Harry,

It's not beyond the realms of possibility that there's an IP conflict somewhere. My daughter's laptop always used to conflict with another device for some unknown reason.

The only effective solution that we could muster was to take that machine off DHCP and assign it a static IP address outside of the block being used by the other DHCP clients. It's easy enough to do, and there are no shortage of instructions on the interweb that can be found by Googling some simple terms such as 'assign static ip vista'.

The downside of this is that it can be a headache if your lodger goes to uni or an internet cafe, for instance, and finds herself unable to hook onto another LAN.

Incidentally, what make router do you have (both old and new), and what lifetime do the leases have (conflicts could/would occur if a lease expires)?

And I thought girls weren't technically minded! :-)

Old router was a Netgear N600.
New one is a Bright Box (as supplied by Orange/EE).

I really appreciate your assistance, but I think we need to find out if it connects to another WiFi network and I know she takes the laptop to the Library and to Uni, so that is her next task. As everything else connects here, I am reluctant to mess around too much with the router settings just to accommodate her. As with most students, she uses the laptop just about anywhere that she can find free Wifi, so it's got to work no matter where she is.

I think I might do a factory reset on the old router and see if it works as I wonder if it was her laptop which was corrupting the router in the first place.

Well you wouldn't need to mess around with the router in any way in order to assign a static IP to your lodger's NIC, Harry. That alteration is something that's done solely on the laptop itself, and it's easy enough to reverse the change and re-enable DHCP once you've done some testing.

The other thing I probably should have asked is what wireless networking standard is the router broadcasting on (B, G, N or a mix)? That could be a possible cause of the problem if your lodger has an older machine. It might be worth temporarily lowering the standard to test if that improves things - you can always raise the standard back up again once you've done some testing.

Skinners,

You're right, most girls aren't technically minded. But you were forgetting that I'm both extraordinarily intelligent and naturally gifted in beauty.

:o)

Hils - obviously I remembered that as I pressed the send button. :-)

11b+11g+11n wireless mode.

I trust this isn't affecting your trading abilities today Hilary? Not that I'm suggesting that you can't multi-task but ..............................................I'll get my coat! ;o)

I think she mainly uses these Harry :-)

At least they don't answer back!

Hils, is most surely also an utterly fantastic driver and also a brilliant lover too - just like wot I am.

Right, Hils?

:-)

That goes without saying, Doc, although I regret being unable to vouch for your own capabilities in either of those departments. Being a man, I suspect that you might have over estimated by between 75 and 100%.

Is that a woman's 75%?

Well my wife and daughter do say I ought to take the car in more frequently to get the indicators checked. So you might well be right.

Which would undoubtedly be far more accurate than a man's 9", Skinners.

For a very happy relationship, the best length for a man to have is one that is 'just right' and 'fits perfectly'.

Unless you know different skinny........ hilary is also a male name.........lol

eg. As in 'Sir Head Man Hilary'.

Nothing surprises me any more. Anyhow, as birds or blokes go, he/she does have unforgettably long cracking legs.

Unfortunately, Doc, one of those unforgettably long cracking legs is gonna have some holes drilled in it soon and it might not be quite so cracking after that.

:o(

New hip?

Nah....

Hmmm?

I bet you've been skiing? Surely, you're not repairing a broken leg from it?