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Most new laptops are configured to automatically reduce power output to the wireless card when running from battery.  This is great if you’re wanting to extend battery life, but it slows down your wireless connection.

The steps below will show you how to maximize wireless performance by disabling this feature:

1.  Right-click My Computer (on your desktop) choose Manage. 

Select Device Manager, then locate your wireless adapter under Network Adapters.  

Double-click your network adapter to view settings.  The tabs and options vary between manufacturers, but as you can see from the screenshots below there are several areas to check for power management settings.   Choose the option to "disable power management" or "increase the amount of power used by the wireless network card" to get better performance.

If you’re unable to locate these settings for your card, try installing the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website.  If you’re running the latest driver and still can’t find these options then your card probably doesn’t support power management.