Intermittent Internet

[IPR512]

Is there anybody you know of who has a laptop that you can borrow to plug into the modem to see if the problem persists?

[Mrs.Lufbra]

Ummmmmm, errrr, hmmmmm, uh, yes -- ME. But did I think to do that? *Blush*

Actually I did consider switching to my laptop, which has a wireless connection, just to eliminate having to reboot every two hours, and decided against it because it has a very small screen, and it's hard to see what I need to see. But I wasn't thinking that I could actually plug the ethernet wire into it for a while to see whether the problem is actually with the desktop computer. I think that's important, so I think I will try that.

Thank you for putting the idea into my head!

Mrs.Lufbra

[IPR512]

I didn't put it into you're head, it was there all the time. I've got mixed emotions on this one, because if the laptop doesn't drop the connection then it is probably the fault of your desktop computer, and I will feel bad if that's the problem.

[Mrs.Lufbra]

Okay, this is getting strange. I can't begin to guess what's really going on, but here are some additional facts I noticed this afternoon:

I had my desktop computer on just after lunchtime, the one that's losing the internet every two-three hours. At the same time I set up my laptop and plugged a third ethernet wire in to see if the internet drops on the laptop. (Ethernet wire is still connected to the desktop.) I did not turn off my desktop -- I am sitting at it with my laptop in front of it.

At about 3:00, the internet dropped on my desktop, and BRIEFLY, only temporarily, on my laptop (I think at about the same time). However, the internet returned to my laptop after a minute or two with no intervention from me. Didn't reboot, didn't do anything. Desktop's internet still seemed to be down.

This time I decided not to reboot my desktop, because I'm working with my laptop anyway.

3:37 p.m., I received an email in my Yahoo account -- ON THE DESKTOP. 4:04 p.m., I received another one. However, I cannot receive any email through a different business email address that's configured through Outlook, and I can't go to web pages. I also can't look up words in the dictionary through Microsoft Word's Dictionary function. However, I can receive Yahoo email. I can open it up, but I can't "Show Pictures" and read the entire email.

Huh?

Right now I am posting to Cybertech Help on my laptop, however, not everything has "filled in" -- mainly I mean the picture on the top left on the Home page. Does this seem like I'm having some kind of a weak signal problem with the internet, perhaps?

Signed,

Mrs.Lufbra (Confoozled)

[IPR512]

How about if you go to a store in your neighborhood, and pickup a new modem? Make sure it's a store that will let you return it without any BS. Connect it, and try it for a couple of days.
Signed Confoozled x2

[renegade600]

have you called the internet service provider to see if there are any issues with your line and modem?

[Mrs.Lufbra]

Actually, yes, I did make a call to the ISP when this started happening, and I was honest with them and told them that while my computer was going down, the other one was not, and they claimed there was nothing they could do if one computer was still successfully connected. I am, however, going to call them again now and strongly urge that they swap out their equipment in here, now that I know that I seem to be still "a little tiny bit connected to the internet." It just really seems like a weak signal to me.

I think that's how I will handle it, rather than pick up another modem myself. I'm not sure I could set up another modem through their service myself, and I feel like they should be swapping out the equipment that we pay dearly for, anyway. Hopefully they'll agree to make a service call over here. I'll keep you posted!

Mrs.Lufbra

[smurfy]

Hi all, have been discussing this offline with Dave (Mr Lufbra) on Facebook.

I was initially suspecting DHCP lease expiry for the desktop but the latest diagnostics kind of puts that in the unlikely basket.

This is not an issue with the Modem or internet service, since Dave's desktop is fine when yours drops or starts getting flaky.

I'm going to need you to run some command-line tools.

Open an administrator command prompt.
Type the following commands:
ipconfig /release [ENTER]
ipconfig /renew [ENTER]
ipconfig /flushdns [ENTER]

See if that helps.

If not, open the command prompt again and type
ipconfig /all [ENTER]
Copy and paste the results into a private message and send it to me (it may contain public IP address info that you should not post on a public forum).

[Jaytee]

Originally Posted by smurfy

Hi all,
Copy and paste the results into a private message and send it to me (it may contain public IP address info that you should not post on a public forum).

Smurfy, Can you please edit out the ip addresses from the PM's and repost??
I have a similar experience with Orcon before they sold and the man in India told me it was because they did not support they Dlink modem which had worked faultlessly for years on my Vodafone system.

[Mrs.Lufbra]

Hi Smurfy,

I have just now run the first three commands, and I will see how it goes. I did see a message after running the first command that said, "No operation can be performed on Ethernet while it has its media disconnected," and I realized that's because I had the original port empty, and the ethernet wire was plugged into the second NIC that I just bought. That one seemed to carry through with the command. Hopefully that's okay? Perhaps I should rerun the commands with the wire plugged into the first one at some point?

If I have the problem still later on, then I will PM you the results of the second instruction you gave me. I noticed this morning, though, I cannot copy and paste from that command prompt -- unless there's some way to do that that I'm not aware --? I can't highlight it at all to be able to copy it.

Thank you for your help!

Mrs.Lufbra

[smurfy]

I have the screenshots now and have requested Mr Lufbra's output for comparison.

JT, alas they are screenshots. I may OCR them so we can put the text in the thread for all to see, or I may edit the images to black out the private info before uploading them.

[Jaytee]

Originally Posted by smurfy

JT, alas they are screenshots. I may OCR them so we can put the text in the thread for all to see, or I may edit the images to black out the private info before uploading them.

Cheers Smurfy..

[lufbra]

Hey Smurfy, are you having any luck with this?

[IPR512]

Been wondering if the problem has been solved.

[Mrs.Lufbra]

Hi IPR,

Well, yes and no. I really haven't heard back from anyone in a long time to try anything else -- however, I did decide to purchase a new computer, anyway. I just decided and ordered one yesterday, as a matter of fact. I decided that the one I am working on is just so old that there are other good reasons to purchase a new one also, besides the intermittent internet problem -- so HOPEFULLY the problem will be solved that way, when that computer arrives. I surely hope that I don't have the same issues with the new computer, anyway!

Thank you for checking in!

--Mrs.Lufbra