My aunt is on VM 2mbit (i think,
, that is to say i know they have a Virgin media cable connection i'm just not 100% sure its 2mbit)
Anyway currently their wireless network consists of a Safecom SWBR5400 router and theres another pc in the other room D-link 802.11G Usb adaptor (can't remember the model) except the problem is.
A. They have very thick walls so the signal doesn't travel very well the D-link adapter barely picks it up from the room the other pc is in
B. The Router isn't very good tbh ts rather unstable.
Now my aunt recently bought a laptop off ebay that came with a 802.11b card however i couldn't get that working with wpa,
Then i tried a Belkin 802.11G card which worked fine until i rebooted the laptop then decided it didn't want to work it would either come up in device not enough free resources or just freeze the laptop, tried disabling a few devices to free up some IRQS.etc didn't make a difference.
Of course my biggest mistake here was i removed the driver for the old card figuring if i was going to use it again id get an updated driver.... well i would have but its like looking for a needle in a haystack (from memory the card is a z-com xi-330b it mights as well not exist as far as finding a drive is concerned)
Although I seem to recall that particular wi-fi card used to make my mums laptop lockup (which i thought was just my mums laptop seeing as it was a second hand one but seeing as it does the same with my aunts laptop i think the card is probably screwed.)
Anyway I ended up shoving the d-link USB dongle in the back of the laptop as a temporary measure and got it working on the wireless (although the laptop only has a usb1.1 port on it, its a p3 800mhz laptop she bought it because it was pink.
)
It managed to pickup about 60% signal from the livingroom with the d-link although it had a tendency to drop out.
This story does actually have a meaning because the actual question i wanted to ask is their a router thats
A. Not to expensive
B. Has a nice high TX power or decent antennas so its more likely to work though the walls, i'm not sure if the bad signal coverage currently is down to the walls or the fact the safecom router is rather poo and that d-link usb adaptor wasn't known for the best sensitivity either.
They didn't buy any of the current wireless stuff so they don't mind spending some money to get it replaced with better kit if its going to help.
(the Swbr5400, d-link usb adaptor and the belkin card was stuff i had sitting in my desk draw and let them have, the other 802.11b card came with the laptop.)
I do wander if i should try and get them to get homeplug for the pc in the back bedroom, but it is a tad pricey.
If it came bundled with a card for the laptop that would be great but if not can anyone recommends one.
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