Internet keeps disconnecting

Hi all.

My apologies if this is not posted in the right forum.

I am not very techy with computers, but have been able to use one for most of my life with very few problems. Recently I have been struggling with some malware (which is being addressed in the malware forum) as well as Internet issues.

About 8 months ago I switched from Bell Sympatico to Primus for Internet service. Since that point, the Internet just hasn't been running the way it used to. I have tried talking with Primus customer care, however it was an exercise in frustration as they didn't seem to be able to understand the problem.

Basically, the Internet stops working on an Intermittent basis. We have one computer connected to one modem (Speedtouch if that means anything). There are 4 lights on the modem, and every time this problem happens, the "Internet" light goes out ("Power", "Ethernet" and "DSL" are still on).

When I was with Bell )and initially with Primus (until their tech support changed this) the Internet seemed to be connected and accessible as soon as I logged on to the computer. There were no connection messages that appeared on the screen, all I had to do was click on the "Internet" icon on my desktop and I was surfing.

When I began having issues and spoke with tech support, they changed something around (I don't know what, sorry) so that now I have a 2 separate connections that need to be made before I am online. I think that they try to connect automatically when I log on, but it will only work sometimes. If the modem is acting up, it will not connect.

When I open up my Network Connections folder and things are working fine, I have 3 different icons: 1)Broadband, Primus, Connected, WAN Miniport (PPPOE) 2)Internet Gateway, Internet Connection, Connected (or sometimes Disconnected), Internet Connection 3)LAN or High-Speed Internet,Local Area Connection, Connected, Realtek RTL8139/810x Family Fast

When the Internet has been working and suddenly stops, these 3 icons are the same (and their status is the same). However, if the modem is acting up as soon as I log on, there are only the Local Area Connection, and the Primus (which says disconnected) icons.

To reconnect to the Internet after it stops working, I need to turn off the modem, then turn it back on. I wait until the Local Area Connection goes through the process of connecting again, then I have to manually connect to Primus (sometimes multiple times before it works), then manually connect the Internet Gateway (internet connection). It's not terribly difficult to do, but there are days that I need to do this every 15 minutes which doesn't seem normal.

Does anyone know what the problem is? Or is there more information that you need to know to help me figure it out? I am becoming increasingly frustrated with my computer and would like to start learning how to troubleshoot this stuff.

Thanks so much !

Ginny

 

when you talk to tech support do they see your modem when you are offline?

 

Hi Geminiione,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. I have only spoken with tech support once, and they didn't tell me outright whether or not they saw it. To be honest, there was quite a language barrier between us and the phone connection was pretty poor, so I was trying to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible and didn't ask many questions.

Ginny

 

the reason i ask is the lights, if you have a proper connection should all be green. that plus the reset of the modem tells me you might have a crappy modem of a connection issue on your line. nest time you go offline ask them to ping your connection or check to see if they can you. believe me if your modem is online they can see you

 

Hi again Geminiione. Thanks again for your help. I will call tech support again, and let you know what they tell me.

Ginny

 

I had the same problem. I solved the problem by going to the dsl modem home page and looked to see how the modem should be set up. I had to make a setting change on the modem setup and it has seemed to have worked. It's the same way you set up your router.