This networking Issue has gotten me dumbfounded and I have no idea how to fix it. It's been going on for at least a month. It's been so long because my family has just reset the router/modem and carried on. But it's beginning to be annoying doing it every night.
The only thing I've changed since prior to the problems is moving the family computer to the right by 2 feet. Just rearranging is all. That's why I don't know why this problem even had to start.
So I finally called Comcast awhile ago. The guy was nice and said the modem was probably shot. I said it was older than 3 years (more like 8 years). I thought this was an easy fix. We went out and got a new modem that night at Best Buy. I switched them out and then ran into certification issues with Comcast. I think they have a system so they keep track of every device used by their customers. Fine. But it wouldn't take. Eventually we got that going.
Still ran into the dropped connection randomly. I have one wired family computer hooked to a wireless router (Microsoft brand) and my own desktop and laptop connected wirelessly. And my Xbox wired. We continued to reset for a few days before I called them again. They did their reset mumbo jumbo and it worked. For a day or two.
I called back and mentioned maybe it's the router. They agreed. So we took back the modem since ours is still going strong, and got a spiffy Netgear router. Hooked that up, certification was easier this time. I thought I was done.
Nope. Connection still dropped randomly. Wired and wireless. But Skype would continue for a little bit, chats, not voice. XBL would stay connected also but I could not find games in Halo 3 as a result of the drop. So we reset it. I just left home for a few days and it was fine all the while I was gone. I get back, and that night it decides to poop out AGAIN.
This was last night. I have replaced the modem and that wasn't the solution. I have replaced the router and that's not the solution either. Comcast says it's not their problem because it's probably the router blocking the ports or something, and I should call Netgear. That doesn't make sense to me since it happened with the other router too and we didn't change anything.
Last night I realized I didn't fully "activate" the network with the CD that came with the router. So after about an hour I finally got that done. And we still get the dropping. My computer cannot connect wirelessly at all, even after I reset both the modem and the router. But interestingly enough, wired can connect. Usually it all goes out at once.
Have I narrowed it down to just wireless issues? Great. That's the only thing I deal with in the household. MTU issues? I don't know how to handle those. A multiple firewall issue? Netgear.com says so. They want me to disable the Windows firewall and enable the Netgear one. But I couldn't find how to enable theirs.
The other minor issue that doesn't really need fixing once the big problem is fixed, when I reset the modem, XBL can't connect unless I exit the game I'm playing. I can't press the guide button and connect from there. It says no connection. Then I go into the test connection screen and it works without a hitch. Weird.
I'm about to blow my brains out if I can't fix this SOON.
I downloaded the newest Netgear router driver, but don't know how to install it. My wireless desktop says limited connectivity and is only "locally" connected now.
Important to note: Comcast has a utility that registers devices and lets them know (I think that's what it does) and right now it gives me a 404 error and an error code even though my internet is fine on this machine.
Wired computer - Windows XP SP2 Wireless computer and laptop - Vista Router - Netgear RangeMax Wireless Router WPN824v3
Have you watched the lights on the modem during one of these resets? If the modem is turning all the way off then it may be where you have it plugged in at.
You're supposed to power cycle it, so basically unplug it and leave it for 30 seconds or so before plugging it back in. And when you do it for the modem you should do it with the router as well.
Post the model number of the cable modem you are using. Many of the routers you buy on your own have their own web interfaces that you can monitor the signal levels coming down from the provider. There's usually a few lights on the front of the cable modem to tell you the status it has, monitoring what those are doing during the drops would be informative (with the model number it'd be easier to be specific). There's no reason to troubleshoot your router or anything else if the cable modem is what is dropping. Sometimes you have to do the leg work to prove to them that their signals are randomly dropping to get them to come out to replace equipment outside your premise.
You could also try putting a software firewall on one of your desktops and have that be connected directly to your cable modem. Remove your wireless, your router, and every other device from the equation. If it still drops, they can't blame it on your gear (they'll try to blame it on your pc, but you can swap that out before they try).
If you can't make it fail and don't catch the cable modem doing anything you can do other things to watch your devices inside your network (just putting an ongoing ping to your router from the inside might show you where the drops are happening).
I think it's my settings. We swapped both cable modem and router and the problem carries on. Whenever it drops, Vista says it could not resolve my DNS.
The problem is what setting is wrong and how do I isolate that and then fix it?
But then again, we had the problem before any settings were changed. I'm stumped. It sucks always waiting for it to drop. But I suppose I will have to.
Hmm, that's strange to say Vista couldn't resolve DNS during these little connection drops... same problem I was having too (also Vista and Comcast in the Minnesota area). If you can try on your laptop or the desktop to manually set the IP address and DNS settings and see if there's any change in difference... I doubt it though, but we're taking out anything it could be.
I'm almost convinced that Comcast has been having some reliability problems lately. There's been a few nights where the connection just drops and I'm on Skype or doing school work. A reboot would solve the problem but it would come back a few hours later... and I'm running Comcast's cable modem and a Cisco 871W.
The only thing that is really left is physical cabling. You may need to call Comcast and have them check the cables in your neighborhood and see if they can track down the problem on the infrastructure. I wouldn't think the problem lies with you since you use wireless and wired... but try swapping out the cable between the modem and the router if possible (if you haven't done so already).
Also, write down the specific times that your connection drops. If you call Comcast, maybe you'll be pushed to some level of support that can actually debug your cable. The time should be able to help out with some logs that could point to some more information.
Yeah I have replaced the cables with fresh ones. So that's likely not the problem.
I guess I will keep track of it.
Every time I've called they look it up and see it's working just fine, but that's because the connection isn't dropped then. Or else they make me reset and then of course it works. They are no help at all. :(
Ok, the pcx2500 has 5 lights on the front, yes? From top to bottom, Cable, PC, Data, Test, Power ? (Please correct if your m odel isn't like this). When things are working properly, are the lights: Green, Green, Green (blinking when data goes through), Amber, Green? When the problem happens are any of the LEDs off or blinking (data is the only one that should be blinking during normal operation). If any are flashing during the problem, about how fast (once a second, once every other second, multiple times in a second).
I didn't see any web interface listed to monitor the signal strengths on the modem itself, the only bit I found mentioned in the manual were the blink speeds of certain LED's for diagnostics. Their adverts mention 'advanced diagnostic software' but I didn't find any info on what software that is. Is there anything on the CD that came with it that sounds like 'advanced diagnostic software' (not a driver or something to make the USB connection on it work with you pc). They do mention SNMP support, which we might be able to get data that way but it sure would be a pain.
When you reset things to make everything happy again, are you just resetting the cable modem or are you resetting the router behind it as well? (If you've gotten things setup with just one pc with software firewall and the cable modem, no routers, do you have to reset the PC?)
The suggestion that you start tracking the times of the failures is a good one. That data could help them isolate the cause, especially if there's a pattern.
The next time you talk to the service provider, ask if they have any monitors they can put in place to watch your cable modem so they can see it happen. Time warner used to offer a ping plot they'd use to help narrow down a time but also had a utility that they could sample the signal strengths every 5 minutes from their noc. You've replaced every piece of gear that they've tried to point the finger at, it's in your best interest to eliminate that gear from the equation so they can't point fingers at it anymore. If you are seeing intermittent signal loss, it is one of the most difficult things to get cable companies to acknowledge and fix since their phone techs and line techs typically only take single point in time samples and they *always* are there when the signal strengths are at their best.
It is probably Comcast. I play WoW, and there was a message about two weeks ago about Comcast users having high latency problems while playing, effectively stopping them from being able to play. Not sure if it helps any, but latency can really hurt your connection, and wireless connections are bad in the first place...
Now this is crazy. All my tabs but RvB do not load. This includes 2 random sites, google, gmail, facebook, my own website, and 2 webcomics. But RvB still loads. None of my podcasts load either. I can check alerts fine, reload fine, and maybe post fine. If this goes through.
Cable modem lights: All normal. Power on, Data flashing, Cable on, PC on. Router lights: Power on, "I" for internet, flashing every now and then but should be steady I think, wireless flashing less often, 4 flashing (computer hooked up wired)
Well now I got it running on the old router and modem. I might as well save money since I know they aren't causing the problem. I believe the problem is with my DNS settings but I don't know how to troubleshoot and solve. Any pointers?
I can now fix the problem by releasing and renewing the IP on my router via Firefox.
The first thing in solving a DNS issue is usually to understand the resolution. but a couple of questions first.
1. Does everything have problems with resolution and drops now or just the Vista PC?
2. In the cycle above did you check for the latest firmware updates for everything involved?
3. Did you validate that your are using the latest drivers for all the network gear (wired and wireless)
4. Do you know where the resolution is set for all the devices?
5. Do the drops etc. happen only when wired or wireless?
6. When the drop/issue happens simply try flushing the dns cache rather than resetting all of the network (ipaddress, etc.) go to a command prompt and use ipconfig /flushdns.
You can go set your DNS to a different server if you think the DNS provided by Comcast is doing it. I use OpenDNS for mine because I get tired of the Korea Telecom search page coming up with all korean text when I mistype a URL.
Also, have you given a thought to making it Comcast's problem? What I mean by this is by connecting it straight to the cable modem for a while and see if it does the same. Then you show that it is the connection coming in the house and not the router making the onus fall on them. I'd say its worth a shot if the DNS change doesn't pan out.
Did you ever narrow the scope of things, as papercup said? Take everything out of the equation except for one computer and the modem. Connect a computer directly to it and see if the problem occurs. If it doesn't, keep adding in hardware until you start getting the problem.
It's tough because it cuts out the wireless and then I can't go online at all unless no one is using the crappy family computer. And then I have to wait until it drops. I think it did before with just the modem. But I will recheck while I'm at school.
