Why has my msn suddenly blank?

Why do MSN and skype drop out?

• Network oddities with XP, MSN and skype. MSN keeps dropping out on me. I always seem to have a net connection, websites don't time out, downloads come through without a problem. HOWEVER. Sometimes I fire up MSN messenger, which tells me I am online. But when I go to send a message, it suddenly tells me I am signed out. Just this week I've started chatting with a friend on Skype, and it keeps dropping out every three minutes or so. He knows it's going to happen because MSN drops out first, then skype. However, MSN thinks it's logged on until I try to send a message. Any advice or tips on how to find out what's going on would be appreciated. The modem and router aren't new, but this computer is a fairly recent addition to my household. If I had problems with connectivity every now and again I'd work it out myself, but I just can't seem to isolate the problem.

• Answer:

  Are you connecting via a wireless network, by any chance? When I bought my laptop, it would briefly lose connection to my wireless router every few minutes, with effects pretty much like those you describe. In my case, updating to the latest version of the Centrino wireless chipset drivers (downloaded direct from the Intel website) solved the problem.