DHCP Intermittent loss of connection

[Donatello]

I'm running winxp sp2. I have my onboard nic wired to a westell
versalink 327w router for dsl via Verizon. After x minutes of
inactivity (about 15) my computer seems to log out. That is, the
screen where you choose which user you want to login as comes up. I
click my name and it takes me back to my desktop (with all programs and
windows still open as they were before). The only problem is that I've
lost my connection to the internet. Doing a "repair" on the nic solves
the problem.

I checked DHCP settings on the router and saw that leases were set for
1 full day. I don't think it's a leasing problem though, as it seems
to be just that after 15 minutes or so of inactivity, it logs me off.

I've scoured the net but haven't found anything on point. Any ideas?

Here are things I've tried so far:

I thought maybe it was my computer going into sleep or hibernate, so I
set all power configurations (via Power Option cpl) to "Always On".

I set the properties of the nic itself so that the computer does not
put it to sleep (via the Power Management tab on the nic configuration
properties).

In local security policy I set "Microsoft network Server: Amount of
idle time required before suspending session" to 99999.

None of these things worked. Eventually, the only thing that worked
was switching from dhcp to static ip. Since then, my pc never logs off
and I never lose my connection. My router still has DHCP running, but
I set tcp/ip on the nic to static.

Thanks so much,
Don

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Check the screensaver settings - is the option to require a password when
resuming from the screensaver turned on? If so turn it off.

 

[Donatello]

Richard, thanks for the reply.

I forgot to mention that I had also turned off the screensaver as part
of the troubleshooting process. Screensaver is set to "none".

Any ideas why the dhcp connection would drop, or at least change in
some form where a "repair" is required?

Thanks,
Don

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Honestly, no; not given your answers. If power saving and screensavers are
disabled there should be no reason for the behaviour you're seeing except
perhaps for hardware problems with the network connection.

 

[Donatello]

Okay Richard,

Thanks again for the help. If/when I solve it, I'll be sure to post
here.

Take care,
Don

 

[Richard G. Harper]

Let us know how it works out, sorry we couldn't get any closer to a
resolution.

 

[Admiral Q]

Since you are using Verizon DSL with a PPPOE connection, you need to change
the modem configuration to not timeout in just 15 minutes or so of
inactivity (the default IP address for the modem config used to be
192.168.1.1 - so put http://192.168.1.1 in your browser address, but I don't
remember the default admin password, consult the manual) - if the modem is
not configurable, then get a router (you may even be able to get the free
one offered by Verizon at one time for networking) and configure it to keep
the PPPOE connection alive. This is all from memory, as I've since changed
to cable (moved to where VDSL wasn't available).

--
Star Fleet Admiral Q @ your service!
"Google is your Friend!"
www.google.com

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