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tbeasley123

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Connecting Vista to Motorola SBG900 Surfboard gateway

I've got a weird situation that I haven't been able to figure out.  I've got a new Gateway laptop model MT6840 running Windows Vista Home Premium.  This is the only computer in the home network and I've got a Comcast Motorola SBG900 wireless gateway.  The issue that I'm having is connecting wirelessly when at home.  If I'm at home and sit my laptop right next to the router I can see the wireless network and connect to it and then go anywhere in the house.  If I turn on the laptop in another room in the house other than right next to the router then it doesn't see the wireless, as soon as I walk in the room where the router is sitting then it works and I can connect and then go back to the part in the house where I couldn't connect.

Here's what I've tried.
1. Changing wireless routers - same exact issue on a different router
2. Updating laptop and routers with latest updates/firmware.
3. Changing channels on wireless routers
4. Changing SSID's to non-standard names

There shouldn't be any interference from other devices, but even if there was, I'm not sure why this only occurs on the connection.

I'm thinking it might be something with Vista, since this machine replaced an old Windows XP machine that worked fine.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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scottdorsey
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That's definately an odd one! If it works next to the router and you can wander round connected then it should connect anywhere as you say. May be it's having trouble picking up an ip when not in the same room. Have you tried assigning one manually and seeing what happens?
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tbeasley123

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I haven't tried that, however, it struggles to see the wireless network, not acquiring the ip address.
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scottdorsey
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Sounds like it could be an issue with the antenna in the laptop. Typically the antenna is inside the frame of the LCD monitor. If you're confident, you can take it apart and ensure its connected properly.
 You could probably get a wireless site survey program, and perform some roving tests around the area too.

It especially sounds like an antenna issue if a previous laptop worked successfully.