Windows 10 internet connection lost with heavy use

Hi,

What router are you connecting to?  And are you connecting via a network cable or via wireless?  (If wireless, which card?)

Have you tried resetting the router itself by turning it off for about 30 seconds and then letting it power back up?  It sounds like there is a software conflict between your system and the router, and it may simply be that the router needs to be rebooted in order to clear it up.  (As you open more browsers / tabs your system is sending more communication packets back and forth from the router.  With a only a few packets being transmitted any "lost packets" can be resolved, but the more traffic the more conflict, and the higher probability of it locking up)

If rebooting the router doesn't resolve the problem, or if it returns a few days after, you may want to look at updating the firmware on the router.   Usually that isn't too difficult to do.  Let me know the brand and model of the router and I'll look into info on how to update it.

Todd

I too have the Dell Studio 8100 with a Netgear WNDR 3300 router with a similar problem, updated to Windows 10 64 bit. It will restart the internet connection by rebooting the router or by rebooting the computer. When the internet trouble shooter works it mentions Ivp4 and Ivp6, does this have anything to do with the problem. I am connected via cable and when the connection drops out I've tried connecting wirelessly but the connection remains dead.  Both the Dell and the Netgear tell me they have the latest drivers.

I too have the Dell Studio 8100 with a Netgear WNDR 3300 router with a similar problem, updated to Windows 10 64 bit. It will restart the internet connection by rebooting the router or by rebooting the computer. When the internet trouble shooter works it mentions Ivp4 and Ivp6, does this have anything to do with the problem. I am connected via cable and when the connection drops out I've tried connecting wirelessly but the connection remains dead.  Both the Dell and the Netgear tell me they have the latest drivers.

Hi pb242,

I think getting that "ipv4 and ipv6" messages are generic errors that indicate you're not getting an IP address from your router.  You don't get the address, the system throws out that message, etc.  

I looked around and couldn't find a specific Broadcom Windows 10 driver for that card.  (BCM57780 Gigabit Ethernet).   Which driver version do you have currently?   Since the Studio XPS 8100 isn't on the list of systems we tested as being compatible with Windows 10 we probably won't supply any new drivers for that system, so I'm not sure what to tell you.  

When you are connected, how long does it last?  What if you removed the current driver, rebooted the system to see if Windows has a native driver that might be more compatible than the one installed on the system?  Have you tried that?

As for the Netgear WNDR 3300 router, if it has the latest firmware there isn't much that can be done.  They have a firmware # 1.0.45 on their support site but I'm not sure how old it is.  Is that what is on your router now?

Todd

I have a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with a cable connected D-Link DIR-628 router which began having a similar, repeated dropped internet problem when I updated to Windows 10 64 bit from Windows 7. I can restart the internet connection by rebooting the router, rebooting the computer, or simply disconnecting and reconnecting the cable between the PC and router. Win 10 advised me I had the latest Broadcom driver installed and automated Dell support did not indicate a newer driver was available for the XPS 8100.  How does one go about finding and downloading the updated driver?  Thanks.    

I have a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with a cable connected D-Link DIR-628 router which began having a similar, repeated dropped internet problem when I updated to Windows 10 64 bit from Windows 7. I can restart the internet connection by rebooting the router, rebooting the computer, or simply disconnecting and reconnecting the cable between the PC and router. Win 10 advised me I had the latest Broadcom driver installed and automated Dell support did not indicate a newer driver was available for the XPS 8100.  How does one go about finding and downloading the updated driver?  Thanks.

Hello,

The Dell Studio XPS 8100 uses a Broadcom BCM57780 network card.   As highseas reported above, the newer driver, (NetLink® 57xx (x64) Version 15.6.0.10), appears to have resolved their issues.

You can find, and download, the newer Broadcom network drivers from their download site.  Just make sure you download the correct version, either the 32-bit or 64-bit version depending on which version of Windows you currently have on your system.  

Hopefully that updated driver will help you as well.

Todd

pghdelluser I have a Dell Studio XPS 8100 with a cable connected D-Link DIR-628 router which began having a similar, repeated dropped internet problem when I updated to Windows 10 64 bit from Windows 7. I can restart the internet connection by rebooting the router, rebooting the computer, or simply disconnecting and reconnecting the cable between the PC and router. Win 10 advised me I had the latest Broadcom driver installed and automated Dell support did not indicate a newer driver was available for the XPS 8100.  How does one go about finding and downloading the updated driver?  Thanks.     Hello, The Dell Studio XPS 8100 uses a Broadcom BCM57780 network card.   As highseas reported above, the newer driver, (NetLink® 57xx (x64) Version 15.6.0.10), appears to have resolved their issues. You can find, and download, the newer Broadcom network drivers from their download site.  Just make sure you download the correct version, either the 32-bit or 64-bit version depending on which version of Windows you currently have on your system.   Hopefully that updated driver will help you as well. Todd

On my Studio XPS 8100,  I could not find any solution to the misbehavior of the Broadcom Net-Link Gigabit ethernet card under under Windows 10. In fact I strongly suspect the problem (Studio XPS 8100 drops off the internet repeatedly) started with one or more Windows Updates sent out (at least to Windows 7 64-bit machines that had reserved an upgrade) shortly before the release date. I know that is when my problem with the BCM57780 began. I performed the upgrade to Windows 10 in hopes of solving the problem, but it only got worse.

I tried but was not able to get back to Windows 7 from Windows 10 the easy way (Windows 10 did its "Go Back to Windows 7" thing, after which I received the alarming message that "Windows cannot start."  Startup repair also failed. System restore was impossible because there was no restore point available. Luckily I had make a full backup about two weeks before the abortive attempt to upgrade to Windows 10, and a System Image Recovery did finally succeed, although it took many hours.

I am now happily running Windows 7 again, the Broadcom NIC is working just fine. I have learned a couple lessons, and will not be upgrading to Windows 10 any time soon, probably never on this PC, which even though it is 6-7 years old, is very adequate for my needs. 

Dave S