Ever since switching from XP to Vista, I have had problems maintaining a local network. It set up without issue, but after a short period, one could guarantee that Vista would lose sight of any computer within the network. Sometimes, even the XP machines would lose sight of each other, but less frequently.

At the centre of my network is a D-Link DI 624 wireless router. This model has been discontinued and no longer receives support from D-Link. However, it is Vista compatible, and I will keep it for a while longer.

The router has four ports, and there are three computers connected permanently, one Windows 7 64-bit and two XP 32-bit. The fourth port is used for guest computers which do not have a wireless connection. An HP 5150 printer is networked from the Windows 7 machine.

Over time, I have messed with settings in a bid to make the network more stable, but there was one setting that I always overlooked. It is an optional setting, but the DI 624 has provision to enter the local domain name. This I have now done, and so far the network has stabilised and each of the computers can see the entire network and access the printer. If there is any change, I will report back..