[ubuntu-uk] some user losing internet access

[Chris Rowson]

> Hello all,
>
> My quest to spread the ubuntu word has brought me to a problem. I have set up
> feisty machines and introduced them to cafe's to remove their windows
> dependence and provide them with a stable system to stream music and do their
> paperwork/email etc.
>
> Over the last few weeks though, two of these machines have symptoms of a
> problem. users are losing their internet connections and their music is
> grinding to a halt.
>
> The wireless seems to be fine, so the connection is still there, and the admin
> account (not root, but admin) seems to keep the connection after the user
> accounts have lost theirs.
>
> after 10-20 minutes it will reconnect automatically.
>
> I'm runnning feisty on a dell optiplex320.
> 512Mb
> Pentium Duo 3.0GHz

Hi there,

That's a pretty open ended question ;-)

How long have you had the problem, and how long where the computers
running OK before it started?

How many computers have you got connected to the wireless access point
- Is this an internet cafe type setup, or a couple of computers set up
for staff?

What kind of wireless card are you using in the PCs? If you run the
command 'sudo lshw -C network' - and post the output here it should
tell us.

Are there other wireless access points in the area? If so, are they on
a similar channel - they could be interfering. Running 'sudo iwconfig'
will tell you which interface you're running wireless on, and then
running 'sudo iwlist <interface name here> scan' will show other
access points in the area.

What are you using to connect to the network, network manager?

So in summary:

1> Problems with hardware/drivers
2> Problems with interference
3> Problems with software/wireless managers

Other than that, try posting your issue at
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/ too - it's worth getting help
there too.

Cheers

Chris