Network connection drops out

This started happening about 2 weeks ago: My network connection at home drops out at random for 30sec to as long as maybe 3 minutes. It can stay on for periods of up to 5 hours, but once it drops off, it will likely continue to come and go for awhile. Last night, it worked OK for 20min, dropped off for 45sec, came back for about 5min, dropped off for 2min, came back for 15min, dropped off for about 1min, came back for 8-9, dropped off for 1min, etc. Sometimes this on/off crap can last 2-3 hours! I thought maybe my on-board ethernet was failing, so I installed a new gigabit ethernet card, it didn't change anything. My next thought it that maybe my modem is failing. I don't go through a router; it's just a single PC plugged in to the modem most of the time. Occasionally when friends are over with laptops, I'll plug in a router that they bring over so we can all be online simultaneously (mainly for gaming purposes), but this doesn't happen often. I use a cable/broadband connection with a Motorola SB5120 modem. I do a little torrenting, but MUCH less than I did about a year ago, so I don't think it's my ISP messing with me, but I suppose it's possible. I could buy a replacement modem for under $30, but if that doesn't fix the problem, I don't want to be out the $30. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Advice?

THANKS!

 

I guess to eliminate the connection from your computer to the router, you could ping it while the outages are happening. I think the ip for that model is 192.168.100.1 also, there's probably a status page or something, that will tell you some information on the strength of the signal, and other stuff on there. I used to know the number ranges that things needed to be in, but I have a bad memory.

Does resetting the modem help at all?

I'm thinking tho, that's its shotty service from the isp. is this modem a rental, or is it yours? Do you have to pay for service calls? if not, i would get them out and check it for you.

 

I lease the modem from my ISP, and I was considering buying one off eBay even before all this starting happening. Unplugging the modem doesn't help most of the time, and I think the few times it seemed to bring the connection back were just coincidence..... I think I might have to borrow a modem from a friend and use it for a day or two...

 

Well, my connection just dropped out again, so I did some pinging.... I have a 'before and after' screen shot attached below..... the red section is obviously when everything is fine and my surfing is great; the yellow section is a ping run from about 10 seconds after pages opened to white "timed out" errors in Firefox.

 

Well.... it just dropped out AGAIN!!!! I usually get home from work at about 7.30pm, today I got home early, at about 5.30pm. I had non-stop drop-free normal internet for almost 90min. Previously, I thought it was my imagination, but it seems that these outages occur MUCH more often after 7pm. I don't work on Sundays, and last Sunday, I had a great connection most of the day until about 7pm. I started to think it was coincidence, or my imagination, and it just doesn't make sense.... why would my connection go straight in to the toilet after 7pm? :confused

 

Totally possible . . . and it's entirely possible that the "7pm deadline" is BS, and I'm only aware of it 'cuz I use my PC much more after 7pm than I do before 7pm. And since I posted that last reply (#5 above), I haven't had any outages (over 2 hours, and that's rare). So I guess I'll see which of my friends will be out of town for this upcoming Labor Day weekend and see if I can borrow their modem. Most of us have the same ISP so it shouldn't be a problem. I actually had a replacement modem about 1 month ago, but it was so old that I guess it wasn't compatible with my service (the modem was discontinued in 2005 :-o It was a 3com something-or-other; I have a thread here at MG about it). So I'll try the borrowed modem this weekend and hopefully that will clear it up.

Drivers are a non-issue; I already tried that and I installed new ethernet card too and it made no difference. But the firmware idea is a good one, hopefully (if I find a firmware upgrade) it won't ruin my modem; a sketchy connection is better than no connection! How would I find out which firmware is in my modem now? Is there a sticker on it or something?

I just remembered that my modem also has a USB connection, so I think I'll try using the USB and see if that makes any difference.....

 

Have you tried another cable between modem and NIC?

 

another suggestion would be to keep your router hooked up, and let it maintain the connection. See if it helps at all.

 

No, but the thought crossed my mind... I'll try it in the next day or two (I have Sunday and Monday off work so I'll have time to mess with this a bit more).

As I mentioned, I don't have/use a router. It's just my PC plugged straight to the modem. Occasionally, when a bunch of friends come over for some Call Of Duty, one of 'em will bring their router, but that's the only time I ever have a router hooked up.

I tried the USB connection last night, but couldn't get it to connect at all, but I might have done something wrong :-o I'm gonna try it again right now....

EDIT - I guess last night I didn't reboot the PC after plugging in the USB cable and installing the drivers . . . I'm connected via the USB right now and so far it's working fine.....
*fingers crossed*
I'm gonna borrow a modem anyway, and grab a new ethernet cable too, just in case . . . but for now, I'm stable (again . . . *fingers crossed* )

 

Happiness has turned to sadness, when the connection dropped off just a few minutes ago while I was using the USB connection. The USB connection worked great last night for about 2 hours before I went to sleep and I thought the issue was fixed. However, the USB seemed a bit slower than the ethernet connection. So this completely removes the ethernet card(s) and the ethernet cable from the equation. I'm gonna borrow the modem tonight and use it all day tomorrow. If that doesn't fix the issue, then I'm gonna have some words with my ISP, it will NOT be pretty! :mad :boxing

 

Borrowed modem is hooked up with a new ethernet cable . . . so far, so good . . .


*fingers crossed*

 

Over 20 hours, and not a single drop, no lag, no weirdness . . . I think it's time to buy a new modem and tell my ISP to stop billing me $5.99 a month for the modem lease. At this time, it certainly looks like my modem is to blame for all the droppage in the past 2-3 weeks. Right now, everything I'm using is the same (same ethernet cable, same ethernet port on my PC, no different browser settings, etc) except for the modem, and my connection has been solid and actually seems a bit faster.

So, there it is. I know everyone was on the edge of seats, unable to sleep the past few nights, wondering, hoping, praying that good ol' dlb would finally get stable web access. Well, your positive thinking has helped.

roflmao LOL roflmao LOL roflmao

:-D

 

At least someone can . . . now that I have normal internet again, it's like going from dial-up to broadband . . . I may never sleep again!!!!
roflmao