2006 Mac Pro Dropping APX signal constantly.

[Obsidian6]

Hey guys,

I'm curious if anyone else has this problem, and if so, how to fix it. First of all, I'm convinced this mac pro is a lemon, and it was supposed to get replaced on my last repair but the Apple Store decided not to. (Even after promising they would)

I've been through 4 ATI X1900XT graphics cards, a logic board, a super drive, and a failed hard drive. Basically, I've not been able to really use my Mac Pro since December 2008. It's been in and out of service consistently since then.

Anyways, I just got it back last night and was having problems keeping the airport connected. (BTW- it's done this before, but not since having my logic board replaced) It will pick up the signal, keep it for approx. 2 minutes, then drop it and "scan for networks" it will then find it again on it's own, and repeat the process over and over and over.

I figured it was possibly software so I went through the trouble this morning of doing an erase and install on the machine, and much to my dismay that did nothing to solve the problem. I am unable to update any of my software, which means I can't use Aperture (because my library is on 2.1.3 and my disc copy is 2.0) so I basically can't use the computer until this is addressed.

Has anyone else experienced this before? My mac pro is not far at all from our Airport Extreme Base Station (the first N version). My macbook get's full signal pretty much all the time. Even my iPhone does.

I'm most likely going to have to go BACK once again for yet another repair.

Any ideas?


Sorry for ranting..

 

[product26]

where is your router located in relation to the computer?

mine drops frequently. and also any time the microwave is on.

 

[Obsidian6]

it's approx. 25 feet (give or take a bit) away from the airport. I had it working pretty solid and then it just gave up again.

I tried messing with the airport settings, I set it to 5ghz only and now it can't even see my network lol! My macbook which is right next to the computer still sees it and has full signal.

I just don't understand this thing.

 

[Tesselator]

Hey guys,

I'm curious if anyone else has this problem, and if so, how to fix it. First of all, I'm convinced this mac pro is a lemon, and it was supposed to get replaced on my last repair but the Apple Store decided not to. (Even after promising they would)

Wait till their most busy hour/day, go in and make a total scene. Yell, scream, threaten legal action, be loud - very loud, and forcefully demand an immediate replacement!

 

[Obsidian6]

Does anyone have any real ideas on how to fix these obvious networking issues? I took it to the Apple Store today and they didn't help. They said it was "operating within spec" Great.

I moved the big beast into my living room where my airport is and connected it to my TV. It seems to run at full speed when it's right next to the airport.

It looks like my only other option is to set up one of my old airport expresses in my bedroom and run an extended network. (which slows everything down )

 

[Obsidian6]

UPDATE:

So I moved it back into my room and set up an old Airport Express as a relay. It now keeps consistent connection, but still gets nowhere the speed my macbook does. Nor can it see the network if I switch it to 5GHZ.

In the exact same location on the same network my macbook will get anywhere from 22-25mbps, my mac pro fluctuates between 3-9mbps. What am I doing wrong???

 

[Dr.Pants]

Have you tried manually resetting the router? I keep a POS Belkin around b/c my last two wireless routers occasionally had problems with single computers. True, they were transmitting on a legacy frequency.... Personally, if the MacPro is only 25 ft away, you could always run an ethernet cable between the router and MP until you actually DO have a solution.

EDIT - I see it works with a different router.

 

[Obsidian6]

Have you tried manually resetting the router? I keep a POS Belkin around b/c my last two wireless routers occasionally had problems with single computers. True, they were transmitting on a legacy frequency.... Personally, if the MacPro is only 25 ft away, you could always run an ethernet cable between the router and MP until you actually DO have a solution.

EDIT - I see it works with a different router.

Yep I've reset everything numerous times. Not really sure what's the deal. I mean I'm glad it's at least able to connect now, but you can tell it's definitely not as fast as my macbook. I just can't figure it out.

 

[Sehnsucht]

Wait till their most busy hour/day, go in and make a total scene. Yell, scream, threaten legal action, be loud - very loud, and forcefully demand an immediate replacement!

LOL, I hope that was a joke...if I was working at that Apple store and someone did that to me, they'd be in the hospital not too long after, having a Mac Pro extracted from their colon.