Semaphore Timeout

[MCope3]

We recently switched our internet service provider to Time Warner cable. They installed an Arris TG1672 cable modem/wireless router combination. I now have hangs, network disconnects, and page-load errors while using my Lenovo W500 ThinkPad laptop (Windows 7) with the Intel WiFi Link 5300 AGN wireless adapter.

Here is my test case: I net use drive C of my desktop computer (Windows XP, wired LAN connection) to the laptop. Both laptop and desktop are on my local home subnet. Then from the laptop command prompt, I enter dir /s on the mapped drive. There are thousands of files on this drive.

The dir /s command will not finish. cmd.exe sometimes reports "semaphore timeout" and then returns result code 121 (ERROR_SEM_TIMEOUT).

I have run Windows 7 Update to its fullest. I installed Intel drivers which brought me to version 14.3.21. I have connected to the router via 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. No matter what I try, the dir /s command will pause/hang then eventually return to the DOS prompt without a complete dir /s listing.

I switched off the internal wireless adapter. Now I use a USB wireless network adapter which passes the dir /s test.

Any suggestions?

[jbenavides]

Hello Catboat,

You can do a clean installation of the wireless driver for Intel® WiFi Link 5300. Downloadhttp://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/23491/Intel-PROSet-Wireless-Software-and-Drivers-for-Windows-7- Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers for Windows* 7, version 16.7.0. Save the file to your computer.

If you have Windows 7* 32-bit:

Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software (includes Drivers): Wireless_16.7.0_s32.exe

If you have Windows 7 64-bit:

Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Software (includes Drivers): Wireless_16.7.0_s64.exe

Go to Control Panel - Programs and Features and Uninstall the "Intel® PROSet Wireless/Software".

Go to Control Panel - Device Manager - Network Adapters, right click on the Intel® WiFi Link 5300 and select uninstall, make sure to mark the option "Delete the driver software for this device"

Install Intel PROSet/Wireless Software and Drivers 16.7.0 you had downloaded before.

Once the driver is updated, make sure to apply the settings from the following document:

http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/sb/CS-030709.htm?wapkw=wifi+recommended+settings What are the Recommended Settings for 802.11n Connectivity?

[MCope3]

Thank you for the quick response.

As suggested, I uninstalled Intel PROSet, deconfigured the device, and deleted the driver files. I downloaded Wireless_16.7.0_s32.exe and installed it.

This installed driver 14.3.2.1, which is the same level driver I upgraded to last Saturday. Then and now, I rather expected the driver to be level 16-something, but in both cases, the installation got me to version 14.3.2.1.

I made adapter changes according to the page called "What are the Recommended Settings for 802.11n Connectivity?" I changed the "802.11n channel width for band 2.4" to "Auto," and the rest were already on the recommended settings. I could make no changes to my router; its GUI doesn't support changing the options mentioned on the page.

With these changes, the Intel Wifi Link 5300 ran the dir /s test to completion in 39.53 minutes with inexplicable pauses in the output.

The USB wifi adapter finished the test in 8.88 minutes.