however, whenever I connect my laptop to my home network, within a minute or two the whole home network goes down for every device. But as soon as I disconnect my laptop from the network everything starts working perfectly again. This has gone on since I moved here (about a week ago). Fortunately, I am near anXfinity hotspot that I can use for my laptop, but that's less than ideal for a couple of reasons (it's slower, presumably less secure?, can't connect to my network printer, etc.). I am using the exact same router that I had at my previously place and everything worked fine then, so I have no idea what's going on now. Any ideas what might be going on and how I might fix it? Thanks!

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:27 pm
by Kraken
Have you tried recreating your network with a new name, and reintroducing all of your machines to it? I solved a somewhat similar problem (one laptop refused to play nice with the network) by doing that.

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 8:41 am
by Ralph-Wiggum
Kraken wrote: Mon Mar 23, 2020 10:27 pm Have you tried recreating your network with a new name, and reintroducing all of your machines to it? I solved a somewhat similar problem (one laptop refused to play nice with the network) by doing that.
I will try that! Thanks.

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 9:36 am
by Ralph-Wiggum
Well, I updated my router firmware and changed the router name. It worked ok for about 30 minutes and then the problem came back. As soon as I disconnected my laptop, WiFi for all the other devices started working again. I've now tried changing the router channel, but not sure if that's going to much of an effect since it was on "auto" before. Very annoying.

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 10:24 am
by Lassr
I found this answer from someone who had the exact issue as you. Not sure which version of Windows this though as it is from 2014. My Proxy was set to Auto and obtain DNS server was set to auto.

"I figured out how to resolve the issue, finally. Go to Advanced Settings > LAN > Host and LAN Settings Change “Enable DNS Proxy” to Off Save That’s it. So far, I have internet connection on all devices, including the work laptop that was causing issues. Hope this helps others who might … "

https://community.wd.com/t/my-net-n900- ... work/89540

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:01 pm
by Ralph-Wiggum
Thanks. I saw that reply but couldn't find that option in my router settings. I reset my router to the default settings and that worked for maybe an hour, but I just knocked the network down again (and disconnecting my laptop from the network fixed it). Not sure what's going on but I think it might be time for a new router...

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 1:18 pm
by Isgrimnur
Might be time for a new laptop network card.

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 2:26 pm
by Anonymous Bosch
It may help if you try resetting Winsock and TCP/IP.

Press the Windows key + X, and open an elevated Command Prompt/Windows PowerShell, i.e. click on the relevant (Admin) option:

Enlarge Image

Then type:

Code: Select all

netsh winsock reset
netsh int ip C:\resetlog.txt
Reboot and see if that helps. If that doesn't help, you may want to consider replacing your router.

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 5:01 pm
by hitbyambulance
does your router support alternative firmware, like DD-WRT? if it does, try installing that.

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:00 pm
by Montag
Same behavior if the laptop is connected wired or wireless?

Re: Laptop knocks out home network

Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2020 6:32 pm
by Ralph-Wiggum
Didn't try it with a wired connection. The router this afternoon started flaking out even when the laptop wasn't connected, so I just went ahead and bought a new one. I just installed it and it's much faster. :horse: