On Nov 23, 2011, at 12:23 PM, Bill Spencer wrote: > Hi there: My son came home from college last night, and almost immediately > told me that the router (basic Netgear wireless) is giving off a high-pitched > whine or squeal or whistle or something, which he had not heard before. > Neither my wife nor I can hear it so I have to take this on faith. They both > have complained of pretty frequent and significant Internet slowness, too. > > Are these two things--noise and speed--related? It's unlikely there is any correlation. If it's the power supply then it's pretty much a go / no-go thing.
Speed problems can be your broad band connection, the router or traffic on the connection. I recently replaced my router as it would periodically stop talking to wireless devices. It would still route wired connections to the internet but the Wireless Access Point (WAP) function just vanished. A power cycle would fix it till the next time (hours, a day,...). > Is the whine a symptom of something more problematic? Best guess, it's power supply component failing. If the inductor(s) in a switching supply get physically loose they can make audible noise. Most operate well above the audible range but they may still make noise. First make the simple test, while your son listens, unplug it. If the sound goes away, it's either the router or it's wall wart. If it doesn't go away, it's some other device in the house (or tinnitus). > Assuming it's much more cost-effective to buy another router than try to have > this one fixed, what's the conventional wisdom nowadays for brands and > capabilities? (I don't feel the need to spend boatloads of (non-existent) > cash so something under maybe $30 would be fine, I think...) It's probably cheaper to replace the router than to FIND someone who will work on it. > Clark Martin Redwood City, CA, USA Macintosh / Internet Consulting "I'm a designated driver on the Information Super Highway" -- You received this message because you are a member of the iMac Group, a group for those using Apple iMacs and eMacs. The list FAQ is at http://lowendmac.com/imac/list.shtml and our netiquette guide is at http://www.lowendmac.com/lists/netiquette.shtml To post to this group, send email to imaclist@googlegroups.com To leave this group, send email to imaclist+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/imaclist
