Lost Cable Internet Connection

Question

I have seen this problem posted on many forums, including this one but I never have seen a definitive solution.  My Dell Inspiron 5100 laptop will lose its cable internet connection from RoadRunner by TimeWarner after sitting idle for a relatively short period of time (30 minutes).  It will even lose its connection after a somewhat lengthy use of non-internet programs, such as Word, Excel, etc.  It acts like there is some setting that will disconnect after a period of inactivity, similar to dialup ISPâ€™s.  RoadRunner Support says that it is not a problem on their end.  The only way to reactivate the internet connection is to reboot.    The laptop and my Dell Desktop are both connected to RoadRunner through a Linksys Router.  The Desktop has never had this problem.  The laptop will lose its connection regardless of which port on the Router it is plugged into.  It will also lose the connection if I bypass the Router and connect directly to the modem.  The laptop will lose its connection regardless of whether Standby, Hibernate or the Screensaver is on or off.    I never used to have this problem.  The only software changes on the laptop are the Windows Updates and updates for McAfee, ZoneAlarm, AdAware and SpyBot S&D (which I use regularly).  This did this both before and after installing the Service Pact 2 Update.  I have not installed any new programs or added any new hardware.  If anyone has any solutions, I would really appreciate hearing about them.  Thanks. Gary

schmieg · Answer

Check the properties of your Network Adapter and make sure that power management is turned off and that Windows cannot turn off the device to save power.

garran · Answer

Hi Mike,    Thanks for the suggestion.  Windows will NOT turn it off.  I have it set as you suggest and still lose the connection.  Any other ideas.  Thanks for your help. Gary

schmieg · Answer

Well, you could have something run in the background that checks the net every 15 minutes and see if that keeps it from failing. Maybe a time set program or something that wouldn't take a lot of cpu time and which could just quickly hit the net, set the time and exit. You could put this into your scheduled events to run periodicaly. Another idea would be to put your email program online all the time and have it check for mail every ten minutes. That might keep enough activity going that it would prevent whatever is shutting the card down from doing it.

Networking, Internet, & Bluetooth

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