DSL Connection Is Intermittent

Question

I have a Dell Dimension 8300 running Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2. I’ve been running this combination for about 4 years without trouble. I haven’t done any related installations or driver changes in that time. About 2 months ago my DSL (Verizon) connection started sputtering on and off for brief periods (1 to 10 seconds). It has steadily grown worse lately. Diagnostics I’ve run suggests that the Network adaptor (Intel PRO/100 VE) is failing. I’m using Verizon's Westell 327W router to connect to the internet. My connection to the adaptor is via an ethernet cable from router to PC. I have one other PC connected using a wireless connection, and it doesn’t seem to be having the intermittent DSL connection. Does this symptom sound familiar to anyone? Do network (ethernet??) adaptors go bad in a fashion like I’m experiencing? I’m trying to figure out what is the problem. Since my other PC seems to be using DSL satisfactorily, I haven’t talked to Verizon DSL folks yet. I ran all the diagnositcs I could find, and I keep seeing FAIL on IPAddress (pinging: packets sent = 4, packets lost = 4). Yes, I’ve turned my router off and on 6 times and did PC restarts. Not knowing anything about this networks, I may be way off base pointing the finger at the adaptor. What do you guys think?

fireberd · Answer

If you are using a router between the PC and the DSL modem the first thing to do is connect the PC directly to the DSL modem (disconnect the router) and see if it works OK there (you will have to reboot the PC once it's connected to the Modem to get it to connect in most cases).  If it does then obviously it's a router problem.    Since it's Verizon's router, I assume you have to contact Verizon for any support or replacement.  If there are other ports on the router you can try a different port and see if it works.  If there is software for the router either reinstall the software provided or if there is updated software install that and see if it helps.  But, routers like any other device can go bad.  I had to replace a 5 year old wired Linksys Router for a customer a couple of months ago.

cciaffone · Answer

I had the Westell 327 DSL modem also. Mine started acting up then quit altogether. When I went to get a replacement, that modem was no longer available for Verizon so I got their other DSL Gateway (modem plus router combined). I believe they now support only ActionTech. In any case, there are times, like around 7:30 AM, when I have to recycle the modem once or twice to get connected. But once connected it stays up all day.

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DSL Connection Is Intermittent

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