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[dhaider]

Hi. I'm using a new DWA-643 on my VISTA 32bit notebook (Asus S6F). I'm using a DSL-2740B router. The problems described below also occur if I connect via an alternative Netgear router, so it does not seem related to the router. Also I have another notebook computer with a DWA-140 (Windows XP) and a desktop using a DWA-556 (Windows VISTA). I have NO PROBLEMS with the connection provided by the DWA-140 or the DWA-556. The problem is ONLY with the DWA-643.

Problem:
Very frequent disconnections of the wifi. By disconnection I mean that Vista reports the wireless connection has gone from Local + Internet to Local only. When this occurs the internet is not accessible. The router config page is also not accessible at these times. To restore the connection I need to disconnect and reconnect or restart the computer or the router. Disconnections occur between seconds and about 20 mins. Moving large files across my LAN or downloading files also often triggers a disconnection.

I have tried all versions of the vista driver. The one on the original CD, as well as all versions available on the US website as well as the one provided by windows update. I am not running Vista SP1, just Vista 32bit. I have also tried using the DLink utility and Vista zero config. I have tried DHCP and manual IP with no change in behaviour. I have tried disabling all power management in vista as well as the DWA-643. I have tried a clean install of vista. I have tried disabling QoS and IPv6. During all tests, the inbuilt wireless adaptor on my notebook has been disabled from the device manager. The inbuilt wireless also functions perfectly, all be it at 802.11G speeds as designed. I get no disconnection with the inbuild wireless adapter.

If I disable wireless network security the DWA-643 works reliably with no problems! As soon as WPA or WPA2 is enabled the DWA-643 suffers problems again. I can find no other way to fix the problems, other than disabling WPA/2. I am not prepared to run without security to fix the problems.

Given the DWA-140 on an XP machine and the DWA-556 on Vista seem to work fine on the network I can only presume the is a problem with the DWA-643 itself or more likely the drivers.

[mkhatri]

D-Link have released driver for this adapter from Nov-08. Please install these, you can download them from www.dlink.co.uk. You can also call our technical support lines, where an support agent can help to diagnose problems. Tel: 0871 873 3000.

[funchords]

If I disable wireless network security the DWA-643 works reliably with no problems! As soon as WPA or WPA2 is enabled the DWA-643 suffers problems again. I can find no other way to fix the problems, other than disabling WPA/2. I am not prepared to run without security to fix the problems.

Be sure you're erasing any saved wireless settings on the DWA-643 computer and restarting it -- do this each time you change security modes on the wireless AP.  Otherwise, the saved wireless settings may become invalid or corrupted and you will eventually lose connection -- either within the first few minutes, or the next time some WPA key is supposed to be cycled.

Moving large files across my LAN or downloading files also often triggers a disconnection.

If your network is otherwise stable until heavy downloading happens, then it's an issue with the hardware itself (slow or defective), hardware sharing resources (IRQ, for example) with the DWA-643 (see if you can disable or move things around), the drivers or speed of the PCMCIA bus (check your laptop maker for updates), or the Machine+O/S is fully taxed out and doesn't renegotiate with the AP on time (check CPU utilization during such a transfer).