I have a HP Pavillion DX5-1002US and I find that I frequently lose network connection (network access just stops) The desktop icon does not reflect the dropped connection. Disconnecting and reconnecting usually works however there are nights where I lose the connection so frequently I shut down my system and stop using it out of frustration. I am running the release version of Windows 7 installed from my MSDN subscription.

Hi,Is there another Windows 7 machine in the network? If so, does the issue also occur on that machine?You canperform the followign steps to troubleshoot the issue.1. Bypass the router (if there is) and connect to DSL directly via wired cable. Is Internet Connection still lost?2. Restart the computer in Safe Mode with Networking for a test.3. Temporarily turn off firewall on the computer and router (if it has).4. Upgrade the NIC driver for Windows 7.What's the result?Thanks,Novak

There is not another Windows 7 machine on the network. There is one hp dv4 on the network with the Atheros wireless card and her machine is also losing the connection when running Vista. This machine was also losing the connection when under Vista. Actually that was one reason I switched to Windows 7....frequently an upgrade to a new OS results in better handling of my hardware than under older software. When I got the errors previously, I ran the following tests to determine that the problem was in the OS (driver issue) and not the router: Ping Microsoft to see how far the transaction went. It never resolved so it never made it to DNS. Attempt to connect to the router admin function via the browser. No go. Ping the router address as well as the loopback connector. The router address 'could not be resolved by the local machine' and the loopback ping worked. Connected to the router using the other machine and succeeded. The router log showed there were no events. I will try the other tests to let you know what happens when I try them. Michael

I noticed that the interrupts occured more frequently after installing the HP provided driver. I reverted to the Microsoft driver and it was more stable but I still got the disconnects. Today I turned off the firewall and was able to watch an entire movie without interuption! I know of one other machine that is having problems -- I'll talk to my coworker and see if his problems clear up after turning off the firewall.

OK! I look forward to your reply.

OK. Here is the situation: For myself I am experiencing mostly an improvement with the Windows Firewall turned off. I still have random periods, though, where my connection is lost randomly. I've since installed Comodo to secure the system since my prior posts. My ongoing workaround is to disconnect my connection and then reconnect to the router. My friend at work turned off his Firewall but did not experience an improvement. His problems are a bit different : He connects with a single application but loses his internet connection when he runs a second application. Like clockwork. For a while we thought that the trigger for the disconnect was when an application started multiple threads on the internet because we both got constant drops when doing large downloads. But since then it has become apparent that this isn't always the case. After reviewing our systems (his is desktop and mine is laptop) we found only one commonality: We both have an Atheros LAN card on our systems' motherboard. I do have to say that I did not have issues with this card until this past May under Vista (numerous similar Vista posts exist with this issue) and was the reason I upgraded to Windows 7. It appears that there was a change that occured in the May timeframe and that code also made it into Windows 7. My next step: I am disabling my Atheros network card and connecting a matching network radio by the same vendor as my router and see if I experience an improvement. (BTW -- I'm a senior .NET developer and was one of the original members of the Microsoft Technical Beta Team back in the win95-NT 4.0 days)

UPDATE: OK...had trouble finding my other wireless USB connector. But I think I stumbled onto something. I noticed that at certain times my connection with the Microsoft drivers became as unstable as with the Atheros drivers from HP. I began to keep notice of what surrounded the incidents and finally found the culprit (so to speak). REPRO: Login to Windows 7 Use the system throughout the day At night do NOT turn it off, just let the system hybernate For several days just run Windows 7 through a cycle of wake, hybernate, wake, hybernate You should now begin to see the wireless network become unstable. Connections are lost but the icon does not display that the network is local only. Mouse over the connection, click it, disconnect / reconnect. Some videos will work but in general the network connectivity will be lost in about 5 minutes diconnect/reconnect -- the instability begins to increase If you shut down completely then reboot the network stability returns. So actually there are several issues here. Network instability after a long cycle of hybernations. Network tray icon (host) not getting updated with correct status. HP Atheros drivers.