The Official Computer Tech Support Thread

[Freebase Dali]

Originally Posted by Captain Awesome

Hopefully someone more knowledgeable than myself can help me with this situation i have.

My computer is up stairs and picks up a wireless connection to the internet using a Belkin usb thing that sits in a little dock and is connected to the back of my PC with a cable through one of the usb slots. I've not had any problems with it until today, my pc disconnected from the internet and when i tried to reconnect it told me there was no networks available to connect to. And yet the computer downstairs is still connecting fine and the wireless was working on my friends lap top. Obviously i have it working now, i took the little usb thing out of its docking station thing and just slotted it into one of the usb slots at the front of my pc (random idea i thought it was worth a shot) and hey presto i'm back on the itnernet (connection also seems to be stronger).

Anyway, can anyone tell me what may have went wrong?

If the USB controller lost communication with your USB device for any reason, that could have caused it. Being that USB devices are based on PnP technology, simply pulling them out and re-inserting them usually brings them back up without any other necessary intervention.

I'm not sure if your "docking station thing" is a USB hub (device that allows you to plug multiple USB devices in while only using a single USB port), but I never had any luck with maintaining a fast, reliable connection using them with multiple devices plugged in because the USB bandwidth and voltage per port is limited.
I would recommend that for any USB device that requires stability, you plug that device directly into its own port on the PC.