I have a desktop computer running Windows XP with a fried ethernet port. The only way I can get it to the internet is through a wireless ethernet adapter (it uses a D-LINK WUA-2340). Sometimes it works great for days, other times it goes out every couple of hours.
When it goes out, while it continues to say it is connected, it longer receives any packets back from the wireless router (a D-LINK WBR-2310). Usually when this happens, I can tell Windows to repair the internet connection and it will start working again. Sometimes that fails to work (it says it cannot renew the IP address) and I have to reset the power on the router. I have a laptop computer that has no problems staying connected wirelessly at the times when the desktop connection fails. Through a google search, I found people who said it might be a problem with interference. I downloaded inSSIDer, and tried to find a channel that wasn't occupied, but I don't think it helped.
Can anyone think of anything else that might be causing the problem, any other things I can try to fix it? When it's acting up, it's impossible to download large files because the connection will fail before the download finishes.
I'll second that recommendation. My girlfriend, who isn't terribly technically inclined, prefers OpenOffice to MS Word. MS Word constantly hangs and occasionally crashes which is pretty frustrating when writing a 250-page dissertation.