PowerBook Airport Card looses network and causes unstable...

The Airport Card on my PowerBook 1.67 is having some sort of strange problem. The wireless network I am using suddenly cuts off and disappears and the signal indicator on the toolbar drops to zero bar.
But this is not the only problem, the desktop will become very unstable -- when I move the mouse, the cursor jumps around (sort of like something is running busy and causing the computer to lag).
When I turn off Airport the problem goes away (unstable stage).
Sometimes I have luck by going under preferences > network > airport to re-sign on to the network I was using, but sometimes it will not come back on (it won't pick up the signal), or the desktop cursor keeps jumping (unstable). And I have the restart the computer then it's back to normal.
Did Apple release any update on Airport Card? Thanks

Interesting....
My wife's 15" 1.67 GHz PowerBook just started experiencing the same problem (except for the Desktop issue). She can be using her laptop and her preferred network will suddenly vanish. She is usually less than 30 feet from the router at the time and had strong signal strength prior to losing the network. Meanwhile, other iMacs and iBooks in the house can still see the network and have no loss in signal strength.
This problem started happening less than a week ago. Prior to then, this laptop received excellent wireless reception in our house. No changes have been made in our Linksys router in over a month. No Apple updates have been installed since March 2nd (Security Update 2006-001).
This issue seems to be different from past Airport reception problems discussed on this board regarding a design problem. Up until now, she has experienced fairly good reception with her PowerBook. I agree it is not as good as the reception on our iBook, but it has not been an issue for her.
When did you start noticing your version of this problem?
Mitch
PowerBook 15" 1.67GHz   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  

Similar Messages

  • Airport Card finds network and says connected but won't let me on internet!

    My airport is on and finds a network, shows full strength of signal (like it's done for the past 8 months). But it has stopped letting me onto the internet. Safari and Mail hang and say they are not connected. If I go ahead and plug the ethernet cable in (from same network) it starts up fine. I live in a hotel and have done the same thing for 8 months, why today would it start doing this? Can anyone help. This is my first mac and I haven't the foggiest how to deal with this. I've turned airport off, restarted, turned it back on etc. It always finds a signal and says it's ready, but won't let me onto the internet. Thanks for any help you have.

    Is the internet service also password protected? (As in, do you need a password for both the wireless and for the internet connection?) If so, then when you run the "assist me" option you should set up a PPP connection. That's my situation but I still have problems with it remembering my settings after rebooting or disconnecting...

  • "airport card not installed" and can't open network preferences

    I was earlier having the problem of no ip address and not connecting to the Internet and self assigning an ip address.  I tried everything to fix that and on my last attempt I turned off the airport and shut down but now it says I dont have an airport card installed. How do I fix this?

    Your running snow leopard which may be the case. Probably not but i recommend doing a clean install of snow leopard if the problem perrsists.
    Also I suggest going to the apple store anyways. I personally enjoy finding help on the forums but sometimes if you book in advance going to the apple is a whole lot simpler.
    You might also want to try upgrading your operating system to Lion or Mountain Lion which may fix the problem.
    Yet another option would be to open up the laptop (Voids your warranty) and check is the airpot card is loose and maybe not being recognized.
    https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR0HqbOHmgrl2qyu1kRZuMgFxgpt 0drL59Wz6IIiNGqKrh157p7vQ
    ^Picture of airport card^
    Hope this helps,
    -FRSH

  • PC Cards and the Aluminum G4 Powerbook: Airport Cards vs PC Cards

    I have a very nice PB G4/1.25Ghz/FW800 with Airport Extreme installed, but the range is not very good compared to the other laptops in the house.
    My wife's Dell Latitude D600 (with internal 802.11g) gets better reception in the nether reaches of the house than my PB. Not by a lot, but it does get usable reception in areas I can't get or keep a signal when I do get one.
    To make matters worse, I just repaired by son's girlfriend's Toshiba Satellite laptop with a Netgear 802.11b pc card installed (from her previous laptop) and this ancient card gets GREAT reception all over the house!
    I am sure it's because the antenna is outside the case of the computer and so acts like an external antenna, so naturally it gets a better signal. However, I'd like to get great reception also and the antenna offerings I've seen are expensive and in some cases, not easy to install and frankly, kludgey and they stick out too much and look like they'd be easy to break and/or lose.
    What I'm considering is a wireless/g pc card. They're inexpensive, easy to install and easy to remove. I know that PBs have limited PC card options and they must use the Broadcom chipset to be compatible, but even the "designed for Apple cards are cheaper than an antenna. And, not surprisingly, there are variations in the reception quality of PC Cards in general.
    There are several PC Cards that are NOT designed for Macs that are supposed to work after Airport 3.1 but I don't know which they are. Does anyone have any idea which PC Cards ) other than the Sonnet Aria and the MacWireless 11g?
    And do I have to remove the internal Airport card before installing an aftermarket PC Card?
    I'd like to be able to choose from a larger pool of potentially compatible PC Cards using price and reception as my criteria.
    JoeL

    Kurt,
    There are a couple of other cards "specifically" for the Mac and without the satellite dish! ; - )
    The Sonnet Aria is one:
    http://www.sonnettech.com/product/aria_extreme.html
    And the MacWireless 11g is another:
    http://www.macwireless.com/html/products/11g11bcards/11gPCCard.php
    I have no idea which of the three is better, certainly that antenna on the Hawking looks impressive, but my guess is that any pc card 802.11g is going to get better reception than the stock Powerbook internal antenna, titanium or aluminum!
    I'm still not sure exactly which way to go here, and I'm still researching which of these three offer the best signal and if there is a PC/pc card that can work with the PB and gets an even better signal.
    I have noticed some comparisons of cards and even between 802.11g pc cards there is a wide variability between signal strength received, so having a wider net to cast is a good thing.
    JoeL

  • Macbook Pro Airport Card looses connection if not running a continuous network ping

    Okay, I have a crazy issue going on. 
    Since I upgraded to Mountain Lion, soon after my Airport Card started disconnecting from any network and I would have to turn it off/on to get it working again and then it would die about 45 seconds later.  This repeats over and over.  I have found that if I run a continuous ping to something else on the network it will stay live and not disconnect.  So, my Airport Card will stay connected if I run a continuous ping, but without it it will die every time.  What the heck is going on?  Did Mountain Lion put something in the firmware on my Airport card that is messing it up?  I have done fresh installs many times and downgraded to lion and snow lepard and still the same issue.  Is my Wifi Nic just dead or is this some other issues like the antenna?  I have a new Wifi Nic in route from China but I want to make sure I finish running through all other possibilities before it arrives.
    Thank you
    Kevin Monette

    I'm sure you meant to post in the appropriate forum. This area is for MBP (Original). You want MacBook Pro (Late 2008 and Early 2009) here:
    http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=190
    1. Try typing a $ before your password, so $password.
    2. Proximity to your router without walls in the way is helpful for proper signal. Proper orientation of your router is also helpful.

  • IBook G4 airport card sees networks, won't connect?

    This iBook was connected before, I just restored it, updated all I could (wired) but now won't connect to my wireless network. I have a good signal with other computers and iPhones.

    I also have a similar problem. My AirPort Extreme card sees the network, and even connects to it. But every 10 minutes or so, it will seem like it's not connected. At those times, I can't load pages or use internet for anything on my computer, but other devices can.
    The only way for me to make it work again is by deactivating AirPort, and then activating it again. Then it will work for a short period of time, and I'll have to repeat the process again. Any idea on why it does this? The card is well connected and all, and it only started doing this a day or two ago, it was fine before that.
    I'm running an iBook G4 with OS X 10.3.9.

  • Switching Ti Powerbook Airport card to iBook G3 , need advice

    Hello,
    I have a Ti Powerbook G4 1GHz running OS 10.4.5 and recently got my husband a G3 ibook 600 MHz running 10.2.8. I want to get him up and running wirelessly so I thought I would install my Airport card in his book and look for something else or my Powerbook. Do all the 3rd party cards hang out of the laptop and/or have antennas that extend? He surfs about three times a week, I am online 2 or more times a day. I would rarther not have somthing that hangs out or can get caught. However I thought it would be a plus to have my system on 802.11g.....
    Is there a better solution for his system? I am just looking into it and would appreciate anyone's advice on options for our systems.
    Thanks for your help.
    Ti Powerbook 1GHZ G4   Mac OS X (10.4.5)  

    Zyvette,Welcome to Apple Discussions.
    This sounds like a good plan.
    The iBook needs an original Airport card that the Ti has.
    Check out this site which has the manuals for all Macs - choose your models and the Airport card instructions are in there.
    You certainly can put a 802.11g card in your Ti - it will stick out a little, but it's that or spending $100+ or so on a 2nd hand original Airport card on ebay.
    Alternatively I have seen one of these cards crammed inside an Airport slot with some modifications - see this post.
    regards
    mrtotes

  • Airport card sees networks but won't connect.

    I'm not entirely sure why.
    Wired ethernet works fine, and our G4 Desktop's Airport card works fine.
    Mine, however, is being a bit wonky.
    I shut the computer down for the night about a week ago.
    Brought it back up and got the "There was an error joining AirPort network *our SSID*".
    Fine, sometimes it does that. I wait and it usually works in a few minutes.
    Not this time.
    We rebooted our Linksys WAP and our Cisco router, no good.
    Shut the iBook down again, reseated the Airport card, fired it back up and paid close attention to the verbose boot this time.
    Nothing abnormal, no errors.
    Still no wireless connection.
    I've tried connecting to other wireless networks around us, and we even defaulted the WAP back to out of box state (i.e. it was wide open and not passworded), but nothing. Every other wireless device in the house (G4 desktop, Dell laptop, and a Toshiba tablet) works just fine.
    The computer can SEE wireless networks, but it can't connect to anything.
    There have been no major system updates recently, and the only program I've installed in the past 3 MONTHS has been the World of Warcraft Burning Crusade expansion. Nothing else has changed, which is what's stumping me.
    I'm starting to wonder if:
    A) I'm overlooking something incredibly simple.
    B) My airport extreme card is dying.

    firstly, tesserax, a tremendous thank you for your help. unfortunately, i tried each step you suggested, but the problem continues.
    step 1: i have tried and failed to connect to several different networks in a handful of locations (home, work, friend's house, local coffee shop, etc.).
    step 2: i have disabled my own wireless encryption as well as the wireless encryption at a friends house, however, to do so i had to use their ibook, as my own either didn't list the base station in the AirPort utility (although it did list the base station in the AirPort status pull down), or it asked for a password even though the base station wasn't password protected (maybe this may add some insight into the issue?).
    step 3: i have connected the computer directly to the modem using an ethernet cable and was able to go online - perhaps this means the problem is related solely to the card.
    step 4: i moved the the com.apple.networkConfig.plist file and and the SystemConfiguration folder to the desktop and restarted. unfortunately, OS did NOT rebuild the files. instead, i had to go through the network diagnostics to rebuild them manually. while the files were replaced, the problem was not solved.
    step 5: i reset the PRAM, but the problem still exists.
    step 6: i reset the PMU, but the problem still exists.
    i then tried various combinations of your suggestions, including moving the files out of the preferences folder and then reseting the PRAM and the PMU, but still nothing.
    after having attempted every fix i could think of (and that was before posting to this forum) i did a full erase and install of the OS. since that's usually the cure all to whatever ails the computer, it's my assumption that the issue is a physical (hardware) one. that said, if you have any other suggestions i will be more than happy to give them a shot.
    thanks again,
    brad

  • AirPort card not installed and other odd behaviour

    Sorry for the long post, just want to provide all relevant info.
    I have a first gen intel mac book pro 15" that has been working fine from the day I got it (well except for the optical drive, but that's another story) and today it decided to start playing up.
    I've tried numerous things after googling around without success. I would greatly appreciate if anyone could help me find a solution.
    When I woke it from sleep by opening the lid today, it wouldn't connect to the wireless network so I clicked on the airport button in the menu and there appeared the message "No AirPort" card installed". Then I noticed that the volume button next to the AirPort button was also greyed out so I looked at Sound preferences and there appeared the message "No output devices found". Sometimes the screen would not turn on after waking from sleep so I tried connecting the laptop to my TV (no other monitor around) to see I could get a picture without success.
    After a restart or two, the computer would sometimes not boot – the LED light at the front of the laptop would light up but the computer would not load. A couple of restarts by holding the power button down later, the computer would start.
    At one point, when I hooked up the power adapter while logged in, the screen turned off. I had to restart the computer a few times to get it to work again (both with the power hooked up and when running on battery).
    I did some googling and tried a number of things to try to resolve the issue without success. I tried the following:
    - deleted the /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration folder. Apparently OSX gets confused with network adaptors sometimes.
    - repaired disk permissions
    - reset the NVRAM
    - reset the SMC
    - reset the PMU
    - tried running the hardware tests from the Snow Leopard DVD but my optical drive decided not to accept the DVD when attempting to boot from it (ie. holding the D button) even though it reads the DVD fine from within OSX.
    - i even booted OSX in verbose mode (cmd-V) to see if i could spot anything – didn't notice anything obvious.
    Not sure if this has anything to do with these issues, but I recently replaced my power adapter with a new one after the original one stopped working. I got the new style 85W power adapters after talking to the MyMac sales guy about which one suits my laptop. Looks like the cable got damaged over the years.
    Short of replacing the PVRAM battery in case it helps (apparently they last around 5 years), is there anything else anyone can suggest I try? or provide insight into the problem?
    Any help is much appreciated.

    Thanks for your suggestion.
    One thing I forgot to mention was that I have a Bootcamp partition with Windows 7 and when I boot into Windows 7, the wifi and sound also do not work.
    Do you think it is an OS X software problem if I'm having issues when booting into Windows 7?

  • 9300 Keeps loosing Network and Restarting!

    I just got a replacement for my old curve 9300 from blackberry (in which the internet wasn't working). 
    They gave me a new phone, and this phone keeps loosing the network service every few minutes. its comes as searching for network and then goes to no service. The Phone also Restarts randomly. Its running on OS6 Build 2475.
    Please Help

    The restarting problem sounds bad.  You could test if removing the memory card has any effect, test the phone Offline mode, with a different SIM card, or with no SIM card.  If none of that has an effect, since you already updated the firmware, there isn't much left besides a hard reset ( *#7370#, default password 12345 ).  Obviously, back up all your data first (contacts, calendar, etc.).    If that still doesn't help, you will likely need to have the phone serviced.  Good luck!

  • AirPort Express loses network and will not reconnect

    Hi all,
    I've seen several postings about similar issues but I'm not sure if mine has an answer or not. I have owned and used an Airport Express (A1084) for a number of years and it's always worked flawlessly. I recently acquired a second one and moved my original one up one floor to extend my G network and stream music to a different room. Now the Airport will lose its connection to the network every few days and then just blink amber until the power is cut off to the unit. It seems to always reconnect with no issue after the power has been shut off for a second. It has not moved that far away from it's original location and it is not placed even close to the effective range of the main wireless router, so I don't believe that incoming signal loss is the problem.
    All the settings on the Express are the same as they have been for years, so the only variables are the addition of the new Airport Express, which I don't have set up to accept wireless connections, and the new location of the device.
    Does anyone have some suggestions on a direction to go to trouble shoot this problem?

    You need to remember that most newer routers sold in the last 3-4 years allow their users to "hide" their network. In other words, the network is operating but your computer, or one of the commonly used utilities used to scan and display other networks likely will not be able to "see" these networks.
    In general, you should probably assume there are twice as many networks as your utility can "see" and since you can't see them, there's no way to know what channels they are using. So, it becomes a process of experimentation to try to find a a good channel for your wireless network.
    It's not just your cordless phone that can cause potential problems for your network. My neighbor....across the street...could drop the speed on my wireless to a crawl if he was in his front yard talking on his cordless phone. Again, there's not much you can do about this, except to know that there are far more forms of interference than most users ever imagine.
    Since most cordless phones operate at the 2.4 GHz frequency, same as your wireless network, you may be encountering some of the difficulties that I have with the neighbors cordless phones at least 100 feet away.
    I solved my issues by using 5 GHz wireless as there are for the moment, much fewer networks using this frequency band. You may need to look at that possibility as well if your problems continue.

  • AirPort Express - extend network and/or AirTunes - one or both ?

    I would like use my second AE to extend my existing AE network AND wire it to my stereo to use the AirTunes feature. No trouble setting it up for AirTunes but can't seen to get it to extend the network. Any tips about how I can get both features to perform as advertised?

    If you need more wireless coverage, you can use the WDS configuration method for a "mix" of older "b/g" and newer "n" devices.
    The big downsides here are that WDS operates only at "g" wireless, so you lose any faster "n" capability on the network...and...the bandwidth of the entire network will be cut in half. So, in effect you will have a bit more wireless coverage, but it will be a "g" wireless network running at half speed.
    I don't recommend this, but if you want to try, post back for more details.

  • Using Airport for office network and still connect to public wifi

    HI
    I work in the public sector and we have open public wifi network that we can connect to, but have no control over and would never be given no access by our service user. we are a small sub contractor in a office tucked away.
    We have 3 Macs and 2 wifi printers and several iPhones and iPads, our thought was to link them all and create a mini local network using the Airport extreme but still stay connected to the Wifi. as the only other option would be a 4G router but that is hit and miss with the connection.
    After much stubbornness on my behalf i can not seem to fathom a way round this problem, is there a solution with the devices we have
    Ian

    No we can't get access from the company we work for they let us have wifi access only with no controls.
    and the building has no phone access as we are in the middle of a hospital.
    the office has all its devices and printers that we can't link but separately we can connect to the guest wifi

  • Why does my airport express loose my network?

      Airport express looses network connection often, why?

    It is very possible that you may have some form of Wi-Fi interference that is preventing your AirPort Express Base Station (AXn) from getting a clean Wi-Fi signal to connect to.
    I suggest you perform a simple site survey, using utilities like iStumbler, or AirRadar to determine potential areas of interference, and then, try to either eliminate or significantly reduce them where possible.

  • Latest Apple Software Update causes 'No Airport card installed' error

    Hi,
    I accepted the Software Update released 05Apr08 and rebooted. Following the reboot my MacBook Air now says 'no airport card installed' and I can't get the MacBook to 're-recognize' the card.
    I have used the airport card to access many different wireless networks prior to this update with no issues.
    All advice accepted gratefully.
    Thanks.

    I'm having the same problem with a brand new Macbook Air I picked up on Tuesday. When I got it home I updated all software to latest, and didn't have any issues...
    Sometime on Thursday, however, after waking from sleep the airport card reported it is off, and no amount of attempting to turn it on again would successfully do so. After a restart, the computer reported no Airport card is installed at all. I had to shut down the computer and turn it back on before the airport card was recognized (and work) again. This is now the case every time the computer is put to sleep. Occasionally after I do this, the network will be incredibly slow, something like dialup speeds.
    First I tried resetting the PMU (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449), but that didn't work. Then I reset the PRAM and NVRAM (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238), which worked for only about a day. Now here I am again with the same issue, and an appointment for the genius bar at 5pm tonight.

Maybe you are looking for