My system is a Dell quad core with Vista Home Premium. The router is a Belkin N1 and the wireless card is Belkin N1 PCI desktop card. My ISP is Rogers (broadband cable), modem a MotorolaSurfBoard. The router is Vista logoed and I have obtained the Vista 32 bit drivers for the card from Belkin. Router is within 12 feet of the desktop. I can connect to the internet(connection never drops) wireless and through my second hard wired computer. The issue is that Vista indicates a `fair` (2 bars)signal strength, task bar icon. Occassionally the signal strength shows `excellent` (5 bars) but will revert to 2 bars if I disconnect and rec-connect. I have no way of determining actual throughput. Given my internet connection is stable .... anyone know of any issues with Vista metering or any other explanation.

Hi refc, Thank you for the post. The wireless Internet connection signal can be impacted by many factors, such as conflicts with other wireless devices, the stability and quality of the network card and other environments around. As you can connect the Internet successfully, we can safely ignore the issue. If you would like to improve the signal, please refer to the following articles: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/wirelesstips.mspx http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wirelessfaqs/f/signal_strength.htm Please Note: Since the website is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information. You can also contact Belkin for more information. Hope it helps. Best regards, Tim Quan Microsoft Online Community Support

Thanks for your response Tim. Since my post I have spent a day (literally) with Belkin tech support who indicate it is a router problem. The router was swapped out, no change with the new one. Dell tech support however determined that it was a driver issue with the Belkin card. Belkin only offer Vista 32 bit drivers in beta for my card version and theBelkin techs advise they do not know when or if stable and approved drivers will be availible. The Belkinrouter and cardis being returned fora Linksys router and card. Linksys has Vista 32 bit drivers for their card. We will se how that combination performs. The links you sent me were helpful and both suggest that card driver issues are problematic as the router talks to the card, the card must also talk back to the router. I am not suggesting Belkin is not a good product but for use with Vista until the driver issue is corrected it might be one others will want to avoid. Thanks again.

Hi refc, Thank you for the reply. I am glad to hear that the cause has been found and the information I provided is helpful. Now I will mark this thread as Answered. If you have other Windows Vista issues in the future, please feel free to post new threads. Hope it helps. Best regards, Tim Quan Microsoft Online Community Support