# [SOLVED] Keep losing internet connection



## canusavac

Hi - I really hope someone there can help me. I apologize in advance if I don't use the correct terms (networking is a bit of a mystery to me).

I have a peer-to-peer wireless network. My modem and router are hard-wired to my desktop pc (running xp sp3). I have 4 laptops connected wirelessly (2 running xp sp3 and 2 running win7).

Recently I started to lose my internet connection (once or twice per day) and it is resolved by re-booting my router.

I have been using static ip addresses on all pc's (with netbui instead of tcp/ip) because I kept getting errors (something about a duplicate ip address). This current problem seemed to start when I tried to add the latest pc and assigning it a static ip address. 

When I ping the laptops from my desktop, I am getting incorrect ip addresses. So it looks like there is something still in my cache? that is overriding my intentions. I have google'd for several days now looking for a solution to try to resolve this with nbtstat, adr and ipconfig commands (flushing, resetting and releasing, etc.), but haven't been able to fix this problem.

I hope I have given enough info; if you need anything else, please let me know. Thanks for any help.
Brenda


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

any reason you are using static IP and not dhcp ?

also when you lose internet is is just wireless or all PCs

have a read here and post back the requested items please
http://www.techsupportforum.com/for...ty-issue-pre-posting-requirements-573730.html


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Thanks for the quick reply. The connection is being lost for all pc's. The reason I am using static ip's is because I kept getting error messages in my event viewer (something about duplicate ip addresses). It maybe was not the right way to correct this, but that's why I did this. I can't remember the exact error message.

I'll get the rest of the info to you later today.


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*



> The connection is being lost for all pc's.


 a router/modem or wiring /ISP issue then 

i'm in UK - so wont pick up till tomorrow , but others over the "pond" may answer 

make and model of the router / modem 

if a separate modem - try connecting directly to the modem and see if disconnects 

what the status of all the lights on the modem / router when working and what changes on the lights when it disconnects

make a note of the router settings and information
then try a factory reset on the router - reset button at the rear usually held info 20-60 seconds

then maybe a firmware upgrade 

Not sure why the issues with duplicate IPs - that may be the issue and need further investigation


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Answers to questions:

Who is your ISP? 
local Ontera service provider

What type of broadband are you using?
DSL

If your laptop has a Wireless Switch on the side, verify that it's 'On'.
all ok

Install and run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector.
all installed
Attachment included for suspected problem laptop.


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

so doesnt look like wireless interference as you only have the one network broadcast - your router + it has a guest signal broadcast - unless you intend to use that facility , you could switch that off 

would you reply to post #4


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Thank you for the reply. Based on this, it sounds like it's a hardware connection problem (as opposed to something I did with software!!). So we did some recabling (using a different phone jack) and will monitor the connection. It's working now, but usually breaks down during the night. So I won't know for sure if we got it fixed for good.

In the meantime, my info is included here in this post.
make and model of the router - D-Link DIR-655
modem is Comtrend CT-5071T 

As far as the lights go, the only change between working and not working is the modem internet light - red when not working and no light when working (that's why we decided to change the phone jack). The router lights remained the same.

I will hold off on the factory reset for now.

When I get a chance, I'll check on the firmware upgrade. 

I am still concerned about the pinging to the wrong IP addresses. It works correctly from my new pc but not my old ones, so I think there's some old info hanging around that I can't get rid of. Any ideas on this?


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*



> I am still concerned about the pinging to the wrong IP addresses. It works correctly from my new pc but not my old ones, so I think there's some old info hanging around that I can't get rid of. Any ideas on this?


 can you post the results here 
also log into the router and see if theres a status for DHCP attached devices - should be somewhere where it lists all devices attached the IP address assigned and the MAC address

post a screen shot of the router page with that info


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

I have attached the 2 files - 1 showing my router settings and the other showing the ping results from the desktop to the other 4 laptops.


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

so you have IP assigned and confirmed in the router 
of 
192.168.0.100 
192.168.0.102
192.168.0.104
192.168.0.106
192.168.0.108

and you ping 102 and 108 and get a reply - which is good 
you ping 101 and 103 - which are not listed on the router and you dont get a reply - which is good 

so dont understand the question now 


> I am still concerned about the pinging to the wrong IP addresses. It works correctly from my new pc but not my old ones, so I think there's some old info hanging around that I can't get rid of. Any ideas on this?


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

I am pinging by name - my response should be 102, 104, 106, 108 in that order. The response I am getting is 101, 102, 103, 108. The only one that is correct is 108.


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

what windows version are you running
we may need to clear the route table lets do this first
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Vista/Windows 7*

Start, Programs\Accessories and *right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" *to open a command prompt.

_Note: Type only the text in *bold* for the following commands._

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: *netsh winsock reset catalog*

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. *netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log*

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. *netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log*

Reboot the machine.

If you receive the message 
*The requested operation requires elevation.*
Then please open the command prompt as administrator - as requested above 
Start, Programs\Accessories and *right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" *to open a command prompt.


Post back the results here - we need to know these commands worked correctly
rightclick in the box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and 
control key + V to paste

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Windows XP with SP2/SP3*

*S*tart, *R*un, *CMD* to open a command prompt:

In the command prompt window that opens, type type the following commands:

_Note: Type only the text in *bold* for the following commands._

Reset TCP/IP stack to installation defaults, type: *netsh int ip reset reset.log*

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults, type: *netsh winsock reset catalog*

Reboot the machine.

Post back the results here 
rightclick in the box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and 
control key + V to paste
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

OK. The commands seemed to work. There was no reply to the first one and the second one just said to reboot to make the change.
btw my internet connection failed again.


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*



> btw my internet connection failed again.


 - 
can we see the ipconfig /all, PING tests and an xirrus when it fails - Anything connected by cable - did that lose connection , all devices lose connection or just wireless - whats the status of the lights on the modem /router when it loses the connection 


*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* ipconfig /all *
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to paste the results into something like notepad and then copy onto a machine that can access the internet and post results here

We would like to see the results from ipconfig /all post back the results in a reply here

Hold the *Windows* key and press *R*, then type *CMD* then press *Enter* to open a command prompt box (A new dialogue box - black with white font, will appear on screen ):

In the command prompt window that opens, type the following command:

_Note that there is a space before the /ALL, but there is *NOT* a space after the / in the following command._

* ipconfig /all > network.txt & network.txt *

It will export the results to notepad and then automatically open notepad.

Now all you need to do is copy and paste those results to a reply here
to do that:
From the notepad menu - choose *Edit* - *Select all* 
all the text will be highlighted
Next
From the notepad menu - choose *Edit* - *Copy*
Now go back to the forum - reply and then right click in the reply box and *paste* 
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* Ping Tests *
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to paste the results into something like notepad and then copy onto a machine that can access the internet and post results here

Start> Run {search bar in Vista}> CMD to open a DOS window and type:

Type the following command 
*Ping* {plus the number thats shown against the default gateway shown in above ipconfig /all}
Post back the results
rightclick in the box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and 
control key + V to paste

Type the following command
*Ping google.com*
Post back the results
rightclick in the box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and 
control key + V to paste

Type the following command
*Ping 209.183.226.152*
post back results
rightclick in the box
select all
enter
control key + C key - to copy
then reply here and 
control key + V to paste
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*

*------------------------------------------------------------------------*
* Run Xirrus Wi-Fi Inspector  
Download and install*
If you cannot access the internet with this PC, then you will need to copy the program across to the faulty PC

http://www.xirrus.com/library/wifitools.php
Direct link to the program is here http://www.xirrus.com/library/wifi_download_redirect.php
Then run and install the program - on a wireless enabled PC/Laptop
if you get an error - You need NET Framework installed for the WiFi Inspector to function.

Run the program 

post a screen shot of the program running - if there are a lot of networks showing can you click on "networks" top lefthand area - so we can see all the network information, and also post which network "Adapter Name" (1st column) is yours on the list 

To post a screen shot of the active window, hold the Alt key and press the PrtScn key. Open the Windows PAINT application and Paste the screen shot. You can then use PAINT to trim to suit, and save it as a JPG format file. 
To upload it to the forum, open the full reply window and use the Manage Attachments button to upload it here.
Full details are here TSG Posting a Screenshot - TSG Library of Knowledge

Note:
For a reliable (or robust as the Xirrus user guide says) wireless connection you need a signal of about -70 dBm or better.

If you are using the Mac OS then use iStumbler 99
*------------------------------------------------------------------------*


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Did you want ipconfig, ping and xirrus run while the connection is still down? If so, I'll have to wait till it fails again to get answers to these questions. If not, then nothing has changed. Also do you need the results from all 5 pc's or just the wired or one of the wireless? 

My configuration is:
Ip 100 - Desktop - wired - XP SP3
Ip 102 - Brenda - wireless - XP SP3
Ip 104 - Nelson - wireless - XP SP3
Ip 106 - Netbook - wireless - Win7
Ip 108 - Business - wireless - Win7 
Everything loses connection.

whats the status of the lights on the modem /router when it loses the connection - I already answered this in a previous post. Did you want me to check and report on this each time?


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*



> Did you want ipconfig, ping and xirrus run while the connection is still down?


 yes please 


> Also do you need the results from all 5 pc's or just the wired or one of the wireless?


 if they are all losing connection - wired as that eliminates any wireless issues 


> I already answered this in a previous post. Did you want me to check and report on this each time?


 yes if changes - from just internet light 

so did the tcp/ip reset fix the issues here 
My configuration is:
Ip 100 - Desktop - wired - XP SP3
Ip 102 - Brenda - wireless - XP SP3
Ip 104 - Nelson - wireless - XP SP3
Ip 106 - Netbook - wireless - Win7
Ip 108 - Business - wireless - Win7 
Everything loses connection.

so if you ping by name it works ?


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

The pings are still the same (3 out of 4 are wrong - the 3 oldest pc's).


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## Wand3r3r

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Have you confirmed that those pcs that you can't ping have the firewall set to allow file and printer sharing as well as icmp is allowed? 

if icmp is disallowed you can't ping it.


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

I am not using Windows firewall (using comodo). I am able to do file and printer sharing as I am doing backups over my network. When I ping I am still not able to get the right ip address even with my firewall turned off.

Regarding backups, one other issue I'm dealing with is that I can't backup one of my laptops. I get an error message "you were not connected because a duplicate name exists on the network". This error makes sense if my network thinks I have ip's of 101, 102, 103, 108 instead of 102, 104, 106, 108. It is probably finding the 102 from the old original list. There must be a way to flush out all the old stuff and pickup my new ip addresses, but I haven't been able to find a way to do this.

I think there is something that is contributing to all of these problems. The ip's on my network are not being identified properly. That is why the ping is giving me incorrect results (the ping "works", it just doesn't give the correct info). I can't access one of my laptops because it says there is a duplicate ip somewhere. This may even be contributing to my loss of connection.

I'm at a loss as to what to do.


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## etaf

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

i'm not an expert on these commands - so you may want to wait for confirmation - but it may be the routing table on the PC 
to flush the routing table you need to 
start>
programs>
accessories>
command prompt>
right click --- run as administrator
the cmd box opens 
then type
route -f 
to clear the table 
and then reboot and then you will need to reconnect any network drives etc

BUT 

i'm not an expert on these commands - so you may want to wait for confirmation


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## Wand3r3r

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Have you checked your hosts file(s)???

Can you post an example of this incorrect ping for review?


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

I don't know how to check my hosts file(s).
The ping results are in post #9.
Let me know if I can provide any further info. Thanks.


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Thank you!!!! I updated my hosts files on all pcs and the pings are mostly all working. I did locate this hosts file a few days ago but didn't know I could update it directly. Anyway, I have one pc that no other pc can ping to so I'm working on that. I don't see what I did differently - any ideas?

Also, because the ips are now all working properly, my backup job is running correctly!!

I am hoping that fixing this may keep my connection alive? I'll keep you posted on this. I really don't think it's a hardware connection problem. Something may be shutting it down - as soon as I reboot my router and modem, it works for several hours and then fails again. I keep repeating the process to keep my connection. Any thoughts on this?


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

My internet connection failed again today. I am using Network Magic's Repair Connection option to get it going again. It usually starts right up after this, so that's why I'm thinking that something must keep shutting it down. Any thoughts on this? 

Of a lesser concern, I also still have one pc (Netbook) that no other pc can ping to.


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## 2xg

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

Have you considered uninstalling Network Magic and let Windows do all the tricks for you? :grin:


> I am using Network Magic's Repair Connection option to get it going again.


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## canusavac

*Re: Keep losing internet connection*

I have updated my firmware on my router. I also did some recabling. Everything seems ok now. Thanks to everyone for their help.


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