Started losing internet a few weeks ago. Replaced modem. Same problem.

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Despotes

Gawd
Joined
Aug 27, 2005
Messages
821
I'm randomly losing my connection to the internet. When it happens the lights on the Motorola Surfboard cable modem remain unchanged and the Network symbol in my toolbar will look normal as if I have access for a few minutes then eventually will show the exclamation symbol.
Repeatedly running the Network repair function will eventually fix the problem temporarily.
I replaced the 4 + year old Surfboard for a newer Surfboard SB 5101U few days ago and tried using a different LAN port on my mobo, but same problems.
This happens when gaming too. VERY annoying.
Using Win 7 Pro 64 bit. Evga 790i- Digital FTW.

I ran Speedtest and i have decent speeds with zero packet loss and ping rates averaging from 32 to 45.

Is this a hardware or software problem on my end or the ISP's (RoadRunner)?
 
you have a router?
check it's status page? and/or run diagnostics from it (if available)?
ping the router when internet access is lost?
 
do an ipconfig /all when issue occurs.
any software firewall?
can you ping anything? try pinging, say, google.com then try 4.4.4.4

run any av and spyware scans?

it's hard to say whether it's ISP or machine/hardware-related. Since normally I would say it's a local issue if the modem doesn't show any issues (ie, no change in lights); but it's certainly possible it could be malware/virus that could be causing issues.
 
It just happened again. Network diagnostics fixed the problem for less than a minute then it happened again.
I disabled AVG, but same thing happens.
No trojans or spyware. None that AVG or Spybot have found.
I haven't tried ipconfig, but I don't expect any ping results since I didn't have any internet access at all.
hehe . I just tried ipconfig and it flashes for a fraction of a second and it's gone. How do you keep it on screen long enough to read it?

Should NetLogon service be permitted access through Windows firewall? What services should be given access?
 
need to run command prompt as administrator

something to add... instead of running the network diagnostics next time...

run command prompt as administrator
do an ipconfig /all

see what the DHCP "Lease Expires" says and compare it to current time.

then do an ipconfig /renew

sounds almost like, maybe, your DHCP lease is expiring, and it just takes the computer a while to get the IP renewed (which would be unusual unless there were other issues)

Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Wednesday, September 01, 2010 4:31:56 AM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Saturday, September 04, 2010 4:31:56 AM
Click to expand...

just for an example
 
Obtained Wednesday Sept 01 2010 6:25pm
Expires Thursday Sept 02 2010 3:38pm

Why do the leases last for only 1 day?

I lost my connection around 6:25pm.
In theory I shouldn't experience anymore disconnects until tomorrow?

I just did the ipconfig/renew. what does that do? I see the Media State as Media disconnected. What does that mean?
 
ISPs can set their DHCP lease time for whatever they want.

For example, my ISP, a lease is good for a week.
Others can, like yours, only do a lease for 24 hours.

Reason being; say you shut down your computer for a couple days. Well, that IP will still be "leased" to your computer, even though it's not in use. Therefore, the ISP has one less IP it can hand out to other customers.

basic jist... since all ISPs over-sell to an extent, because they know not 100% of their customer base will be online at the exact same time.

So, since your 'net went down about 6:25, then that tells me you lost your IP (for whatever reason). This could be two-fold; one, it could be an issue at the ISP's "node" and you may not be the only one with the issue (although doubtful, still a possibility). Two, it could be there is an odd issue that's causing Windows to not get the IP renewed before the lease expiration (therefore causing your computer to lose the IP, then having to request an IP again).
Maybe a Windows update or the like? Running Win7? Does it seem to have happend around the time when you installed last months MS patches?

also; did you ever disable IPv6? Always a possibility that could be causing the issues; although no clue why it would only now start.

as for ipconfig /release and /renew
ipconfig /release "releases" the IP address, and basically informs the DHCP server it no longer needs/wants the IP.
Doing an ipconfig /renew, Windows (essentially) sends a DHCP request to the DHCP server, either asking for an IP if one is currently not assigned, or will ask for a renewal of the existing lease.

I hope this makes sense! I sometimes have a hard time explaining these things in more layman terms for the less savvy :p
 
I unplug my new modem every evening before bed since this new one doesn't have a standby button like the old did. Should I keep it on even with the pc off?
 
Despotes said:
I unplug my new modem every evening before bed since this new one doesn't have a standby button like the old did. Should I keep it on even with the pc off?
Click to expand...

either way would accomplish the same thing, really.
unplugging or turning off the modem or computer certainly wouldn't clear up any issues.
 
Just lost my connection again.
Frustrating.
Lease obtained 7:30pm Sept 1
Lease expires 7:30pm Sept 2

Earlier it obtained the lease today at 6:25pm
It obtained another one an hour later?
 
Despotes said:
Just lost my connection again.
Frustrating.
Lease obtained 7:30pm Sept 1
Lease expires 7:30pm Sept 2

Earlier it obtained the lease today at 6:25pm
It obtained another one an hour later?
Click to expand...

I would definitely call your ISP. At the very least, they should be able to tell you how the line quality is and has been.

Also, look into disabling IPv6 if you haven't already; it has been known to be the cause of some strange issues with computers behind a router. May or may not apply in your case.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929852
 
Here's ipconfig/all during an internet disconnection.



Network.jpg
 
Despotes said:
Earlier it obtained the lease today at 6:25pm
It obtained another one an hour later?
Click to expand...

forgot to answer this. The reason being, is that it had apparently lost it's IP (for whatever reason) that caused it to need to get a new IP. Normally, when the DHCP lease expires, you shouldn't even notice the computer renewing the IP since you normally wouldn't lose the connection during that process.

Despotes said:
Here's ipconfig/all during an internet disconnection.

IMG]http://i426.photobucket.com/albums/pp343/Scottyman_01/Network.jpg[/IMG]
Click to expand...

definitely call your ISP, since it's certainly not DHCP/IP related; although the modem shows no signs of it losing the signal, there could be something else going on at the node, the line to your house, etc.

You could also check your modem's diagnostics page, but I wouldn't be of any help deciphering the numbers it will provide.

Most cable modems are accessible via http://192.168.100.1

Also, do you have a coax splitter before the modem? Or does the modem's coax go straight into the outlet on the wall?
if you have a splitter, you could try removing it and plugging straight into the wall to see if that resolves it.
Splitters have been known to "go bad" which can cause connectivity issues.
 
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