Weird problem with DSL connection

[Voodoo]

I recently moved and had to change DSL providers. The problem I have
now didn't happen when I had my old provider, SBC, which used PPPoE.
Now I have Frontier.net, which uses Direct IP.

I have a home network running through a Netgear MR814v2 router. I have
two PC's, one a Win2k machine and one a WinXP Home machine.

Here is the problem. If I let my WinXP PC sit for several hours
without surfing the Internet or otherwise using the connection, when I
try to surf my browser, either IE or Firefox, just sits there trying
to resolve the net address I am trying to get to and then it just
times out. I am not able to ping any web sites at all, although I can
still ping the router. This problem does not happen with my Win2k PC
however. It can sit idle for a long time and then I can still surf the
Internet without any problems. When I have the problem with the WinXP
PC at the same time I can continue to surf with the other PC, so I
know that the connection is still there. It's just that the XP machine
doesn't seem to recognize it for some reason.

To get the problem PC to start surfing again, I have to do one of two
things. I can reboot it and then after that if works fine for a few
hours, but then if it sits idle for too long I have to reboot it
again. Or without rebooting I can use my modem to make a dialup
connection, then disconnect that dialup connection and then I can
start surfing with the DSL connection again.

Frontiernet tech support seems to be baffled by this, but then the two
different techs I have talked to hardly seem to know more about than I
do. One suggested deleting then re installing TCP/IP but that didn't
help. I have checked and double checked the settings on the XP PC and
I don't see anything wrong. I tried the Connection Wizard and it
didn't help. Also, I have already tried both "Automatically
Detect Settings" and "Use Automatic configuration script" in both the
checked and unchecked modes and it didn't help.

It seems obvious to me that it's some kind of issue with my XP machine
since my Win2k machine doesn't have the same problem, yet at the same
time, as I already said, I didn't ever have this problem when I had
SBC.

Can anyone suggest a fix for this? I am really stumped, and I am
getting really tired of this problem fast.

Thanks a lot.

John

 

[Nimit Mehta]

keep pinging the router using ping router -t and let it
sit for several hours, then check if you are able to
connect to the internet. If yet that means that your
router drops connectivity if machine stays idle.
To temp resolve this problem, install a small handy
software from

http://www.snapfiles.com/download/dlstaylive.html

 

[John]

keep pinging the router using ping router -t and let it
sit for several hours, then check if you are able to
connect to the internet. If yet that means that your
router drops connectivity if machine stays idle.
To temp resolve this problem, install a small handy
software from

It's funny. I just thought of trying Stay Alive a while ago and
already installed it, and so far so good. I still think it's a problem
with that PC, not the router however, because I can always surf with
my Win2k PC no matter how long it sits idle. It's only the XP machine
that has the problem.

If stay alive doesn't work I am going to disconnect the DSL modem from
the router and connect it directly to the PC and see what happens.

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In

It's funny. I just thought of trying Stay Alive a while ago and
already installed it, and so far so good. I still think it's a problem
with that PC, not the router however, because I can always surf with
my Win2k PC no matter how long it sits idle. It's only the XP machine
that has the problem.

If stay alive doesn't work I am going to disconnect the DSL modem from
the router and connect it directly to the PC and see what happens.

Depending on the router brand, many have a time out setting you can
configure. If yours does, set it to always stay connected.

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies ONLY to the Microsoft public newsgroup so all
can benefit. This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties and
confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory

HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a
pig. --
=================================

 

[John]

Depending on the router brand, many have a time out setting you can
configure. If yours does, set it to always stay connected.

Thanks. This rounter does not have a time out setting for Direct IP.

 

[Steven Umbach]

Couple things to try.

-- Disable the built in ICF firewall in XP if you are using it.

-- Try configuring the XP box with static IP address/subnet mask/default gateway
compatible with your network.

-- Try booting into safe mode with networking to see if problem persists. If not
use msconfig to find what startup application or service is causing the
conflict.

-- Change the MTU to around 1450 to as low as 1400 on the router.

-- Make sure that there are no power settings in cmos or the operating system
that powers down the nic after a period of time or change power settings to not
let anything go into doze until problem is resolved. Laptop manufacturer
configuration applications often have power settings for the nic also.

-- Try setting the speed of the nic to 100 instead of auto if possible.

-- Try switching cables/switch port to what works on the other computer.

-- Try using a new nic or swap with other computer.

-- Next time it happens, run ipconfig /all on the XP box to see if it reports
proper tcp/ip info. If no IP address is shown or the IP address starts with
169.254, then you have some sort of connectivity problem. --- Steve

 

[John]

Couple things to try.

Thanks a lot for those suggestions Steve. Hopefully one of them will
help, except for the ipconfig suggestion which I already tried.

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In

Thanks. This rounter does not have a time out setting for Direct IP.

Actually Direct IP means a routed solution. I would try Steve's suggestions.
Maybe the power save options (BIOS or XP settings) should be your focus.

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies ONLY to the Microsoft public newsgroup so all
can benefit. This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties and
confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory

HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken; A lifetime commitment for a
pig. --
=================================

 

[John]

Actually Direct IP means a routed solution. I would try Steve's suggestions.
Maybe the power save options (BIOS or XP settings) should be your focus.

Thanks. I tried Steve's suggestions (except for swapping the NIC
cards) and they didn't work. So far the only thing that seems to help
is to run KeepAlive and set it to ping a web site every 30 minutes.

 

[Ace Fekay [MVP]]

In

Thanks. I tried Steve's suggestions (except for swapping the NIC
cards) and they didn't work. So far the only thing that seems to help
is to run KeepAlive and set it to ping a web site every 30 minutes.

Just keepalive? Surprised killing the power options didn't do the trick. If
I can think of anything else, I'll post back.

--
Regards,
Ace

Please direct all replies ONLY to the Microsoft public newsgroups
so all can benefit.

This posting is provided "AS-IS" with no warranties or guarantees
and confers no rights.

Ace Fekay, MCSE 2000, MCSE+I, MCSA, MCT, MVP
Microsoft Windows MVP - Active Directory

HAM AND EGGS: A day's work for a chicken;
A lifetime commitment for a pig.