Losing Internet connection

[budman]

I have XP Home, SMC router, SpeedTouch modem and a Realtek RTL8139 Ethernet
adaptor. I lose my "always on" connection about once a day. This has not
happened while I'm on the Internet, but after I have left the computer sitting
for a while and come back to it, sometimes overnight.

There is only one way to restore my connection, and that is to re-boot the
computer. Unless something else is going screwy, I have found this to be the
case after:

-Re-booting the modem, even after observing all status lights are correct.
-Re-booting the router
-Running "repair connection" from the Local Area Connection Status window.

I don't go through the exercises above every time, except to re-boot the
computer.

If anyone can shed some light on this little annoyance, it would be much
appreciated.

 

[Malke]

I have XP Home, SMC router, SpeedTouch modem and a Realtek RTL8139
Ethernet
adaptor. I lose my "always on" connection about once a day. This has
not happened while I'm on the Internet, but after I have left the
computer sitting for a while and come back to it, sometimes overnight.

There is only one way to restore my connection, and that is to re-boot
the
computer. Unless something else is going screwy, I have found this to
be the case after:

-Re-booting the modem, even after observing all status lights are
correct. -Re-booting the router
-Running "repair connection" from the Local Area Connection Status
window.

I don't go through the exercises above every time, except to re-boot
the computer.

If anyone can shed some light on this little annoyance, it would be
much appreciated.

Check the network card's Properties in Device Manager (System applet in
Control Panel) and make sure the box to let Windows turn off the device
to save power is *not* checked. Otherwise, perhaps you have a hardware
problem. There is no way to tell where that lies without doing hands-on
troubleshooting. To troubleshoot hardware, you replace a questionable
device with a known-working one and test. You do this one item at a
time methodically, and include cables in the mix. Post back if you need
more help.

Malke

 

[budman]

Thanks for the prompt reply. the box you refer to actually has "disable" &
enable" under "Link down power saving". It had "disable" already selected.

However, there are many other options available as well. One in particular is
"Optimal performance". It was disabled, so I enabled it.

Others that are disabled are:

Wakeup on ARP/PING
Wakeup on Link Change
Wakeup using APM Mode

I also updated the drivers for the card as well. We'll have to wait for a bit
to see if any of these changes did any good. I will keep this link posted.

Thanks again

 

[Testy]

In your router setup under PPPOE have you checked the little box that says
"auto re-connect" ?

Testy

 

[Richard Goh]

Also a thought. Do your have your router and modem on a UPS? brief power
outages or deep sags can disable these devices and you then have to recycle
everything to bring them back on.

 

[budman]

Only the computer is on a UPS. However, it's only the computer reboot that will
restore the connection.

 

[budman]

No, it's set up with a "Static IP Address"