Disabling the WZC Service to Solve Random Wireless Disconnects

  • Section(s): Network
  • Published on May 04, 2006.
  • Last Modified on May 04, 2006.
  • Last Modified by Chris Sanders.
  • Rated 2.5 out of 5 based on 27 votes.
It is not uncommon for users to report their wireless clients dropping connection at random times. Here is how to cure the most common cause of this.
It is not uncommon for users to report their wireless clients dropping connection at random times. The cause of this is the Wireless Zero Configuration (WZC) service. This service, enabled by default in Windows XP Service Pack 2, is designed to optimize the use of wireless network technology by constantly scanning for other wireless networks. This process has been known to cause clients to randomly drop their wireless connection. The best method for alleviating this problem is to use third party software to manage your wireless connection. This software will almost always be provided with the driver for the wireless card you are using. Once you have this software installed you will want to disable the WZC service to prevent it from loading at startup.

***

Chris Sanders is the network administrator for one of the largest public school systems in the state of Kentucky. Chris's specialties include general network administration, windows server 2003, wireless networking, and security. You can view Chris' personal website at www.chrissanders.org.

About Chris Sanders

Chris Sanders is a network consultant for KeeFORCE, one of the most popular network consulting firms in western Kentucky. Chris is the author of the book Practical Packet Analysis as well as several technical articles. His personal website at www.chrissanders.org contains a great deal of information, articles, and guides related to network administration, network security, packet analysis, and general information technology.

Share this article


Article not looking right or info is missing? Let us know so that we can fix it: .


Receive all the latest articles by email!

Receive Real-Time & Monthly WindowsNetworking.com article updates in your mailbox. Enter your email below!
Click for Real-Time sample & Monthly sample

Become a WindowsNetworking.com member!

Discuss your network issues with thousands of other network administrators. Click here to join!

Community Area

Log in | Register

Readers' Choice

Which is your preferred Data Recovery solution?