Internet connection dropping at random

Question

Hello, I have a XPS 600 desktop Media Center (Pentium D 3.00 GHz, 2Gb Ram) with WinXP and since about 3 weeks ago my internet has been consistently inconsistent. I lose the connection for a split moment (MSN goes offline, downloads stop) and it's very annoying. I try playing my rFactor game but the connection is either too slow to connect, or when it does I lose it. Now, I believe it can be related to my router - Linksys Wireless G Adapter WRT54GS - but it's very strange because it never happened before. It was around the time when my McAfee (provided by Comcast) was giving me some problems due to subscription renewal or something, so I opted to go back to my Systemworks 2003 with Norton Antivirus. Anyway, for a little bit I had no net protection and ended up with nasty trojans and viruses but after running NAV 2003, Spybot and SpySweeper trial with antivirus numerous times (Vundofix a few too), it seems my PC is clean, so I still wonder about the connection. I called comcast and the cables and all seemed fine, I can still usually download at very high speeds but that split second kills it for me. Any help will be greatly appreciated, if there's any log you guys would like to see please direct me how to make it, and anything else I will also follow. Gui

volcano11 · Answer

Intermittent problems like this are extremely difficult to solve.  It is unclear if you are connecting to the router by ethernet or by wireless.   You mention the router, but then say it is an 'adapter', so I'm not sure what you mean.       If the connection that is causing problems is wireless, have you tried changing the channel the router uses in case it is being caused by some other 2.4 Ghz device on the same channel?   If you are connecting by wireless, does the problem go away if you temporarily connect to the router by wired ethernet?   If you are connecting by ethernet to the router, the one thing I can suggest is to temporarily eliminate the router from the equation by connecting directly to the cable modem.  If the problem goes away, then it suggest that the router is suffering from some glitch.    Steve

Guimengo · Answer

It is plugged in to the router, the one that uses the wireless capabilities is my Dell laptop (the other, old, PC is also connected to router). I'll try being without router and see if it there's no more troubles.

Guimengo · Answer

I can't even get a connection without the router, so I plugged it back. Maybe if I were to configure the network controller to certain specifications? There's stuff like Flow Control, IEEE802.1P Support and so on.

volcano11 · Answer

Note that if you are changing the connection to modem between a computer and a router, you need to do a complete reset of the network every time you make the change. To do this, shut everything off. Wait about 5 minutes. Turn on the modem first, and wait another 5 minutes. Then turn on the device that is connected directly to the modem (either the router or the computer), then turn on any other device involved.  Cable modems remember the last device connected and will never connect to a different device until the reset is done.  All cable modem users need to know and remember this or they will always have trouble when changing connections.    Steve

Guimengo · Answer

I have unplugged the cable to the router and set it straight to the internet box, and I've given it plenty of time turned off but still no connection. I can't remember the whole ipconfig deal I had to do once on the other PC a few years ago...

volcano11 · Answer

To help troubleshoot this problem, go to Start > Run and type cmd then click OK. In the command prompt window that opens, type ipconfig /all then hit the enter key. Write down the output from this command or select it and save it to a txt file, then copy this output into a reply to this message.   Steve

Guimengo · Answer

All I've been getting is 'ipconfig is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file'. I've tried ipconfig /all, ipconfig/ all, ipconfig/all, ipconfig / all .... Message Edited by Guimengo on 07-29-2007 01:14 AM

volcano11 · Answer

Are you opening the command prompt window before typing this?  If so, then it looks like Windows is all messed up.  You might consider to a repair installaton of Windows.   Steve

Guimengo · Answer

Well, I was hoping it wouldn't have to come to that :(. Is there any way to do a repair without losing data or will I have to back it all up? (It's quite a lot of stuff, 500Gb HD, about 375 empty)

Guimengo · Answer

Ah, great! I'll back up the most important stuff but I'm glad I'll only lose the updates. Could that fix my internet, or would it be a step towards fixing it?

volcano11 · Answer

The only thing you would loose is the Windows updates.  Your data will remian intact.   Still, it is always a good idea to keep you stuff backed up.  See the following for instructions:   http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm   Steve

volcano11 · Answer

I can't say for sure that it will fix your internet problem, but at least it should allow you to run the tools necessary to figure out what is wrong.   Steve

Guimengo · Answer

I haven't had the chance to do the repair yet as some files still need backing up, but in the meanwhile I tried creating a connection through another PC but it didn't work. Now, I don't know how to get rid of it. In the network connections window I have it under the Internet Gateway. Curiously, it seems to be the one now active even though the other LAN connection is the one that if I disable it disconnects me. I can't disable that connection, and once I disable the 'main one' it disappears (but comes back once I am online again). I typed ipconfig in the Run box and I saw something appearing correctly before it went away and stopped working. Maybe once I can remove this Internet Gateway the ipconfig will work, unlike before? Once again, thanks for the ongoing help.

volcano11 · Answer

It sounds like you are not following the instructions I gave for the ipconfig command.  You must first open a command prompt window and then type the command.  Otherwise it will just flash on the screen like you have observed.  It looks like I wrongly assumed you were doing this correctly when I suggested the Windows repair.  If you are not doing it correctly, there may be no need to do the repair, so make sure you are doing it correctly and if it works, post the results.    Steve

Guimengo · Answer

I've done as you said, it was just an attempt to see if I got something different this time, and I managed to catch it showing those 3 or 4 lines with the numbers in the end. Except for yesterday that one try, I was always on command prompt. I still always get the same message.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

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