I had always wanted internet upstairs, being that my gaming machine lived up there. I figured it was time I bucked up and went for a router. I wanted to get wireless so I wouldn't have some big ugly cord going through the hallway. So, I set myself up with a big brand name and a top of the line Wi-Fi card to pick up the signal. Seemed simple enough. Install the card and plug in the wireless router. After that, all I have to do is setup the networks. Easy enough, right? Boy, was I wrong. I haven't had this much trouble with anything electronically since I shorted out two motherboards due to sheer bad luck.

I got the router and card hooked up just fine. It even picked up the signal after only a few attempts. Viola!! I had the cable internet in my room. I tested the upload and download speeds and they were spectacular. Within two minutes of being online, I was disconnected. I figured it was just bad timing. Maybe the service had just gone out? Well, it connected itself once again after only 2 seconds, but then it disconnected after about 45 seconds. It would repeat this over and over. After trying troubleshooting it on my own, I finally had to admit to myself that whatever was wrong was beyond my knowledge. So I contacted the online tech support. They gave me a large list of things to try, and if the problem still persisted, I was to call tech support for live help. I tried the entire list of "things to do," and no dice. Unfortunately, this posed another problem. I don't own a cordless phone and the computers for the wireless connection are upstairs. I had no choice but to go out and purchase a cordless phone, which I did later that evening. I ended up being on the phone with tech support for about an hour. Some guy with a thick Spanish accent helped me. As you can imagine, it wasn't much fun asking him constantly: "I'm sorry. What did you say?"

After an hour, he started to realize that he too could not offer any help. He recommended that I returned the router back to newegg.com. I believe his exact words before that were, "You'll need to find out their return policy." I should have not even bothered with wireless, period. There's a reason I don't purchase wireless mice or keyboards. I just don't trust that kind of stuff. Why should it be any different for something like an online connection? So, the next day I bought a regular router with a 50ft ethernet cord. That's right. A 50ft ethernet cord. I mainly got that length so I could weave over a couple door ways. Now, everything is perfect. I have perfect upload and download, and most important, I'm not getting disconnected every 45 seconds.