I have Earthlink Cable and have no such problem. However, my modem is
connected to an Ethernet card as opposed to USB. Broadband modems, both
cable and DSL are very power intensive and can cause issues that don't come
up when connected to a network interface card. Also, the USB Root Hub has
an option to be turned off by the computer when idle and this might be the
source of the issue as well. Go to Control Panel, open System, go to the
Hardware tab, click Device Manager, click the plus sign next to Universal
Serial Bus controllers, right click USB Root Hub, select properties, go to
the power management tab, remove the check from "Allow the computer to turn
this device off to save power" and click ok. If you have more than one root
hub, you may have to look for the one to which your modem is connected. It
should be designated on the power tab.
If the above doesn't resolve it, you really should contact Earthlink Tech
Support. Also, it may not entirely be an Earthlink issue since the don't
provide the cable service. that is provided by your cable provider and a
number of factors can enter in to what might cause this.
In any event, I've given you a few places to start.
