Intermittent internet connection...

Question

i've been having this problem lately. my connection consist of the following: dell 4600 (winxp) and an old comp running win98. both are wired to linksys wireless router (i think it's wrt54g v4). also, i have a laptop (I6000) that is networked wirelessly. the router is then connected to an ISP provided modem (i have ADSL). i'm pretty sure the problem is not pc related because it does it on all three pc's. when this started happening  about a month ago, i thought it was the modem, but before having to call them and setting up an appointment, i decided to check if the router is at fault. the tech support at linksys guided me in downloading an update for the router. it run fine for a couple of days, then it started to acting up again. when i say acting up, it would drop internet connection for about 20 secs or so, then it would get back on. it's a pain when you're downloading something, or even just surfing the net, coz it would just freeze. so now i have to wait for a few seconds, then refresh. if i catch it right, it would open up the page, and if not, it gives me that cannot find page message (firefox). i also change the channel in the router, thinking it might be some sort of interference, but that didn't help.   tonite, i did a little experiment to pinpoint which exactly is giving me the problem; the modem or the router. here's what i did: i'd turn off the router for about ten minutes, but leave the modem on. for the first few minutes, surfing the net is fine, then connection becomes intermittent. i let it rest for a while, then did the reverse. this time i turned off the modem for about ten minutes, but left the router on. internet connection remained intermittent. my conclusion; there's nothing wrong with the modem.   does anyone else experienced this kind of problem before? if so, how did you resolved it? please help...

TadN · Answer

I had a linksys go bad.  To test I plugged in a different router.  But you can also plug you cable modem directly into one of your pc's and see if the problem goes away.   I'd use Zonealarm to lock down your system before plugging in this way...

Spunjer · Answer

hi TadN,

thanks for responding! i've tried connecting my modem straight to pc, but somehow it won't work. dunno if certain parameters needs to be change in the pc itself since when i first had the linksys router, i had to call the support tech and i have to go in and change some numbers (can't remember which).

TadN wrote:

I had a linksys go bad. To test I plugged in a different router. But you can also plug you cable modem directly into one of your pc's and see if the problem goes away.

I'd use Zonealarm to lock down your system before plugging in this way...

i do have zonealarm for firewall... could you please reinterate on your statement? once again, thank you.

TadN · Answer

When connected to your modem directly: Please open a command prompt by hitting start button then run and type cmd into the textbox and hit ok; you should get a black dos screen with a prompt like c:\> type ipconfig /all >>post.txt then type post.txt   this should launch the file in notepad.  The connect to the wireless router again and repeat type ipconfig /all >>post_router.txt then type post_router.txt   when you reconnect to the internat then post the results of these two files so we can see whats going on.

Spunjer · Answer

connected to the modem directly:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : s********
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-F1-82-9D-7B

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration IP Address. . . : 169.254.29.74

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.0.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

with the router:

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : s**********

Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :

Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid

IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/100 VE Network Connection

Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-0C-F1-82-9D-7B

Dhcp Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes

Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.100

Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0

Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1

DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 209.143.22.182

216.201.48.118

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Friday, October 20, 2006 12:27:16 PM

Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, October 21, 2006 12:27:16 PM

thanks in advance once again...

Message Edited by Spunjer on 10-20-2006 11:31 AM

TadN · Answer

Interesting.  Looks like the cable modem is not giving your pc a dynamic ip....   To see what IP you router has you should be able to hit http://192.168.1.1 when you're plugged into your router and your router is plugged into the modem.  On the status screen it will show a WAN IP for your router. Also check in the general tab on your router page if it is using DHCP or a specifically typed IP address.   What I would do: 1. power down the modem 2. power down the pc 3. plug modem directly into pc 4. power up the modem - mine takes a few minutes to power up and all the lights stop blinking and most go steady green 5. power up the pc 6. check ip config, see if your IP is similar to the one provided the router WAN IP. 7. if you're still getting an IP like 169.254.29.74       launch a dos prompt as before and type ipconfig /renew 8. then check the ip again via ipconfig /all   I'll take a closer look at my linksys settings and see if I can provided clearer info on the router screens to look at..   Message Edited by TadN on 10-20-2006 12:42 PM

Spunjer · Answer

TadN, dunno if this will change the equation. i have what my provider calls a ADSL, and also i have a static ip. i haven't done the power off thingy, but will do as soon as i can. regards

TadN · Answer

Ahh, if you've got a static IP then you'll need to change your network card from dhcp to static ip when you plug your modem directly into your pc.  Your router should have all the info you'll need on the status screen.

klbf · Answer

have you checked your isp network status?.... ring them up they can monitor your connection while you're on the phone....

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Intermittent internet connection...

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