# Both LAN and WAN computers won't stay connected to internet



## Lovenharmony (Apr 13, 2011)

I’ve been having an issue for the past 3 weeks keeping my primary wired PC and the wireless PCs in my home network connected to the Internet. The internet constantly disconnects intermittently (with no rhyme or reason) and have tried everything I could do to try to resolve the issue. I connected my wired PC directly to the Optimum Online Cable Modem (Arris Telephony Modem v 3.0) I use to connect to the internet and it still has connection issues. Most of the time when it drops the connection, the network icon on the taskbar says I’m still connected to the internet. Only after a few minutes will the network icon finally appear with the yellow exclamation point over it. When I right click the network icon, I will check the network and sharing center and will click on the red x over the connection from my router to the internet. Sometimes when Windows checks for internet connection problems, it will state that it can’t resolve the issue, and other times it will state that the DNS server isn’t responding or cannot communicate with Primary DNS Server. ​ 
 I’ve had my ISP cable guys check my cable wire (coaxial cable wire) for packet loss, swapped my old router for anew one (twice), readjust the connection outside for a specific low node issue, and did 3 or 4 trace routes, conducted a multitude of ping tests, went on speedtest.com to check the signal strength and they state that everything looks great on their end. I also used different Ethernet ports built into the motherboard of my PC to see if my network adapter was the issue, but my internet connection it still continues to drop, even when only my pc is wired directly into the cable modem. I even changed the Ethernet cables themselves to see if they might have been faulty, but it still continues to drop. 

 I forgot to mention that I did the flushdns and registerdns commands , plus reset the TCP/IP, but my internet connection still continues to drop. The only thing(s) I have not done is change the network adapter completely (install a new Network PCI adapter ) and have the cable guy re install an entire new coaxial cable wire, of which myISP is adamant that I don’t need to have done since when I am able to connect to the internet, my signal strengths and speeds are great (download speeds of 32mbps and upload speeds of 5mbps).
 I know I’ve said a mouthful, but I’m at a loss of what I should do next. When connected to my cable modem through my wireless N router, ALL of my PCs (my wired PC and my wirelessly connected PCs through my home network)will disconnect from the internet . Both the cable modem and the wireless N router still appear to be online (none of the lights on the front of the modem or router have changed ) I’ve even considered the strength of the ethernet cable itself, possibly thinking that the ones I have may not be strong enough for my internet speeds (purchased a CAT 6 Networking Ethernet Cable). My router , OS, cable modem, ISP, motherboard, and built in network adapter specs are shown below;

*ISP:* Optimum Online (with Boost Service)
*OS*: Windows 7 Ultimate (with latest Windows 7 Service Pack 1 updates)
*Cable Modem :* ARRIS Touchstone DOCSIS 3.0 E-MTA Telephony Modem TM802
*Wireless Router:* Netgear Rangemax Dual Band Wireless N Gigabit Router WNDR3700 
*Motherboard: *ASUS Rampage Formula
*Built In Network Adapter:* Dual Gigabit LAN (2 RJ45 Ports) 

Any help as to what might be causing the problem will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! 




http://www.dslreports.com/linequality


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

" I connected my wired PC directly to the Optimum Online Cable Modem (Arris Telephony Modem v 3.0) I use to connect to the internet and it still has connection issues."

I suppose when the cable tech is on site and you try to demonstrate this it doesn't happen?

What do you mean by "readjust the connection outside for a specific low node issue"?

First suggestion is keep your testing simple. 
All that different ports/cables/etc did nothing to isolate the issue.

You start by making sure you have a clean machine free of spyware/malware/virus's
You test this machine at a friends house with no internet issues whatsoever.
You then bring it back and connect direct to the modem - you eliminate the router from the mix.
You then work with the isp to determine why you are getting dropped. A single direct to modem attached pc should never drop the network connection.

The isp can read the modem logs for indications of drops/issues. Comcast in Oregon puts the modem at 192.168.100.1 you might try that ip in IE to see if you can connect to the modem directly so you can read the logs.

If the ISP was going to replace anything [not a cable issue assuming they ran a continuity check] they should replace the modem as a start.


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## Lovenharmony (Apr 13, 2011)

Thanks for the reply! Yes, the times that the cable technician comes out to check my wires and modem, the internet is running. The only time that the internet went down was when they had left! It is truly frustrating. 

As for any PC issues, I checked my PC for viruses, spyware, malware, trojans, etc. and had none. I also disabled my firewall to see if this might be the case...still drops me from the internet. It's also not possible for me to take my desktop to another person's home that has a working internet connection. 

It's puzzling that ALL my PCs would get disconnected from the internet if only my wired PC was having an issue. Wouldn't the PCs using WAN still be able to connect to the internet? 

As for the modem...they already replaced my cable modem twice. I doubt that they gave me two shoddy cable modems back to back (although it's possible).

In any case, I called my ISP back and told them to re wire my entire home (both internally and externally) to be sure that everything works properly. If this doesn't solve the problem, nothing will!

ETA - as for the 'readjusted the connection' comment...the engineer went up on the pole that's connecting me to Optimum Online and adjusted the cable wire stating that there was a node discrepancy and that he had fixed it. I don't know much about how cable modems connect to the internet, all I know is that I've had dependable service from Optimum Online for over 6 years and all of a sudden my internet service has gone haywire!


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## Xeneth (Mar 11, 2009)

> Only after a few minutes will the network icon finally appear with the yellow exclamation point over it.


How where you connected when this happened? Directly to the modem or to the router?


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## Lovenharmony (Apr 13, 2011)

Xeneth said:


> How where you connected when this happened? Directly to the modem or to the router?


Directly to the cable modem, as well as connected to my router (I tried both set ups and it still disconnects from the internet) :4-dontkno 

In any case, I set up an appointment for the technician to come to my home and re-wire everything, inside and out. The cable modem has already been replaced twice and I purchased a new router as well. Ripping out the old cable wires and re-wiring everything is the only solution I can think of right now.

Thank you all for your responses!


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

If it was the cable the problem would not be intermittent.
A simple continuity check would have determined if the cabling was a issue [you can't have continuity between the copper center and the connector]

replacing the cable is grabbing at straws. I am surprised the cable company agreed to this.

It does not appear you have attempted to do any definitive testing as I outlined in post #2

Oh well. Best of luck. Let us know if recabling fixed the issue.


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## Lovenharmony (Apr 13, 2011)

Wand3r3r said:


> If it was the cable the problem would not be intermittent.
> A simple continuity check would have determined if the cabling was a issue [you can't have continuity between the copper center and the connector]
> 
> replacing the cable is grabbing at straws. I am surprised the cable company agreed to this.
> ...


What is this continuity check that you're referring to? Is that when the ISP tries to connect to the cable modem to see whether or not there is packet loss? I'm not a technician so I have no idea if that's what you're speaking about. 

In my opinion a continuity check would mean that my ISP monitors my internet connection for a period of time to see whether or not my signal is intermittently being dropped from connecting to the internet. If that what it is, then they have not done so. The only time they have looked at my connection was when I personally call them complaining about not being able to stay on the internet. Only then do they check the service for any discrepancies. They have not monitored nor are they monitoring my connection on a continual basis. 

The cable company finally did find packet loss (yesterday) and agreed to re wire my home inside and out. I don't understand why you would think they wouldn't re wire my home....I have been a loyal paying customer of their online service for over 6 years, so why would they blow off the situation of me not being able to use their service? 

As a matter of fact, I have been more than patient with them for the past 3 weeks, so it's the least they can do. If it weren't for the simple fact that no other high speed internet service is available for my area, I would have discontinued their service the first week this issue began! 

And for the record, I did state in my previous post above that I did check my PC for viruses, spyware etc. and had none.

I also stated that I purchased a new router AND the cable company replaced my cable modem twice in the past 3 weeks I have been having issues, so it couldn't be the cable modem or the router that is dropping me from the internet.

As for being able to read logs, unfortunately with the type of cable modem I have, I cannot read the logs for it on my own. The cable company has to do it on their side. Moreover, I wouldn't know what to look for in the logs either way since I'm not familiar with technical jargon regarding cable modems. 

Moreover, I told you that I could not take my desktop PC somewhere else to check if I could get online and stay online. 

That pretty much covers all of the advice you gave me to assist in getting to the root of the problem in you initial post. I'm sorry if you feel that I have not taken your advice and taken the right steps necessary to resolve my issues, but I shouldn't be surprised. Most companies like to place blame on the customer for the issues they're having as well.

Thanks again for replying and I truly hope that re wiring does solve the issue. I don't ever want to have to go though the frustration I have been going through the past 3 weeks again.


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## Wand3r3r (Sep 17, 2010)

continuity is defined as being connected. A continuity check is where you use a volt meter set to continuity check to test if there is a physical problem with the cable. You do this by touching one test lead to the inner copper core of the cable and the other test lead to the screw on part at the end of the cable.

If the meter beeps/makes a sound you have continuity which is bad. A very simple test to determine a very simple issue: is it the cable.

Cable company has much more expensive and better testers they can hookup and know how long the cable is as well as if there are any issues with it.

"my ISP monitors my internet connection for a period of time "
That is what the modem access is all about.

"wouldn't know what to look for in the logs "
that is why you would paste them here for review

Like I said before let us know if this fixes your problem. Thanks


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