# AIM constantly disconnects



## silverwolf82587

i dont know why but aim keeps on disconnecting...

i have dsl shared through a linksys BEFW11S4 V4 router...

the actual modem doesnt disconnect so other applications that require the internet are fine...

what could be the problem?


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## johnwill

I don't use AIM, so I'm not sure, but if all the other applications that access the network work, I'd be looking for a configuration issue with the AIM application itself.


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## elf

This is a problem that millions of AIM users have, and no one seems to have a fix for it. First thing for you to check, would be to see if you have any viruses. A while back I had this problem, cleaned my system and it went away. My old roomates had this problem, and it never went away. Iit happened to 5-6 computers on the same network, and 1 was unaffected. We tried changing ports, connecting straight to the modem, nothing worked. 

In the end they downloaded Trillian, which acts as a AIM substitute without the signoff problems.


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## johnwill

I've solved that problem by avoiding AIM like the virus it is. :grin:


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## silverwolf82587

lol...
i used trillian for a short time...
i use aim ad hack because it seems to be simpler...

i didnt have these problems til i got dsl
i dont know...

when we had dial up we had ICS... so i dont understand why i would get the problems now nothings changed except faster internet and use of a router rather than a hub.

did people get the disconnecting problem even with dial up?


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## silverwolf82587

even using trillian it seems to frequently disconnect...


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## diamondxl

it's the linksys...

i had an old linksys and that started happening. i figured it had something to do with the power jack but no, linksys just sucks.

yer better off just getting a switch and having a linux box be your firewall/router.

------------------------------------------
David Loschiavo - software engineer


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## JamesO

I am not a IM user, but I have seen the "Port Magic" application that AOL and/or AIM want to install. Something to do with managing your router???

I am not a fan of anyone or anything managing my router other than myself, however, I think "Port Magic" may somehow prioritize AIM packets and do something with keep alives????

http://www.purenetworks.com/news/news_04_05_24.php

Who know???????

JamesO


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## Terrister

I think I would replace the linksys router with another brand before I ran that portmagic program. I can not find any details as to what it wants to change to make AIM work.


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## willpower101

diamondxl said:


> it's the linksys...
> 
> i had an old linksys and that started happening. i figured it had something to do with the power jack but no, linksys just sucks.
> 
> yer better off just getting a switch and having a linux box be your firewall/router.
> 
> ------------------------------------------
> David Loschiavo - software engineer


software engineer huh? i guess you skipped the hardware part completley. 

Listen in this particular situation these guys have no idea what they are talking about. For one thing. The answer to your problem is not to switch to some other program. That is a workaround. NOT a fix. 

I have the same problem, but instead of just aim disconnecting mirc disconnects every few minutes as well. When it happens it just sits there and doesn't automatically reconnect until i type something.

The problem is the timeout settings on the connections for tcp and udp. mainly tcp for programs like aim and mirc because they send keep alive requests every few minutes. I have a network of many computers and it's necessary to have a very low timeout on the connections to keep the nat tables free. 

When my tcp was set to 90 s and my udp at 60 s i was having this problem. I went into the router's control panel and incrementally bumped it up until mirc stopped dropping connection at about 200 s. But aim stil dropped all the way up to 300. So as a test i set the tcp and udp to 900 seconds (15 minutes). *This completely solved the problem. *

I haven't had a chance to incrementally turn the timeout setting down to find out how long aim needs for it's keep alive requests to get through. I wouldn't expect much longer than five minutes. But now that you know you can figure that out yourself. 

Personally, after solving the problem, we still uninstalled aim and kept gaim. There are a multitude of reasons why, but one factor was that with 7 computers, many of which are running bitorrent, a tcp timeout of over a couple of minute fills up the routers memory very quickly. I try to keep my tcp around 180 - 240 max and my udp timeouts at about 120 - 180 seconds.

And by the way. Linksys does not "just suck". Linksys cpe after 2002 is in fact cisco equipment. It is pretty much top of the line of retail routers. I highly reccomend either a linksys WRT54G or a motorola WR850G (just a rebadged linksys) and the latest hacked firmware.

hope this helps.


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