Windsor Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 So I have been having this problem with my DSL connection and cant find any solutions. First off every once in a while the ethernet light on my modem goes out and I lose my internet connection completely, this doesn't happen at any specific time, its random. The only way to get my connection back is to restart the computer. I tried disconnecting the modem and reconnecting everything and no change, still have to restart the computer to get the connection back. I even replaced the modem twice and i'm still having the same issues. Also my Internet connection is painfully slow. It takes 10 minutes to load a 2 minute Youtube video. Ive contacted my provider about this; they have been helpful and cant find anything wrong on their side. So I figure it has to be something on my computer. As stated above my computer is newer and I don't download much of anything, no games, not even music. My computer has weekly disc cleanup and defrag, and according to the task manager my system is not under any strain. In other other words everything looks good but for some reason i'm having the above stated problems, which have been going for months now. I'm really stumped about this . I also have two antivirus programs that never find anything suspicious, neither one of them are memory hogs either...So I really don't know whats going on, any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DC865PB Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I'm not a computer expert, but experienced a similar problem. Be persistant about contacting a supervisor at your DSL provider, they record every time you call. I eventually got someone to change my line to a data line and redo the line. You shouldn't have to pay for the service your not getting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogster Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Could be an issue with the phone line, or a virus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin1056 Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 hm good topic i have exactly the same problem!!! no virus either but i am leaning towards the phone line mine isnt slow all the time just so annoying when it is and the restart to reconnect is annoying too...especially when i'm on a great website....never to be found again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjack Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 We just built a new home and had the same problem when we moved in. I spent 3 weeks on the phone (off and on) with my provider trying to get the problem solved, had my brother who is a computer tech try to resolve the problem, and spent hrs. with the people who manufactured my modem. Finally, my provider sent a tech to the house and discovered it was the phone line. All he did was reroute the line where it was a dedicated line (so nothing else ran near it) and my problem was solved. If your provider won't send a tech, then call your phone company and have a dedicated line installed. I promise you, it will save you hours and hours of frustration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doogster Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 Could also be a bad hub, not yours, your provider's hub. Yes they often do use hubs. Why wouldn't you use a hub at home to network more than 1 computer? A hub is a passive device, it runs at 1 speed, 2 computers at the same time will cause the speed to go to half, 3 computers, 1/3rd speed, you get the idea. I had an issue in Canada with cable internet, the cable TV was fine, the computer, half the time you couldn't even load a page, it'd stop half way through. Eventually I was told everyone in my area had called to complain over a single weekend and they got off their backsides and found the hub was bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I'm a computer expert! At least those certificates on the wall say that I am. LOL! Before you yell too much at your ISP, take a look at a few things on the computer. Since the problem is with losing the ethernet connection light on the modem and rebooting the computer resolves it but powercycling the modem does not, that means that the problem is on your side of the modem. Those things indicate that the modem is unable to talk to the computer. The exception to that would be a bad ethernet port on the modem, but since you've replaced the modem we can rule that out. I'm assuming that you have a direct connection from the modem to the computer and are not going thru a router. If you're using a router, then call tech support for the router manufacturer because that's where the problem would lie. The modem doesn't distinguish between a router and a computer.........it just knows that there's a device connected to it. If you have a router, call them first. If it's a direct connect, start with the basics. The most common hardware failure is with the ethernet cable so you may want to replace it with a new one (they're dirt cheap) and make sure that you're not using one over 10 feet long. Check the ethernet port on the computer to make sure that the ethernet cable connector fits in securely with a snap. Sometimes the port can be faulty or loose so check it to make sure it's not wobbly in the box. Some ethernet cards have light on them that shows thru the case and if that light is amber, flashing amber or black, it's definitely a hardware failure with your ethernet card. It should be green or flashing green. Your ethernet card inside the computer has software and there are two things you want to check for. One is to make sure that there is not an IRQ conflict. Right click "my computer", go to properties and click on the tab for Hardware. Click the button for Device Manager and then click the little + next to "network adapters". There should only be one device listed there. If there are more than one network adapaters showing and if you see a red X or a yellow ! beside one of them, then you have an IRQ conflict. You'll need to check with your computer manufacturer about which adapater is actually installed in your computer and then remove the other one. Right click again on the network adapater and go to properties, then go to the tab for "power management" (if there is one) and make sure that it's not selected to allow the computer to turn off the adapter to save power. If there's no irq conflict and you have only one device listed there, right click on that device and select "Update Driver". A wizard will open and walk you thru updating the driver for the ethernet card. Reboot your computer and see if that stabilizes the connection. You can also try uninstalling and reinstalling the driver for the ethernet card. If you're not comfortable with that, contact tech support for your computer. Depending on how new your computer is, you may still be able to get free tech support. If your ISP has not already done so, have them check your settings to make sure that the nic settings are properly configured for dhcp. If those things don't work, then you'll need to contact your computer tech support anyway and ask them to walk you thru verifying that your ethernet card itself is good. There are some "real time" tests that they'll walk you thru to see if the ethernet card is responding and if it's pulling an IP address or not, including walking you thru releasing and renewing the IP address. Hardware failures happen and ethernet cards can go bad. It may even be a loose connection to the mother board or a speck of dust on the connectors in which case, removing and reseating the card will fix it. If not, replacing an ethernet card is easy and fairly inexpensive. If the card proves good, google the brand name of the ethernet card in the device manager and go to their website. Most nic websites will have a list so you can make sure that your card is compatible with the make and model of the modem that you're using. (or do the reverse and go to the modem manufacturer website for a list of compatible ethernet cards) I think that one of those steps somewhere in the process of troubleshooting will resolve your problem. You were wise to verify that your system resources aren't being pulled when the connection drops so you know that it's not spyware and you haven't been turned into a zombie. I really don't think that this is a problem with your ISP unless there's an issue in their network with providing your ethernet card with an IP address or renewing the dhcp lease. That's a pretty rare occurance so it's not likely. If it were noise on the line or an RF issue, then the modem would be losing block sync........it would still be able to talk to your computer and you wouldn't see that ethernet light going off while the rest of the lights stay on. A line issue doesn't impact the ability of the modem to talk to your computer at all! The issue you've described is between the modem and the computer. Hope that helps, Deb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pin1056 Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 wowsers Deb i'm checking all of that too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justmesue Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 So will I. My pc has been cranky for some time, the only difference is I have no internet or just loose it, with all the lights on sometimes. I have to turn the modem off and on a few times and eventually it will come on again. Other times, I just turn everything off, growl and swear a few times and wait for tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heidiiiii Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Deb makes beautiful minis AND she is a computer guru. What more could you ask for? LOL I had this problem and the tech had to come to the house. He needed to change the router and fiddle with the computer. Never had a problem since..knock on wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windsor Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Wow Deb thanks for that info. You got my attention with the lights on the ethernet port. There are two lights on the port, one is green and stays on all the time, the other is amber and always blinks. I take it this means theres something wrong in computer? Thanks. PS: a tech is coming to check my phone line within the next hour or so. They said they have problems with the lines in my neighborhood because they are so old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Windsor Posted August 18, 2009 Author Share Posted August 18, 2009 Well that was fast, about two mins after my last post the tech showed up! He said the line is good, and he checked the setting on my computer. Somehow I have two simultaneous connections and both of them are not the network i'm supposed to be on!! For example: I should be on "network-1", but my computer is showing connections to "network-2" and "network-3" at the same time. He also tried to remove these networks, or at least disable the connection but for some reason he could not. He said he doesn't know how I have a connection at all...LOL His only advice was to get tech support from my computer manufacturer; he said he had "never seen anything like this before". (I think he may have been more confused then me!) Also Deb I followed your steps listed above and everything checked out! So I guess i'll be calling my computer tech support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justmesue Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 Hope they get it figured out for you. Mine has been behaving way more lately, with much less disruptions, and lost connections. However, since we moved to this house, 4 years ago, the high speed internet shuts down if you answer the phone when it rings, and the net provider techs, can't figure that one out either!! If I'm in the middle of something, I just don't answer it. Also even with a new silencer on the line, if the modem is on, you can't hear people on the phone, they cut in and out like a cell phone with a bad connection, and alot of static. Another one my provider, can't figure out, I've had to learn to live with the quirks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LLyn M. Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Wow,I hardly know what anyone is talking about!! I'm so computer illiterate that in June I changed my IM scene:icon,sound and color of the page background. Then I chose the same color ink as the background color and freaked out the next day when I thought that I had lost my E-mail and IM ability.Took my laptop to the computer place in town and they told me they had never heard of such a thing.I was crushed....Until July- when I again changed my IM icon,sound and page color.Imagine my humiliation when I discovered that my ink color and the page color had been the same so it was INVISIBLE! Well, it's funny now but I never went back to tell the computer people what I had done. I do remember my Dad telling me once that if I had a brain-I'd be dangerous!LOL! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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