wireless adapter random failure

[sirbinks]

We have a wireless adapter card that is on the fritz and I was hoping someone here might have some insight. Symptom is that wireless connection will randomly drop, showing no net access but working local access. Despite showing network connectivity, attempts to access the router fail. Resetting the adapter temporarily resolves the issue until the next drop.

Here is the windows diagnostic report from the last failure:

Diagnostics Information (Network Adapter) Details about network adapter diagnosis: 


Network adapter Wireless Network Connection driver information:


   Description . . . . . . . . . . : N600 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter
   Manufacturer  . . . . . . . . . : TP-LINK
   Provider  . . . . . . . . . . . : TP-LINK
   Version   . . . . . . . . . . . : 9.2.0.489
   Inf File Name . . . . . . . . . : C:\Windows\INF\oem1.inf
   Inf File Date . . . . . . . . . : Monday, January 21, 2013  10:56:49 AM
   Section Name  . . . . . . . . . : ATHR_DEV_OS61_938x.ndi
   Hardware ID . . . . . . . . . . : pci\ven_168c&dev_0030&subsys_3116168c
   Instance Status Flags . . . . . : 0x180200a
   Device Manager Status Code  . . : 0
   IfType  . . . . . . . . . . . . : 71
   Physical Media Type . . . . . . : 9


 
 
Diagnostics Information (Wireless Connectivity) 
Details about wireless connectivity diagnosis: 


Information for connection being diagnosed
 Interface GUID: 601cc9a7-e083-4b90-8bd2-4bcd436ee068
 Interface name: N600 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter
 Interface type: Native WiFi


Connection incident diagnosed
 Auto Configuration ID: 1
 Connection ID: 1


Connection status summary
 Connection started at: 2013-10-18 21:30:50-189
 Profile match: Success
 Pre-Association: Success
 Association: Success
 Security and Authentication: Success


List of visible access point(s): 3 item(s) total, 3 item(s) displayed
        BSSID        BSS Type PHY    Signal(dB)    Chnl/freq    SSID
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
20-76-00-BC-7A-84    Infra     <unknown>    -84        1     CenturyLink1013
28-10-7B-ED-23-7C    Infra     <unknown>    -40        10     Nirvana
EE-43-F6-1A-7D-20    Infra     <unknown>    -88        7     KYKUIT99


Connection History


 Information for Auto Configuration ID 1


  List of visible networks: 3 item(s) total, 3 item(s) displayed
  BSS Type PHY    Security    Signal(RSSI)    Compatible    SSID
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Infra     <unknown>    Yes        32    Yes        CenturyLink1013
  Infra     <unknown>    Yes        100    Yes        Nirvana
  Infra     <unknown>    Yes        18    Yes        KYKUIT99


  List of preferred networks: 1 item(s)
   Profile: Nirvana
    SSID: Nirvana
    SSID length: 7
    Connection mode: Infra
    Security: Yes
    Set by group policy: No
    Connect even if network is not broadcasting: No
    Connectable: Yes


 Information for Connection ID 1
 Connection started at: 2013-10-18 21:30:50-189
  Auto Configuration ID: 1
  Profile: Nirvana
  SSID: Nirvana
  SSID length: 7
  Connection mode: Infra
  Security: Yes
  Pre-Association and Association
   Connectivity settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
   Security settings provided by hardware manufacturer (IHV): No
   Profile matches network requirements: Success
   Pre-association status: Success
   Association status: Success
    Last AP:  28-10-7b-ed-23-7c
  Security and Authentication
   Configured security type: WPA2-PSK
   Configured encryption type: CCMP(AES)
   802.1X protocol: No
   Key exchange initiated: Yes
    Unicast key received: Yes
    Multicast key received: Yes
   Number of security packets received: 0
   Number of security packets sent: 0
   Security attempt status: Success
 Connectivity
   Packet statistics
    Ndis Rx: 60867
    Ndis Tx: 25670
    Unicast decrypt success: 0
    Multicast decrypt success: 0
    Unicast decrypt failure: 0
    Multicast decrypt failure: 0
    Rx success: 29
    Rx failure: 4097
    Tx success: 2
    Tx failure: 190
    Tx retry: 0
    Tx multiple retry: 0
    Tx max lifetime exceeded: 0
    Tx ACK failure: 1464
   Roaming history: 0 item(s)




 
 
Diagnostics Information (Wireless Connectivity) 
Details about wireless connectivity diagnosis: 


For complete information about this session see the wireless connectivity information event.


Helper Class: Auto Configuration
 Initialize status: Success


Information for connection being diagnosed
 Interface GUID: 601cc9a7-e083-4b90-8bd2-4bcd436ee068
 Interface name: N600 Wireless Dual Band PCI Express Adapter
 Interface type: Native WiFi


Result of diagnosis: There may be problem








 
 
Network Diagnostics Log 
File Name:  ADF52875-B6B2-4C59-8545-FDA4AEE10E15.Diagnose.0.etl 
 
Other Networking Configuration and Logs 
File Name:  NetworkConfiguration.cab 
 
Collection information 
Computer Name:  COBALT 
Windows Version: 6.1 
Architecture: amd64 
Time: Friday, October 18, 2013 10:15:16 PM

Fixes attempted:
problem has persisted through multiple restarts, and a system reformat
router has bee power cycled
driver has been un/re-installed (currently the latest version)
broadcast channel has been changed on the router a few times, currently on 8 and hoping for improvement

Thanks in advance guys. I'm pretty handy with computers but I don't know what else to try here.

[djjkxbox360]

Sounds like the card is faulty. Easy way to check would be to see if the problem still happens on another operating system. Use a Linux live cd/USB

[naelstrof]

Are you installing the driver using windows update? (because you shouldn't)
Otherwise I suggest to invest in direct connections or a better wireless adapter.

You should also check that it's not your router causing the issues. This can be done via direct connection.