When I connect to my Brother HL-2170W to print a document, and I stay connected for several hours, WLANExt.exe (Windows Wireless LAN 802.11 Extensibility Framework) begins to max out one CPU core and allocate large amounts of memory, causing a major system slowdown due to paging, and eventually crashes. The computer is subsequently disconnected from the printer, and I cannot remain connected to the printer for an extended period of time as a result. My computer is running Windows 7 Home Premium Service Pack 1 64-bit and is connected to the printer ad-hoc without a router. Why does WLANExt do this, and what can I do about it?
Problem information from Action Center Reliability Monitor is as follows:
Source Windows Wireless LAN 802.11 Extensibility Framework Summary Stopped working Date ?4/?10/?2011 10:16 PM Status Report sent Description Faulting Application Path: C:\Windows\System32\wlanext.exe Problem signature Problem Event Name: APPCRASH Application Name: WLANExt.exe Application Version: 6.1.7600.16385 Application Timestamp: 4a5bcc33 Fault Module Name: MSVCR80.dll Fault Module Version: 8.0.50727.4940 Fault Module Timestamp: 4ca2b4dd Exception Code: c0000005 Exception Offset: 000000000001e460 OS Version: 6.1.7601.2.1.0.768.3 Locale ID: 1033 Additional Information 1: 11a6 Additional Information 2: 11a6764bdad9592045f504cfd8eeedc0 Additional Information 3: b65b Additional Information 4: b65b2b58d41cae3925ea5162417c3337 Extra information about the problem Bucket ID: 27322072
Edit: I've noticed that WLANExt.exe may crash after being connected to the printer for variable periods of time, ranging from less than 30 minutes to more than 12 hours. It appears that this problem may be related to the system attempting to gain Internet access through the device, which is impossible since the printer is not connected to a router. However, this does not always happen whenever the system says "Identifying" for the printer in the network connections icons in the notification area. The exception code c0000005 indicates an access violation (segfault). I still cannot determine what would trigger this behavior, and the fact that WLANExt.exe allocates large amounts of memory (2GB or more) before crashing makes this a very odd issue to understand. Additionally, the system often indicates that the signal strength is very weak, even if the computer is mere inches away from the printer. Any idea as to what the problem is?
