SOLVED Sony VPCJ1 desktop poor connection via TP Link TL PA101 to Virgin Superhub

[lwrpy]

Good afternoon,

My Sony VPCJ1 desktop is running Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit). It is located in my garden office so is too far away from the modem to use wireless. Instead I connect it to the internet by using a TP Link (model TL PA101) which plugs into an ordinary power socket, and that then links to the modem by using the house electrical wiring (the modem is connected to an identical TP Link device). I hope all that makes sense. Here's the problem:

Everything worked fine until I 'upgraded' the modem to a Virgin Superhub (Netgear VMDG485). This meant that my laptop (connected wirelessly) could no longer connect to the internet. This was fixed by updating the wireless network adaptor (see separate thread on that).

The remaining problem is that the Sony Desktop's connection has now become very slow (files attached to an email can take 10 times as long to download now) and somewhat unreliable (eg, sometimes terminating a radio feed). I am guessing that I need to update something on the Desktop in order to get it communicating efficiently with the VirginSuperhub, but I'm not sure where to start or what to check. Advice much appreciated.

 

[TrainableMan]

You could check for an update to the LAN driver on the office computer.

I don't see any updates listed for the TL PA101 but I do notice it was only rated for OSes up to Windows Vista.

 

[lwrpy]

Hello,

So, it could be worth upgrading my TP Link gear then, and make sure it's Windows 7 compatible? Happy to do that, but could you read the below first and let me have your thoughts?

Just back from holiday to find that my Sony VPCJ1 desktop is now dropping the internet connection (or failing to establish it in the first place). Windows diagnostics reports that the problem is that the "Local Area Connections doesn't have a valid IP configuration." It also returned the following information:
Network Adapter Local Areas Connection Driver Information - Description Marvell Yukon 88E8059 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller Version 11.22.4.3; Inf File date 12 Nov 2009.

Presumably this is the LAN driver you referred to? Where's a good place to check to see if an update is available (bearing in mind that I probably can't use the desktop itself to carry out this check, as it doesn't have reliable internet access).

Thankfully, I am still able to communicate with you via the laptop (that you helped me fix)!

 

[TrainableMan]

marvel - get the W7 64-bit ver 11.45.4.3 from 3/27/12

 

[lwrpy]

OK, I have updated the Marvel Ethernet Controller successfully. At first that didn't make any difference, even after a couple of re-boots. (Oddly, it was able to connect to a wireless network.) But a day later I'm finding that the computer is now connecting to the internet successfully again, (through the TP-Link) but occasionally drops the connection for a few minutes. Is that normal, or should I be seeking to update some other aspect of the set-up do you think?

 

[TrainableMan]

I suspect that odd spikes in your electrical could cause issues; maybe we had a lot of solar flares or something. If it ends up being too unreliable then consider buying a wireless repeater and using a wireless adapter in the Sony desktop.

 

[lwrpy]

Good evening,

I spoke to Virgin support and after trying a few things they concluded that it was probably my powerline adapter (PA) at fault ('given up the ghost' was the technical description used). I did a speed test on my existing PA (TP Link) connection (from my garden 'shed') to the Superhub (in the house, 20 metres away) and that returned a download speed of 0.86mbps (upload of 2.98 mbps, ping of 11ms). I have now invested in a replacement PA, the Develo Triple 650+ powerline adapter, which has boosted the download speed to 14.87 mbps (upload of 3.08mbps and ping of 9ms). This seems a big improvement, but I will now monitor the situation for a few days to see if things start actually working more smoothly.

I chose this powerline adapter as the reviews suggested it was best for coping with long distances between the hub and the desktop.

 

[lwrpy]

I am pleased to report that the desktop is now connecting reliably to the Superhub, and downloading / uploading at decent speeds. Hence I am going to mark this thread as solved.