OK then - I still have two little icons at the bottom of my screen, one with a little bar that fills with green, and on with a computer with little green waves coming out of it. When I look at the available networks it says 'windows cannot configure this connection' or something, which I guess is the result of unchecking that box. I can still connect to the network though, so it looks like the software is doing it?? I'm still wondering about those two icons though - seems like one too many. But perhaps the one with the bar is the software's way of displaying merely available networks, and the strength of the available signal, while the other icon gives a readout of the computer's attempts to actually connect to that network, which would explain why the latter takes longer to get set up than the former? What do you think? I'll be monitoring the stability/reconnect speed of this setup to see if it's any better than with windows messing about.

Weev.

If the connection is fine then just remove the icon.

Right click on your network connection and select properties > At the bottom of that box just un-check "Show icon in notification area when network is connected"
> apply and ok.

If only it were so - I seem to be shunting the problem around over here: now the wireless connection itself appears to be more stable (which I suppose was the main objective of this thread, so thanks for that) but the internet connection that is supposed to come through it is dodgy. It will sit there for long periods not doing anything, in spite of the lights on the relevant items appearing to show that all is in order. But maybe that's another problem entirely (like the fact that I have two routers plugged into each other?). I should say that the modifications suggested in this thread have solved another problem on a second PC which I have seen in several other forums but which, to my knowledge, was not solved in any of them: the problem of the intermittant wireless connection which switches off and on constantly. Unchecking the 'let windows configure my connection' box solved this problem - although now my browser on that PC (firefox) seems to crash every time I try to enter a password. Too many problems!

I try to keep re-build as a last option but maybe you could consider it now?

Re-build? As in reinstalling windows? I'm wondering about the hard disk on that PC. As for this one, it seems the D-Link wireless router I have is either having trouble getting on with my Origo ADSL router or it's just having trouble getting on.

Well, actually I should have said repair install but you're right - with the PC with the wireless prob it probably only needs you to try another wireless card or adsl modem (wireless card first). I used DLink for a couple of months once and I wouldn't go back to them. I had exactly the same issues as you with the signal bouncing up and down and cutting out all day - changed to a Linksys card and haven't looked back since.