Random Network drop out issue

Hi Guys,

I will attempt to explain this problem as best I can. I recently got
high speed access to the net via a wireless dish. The dish has some
client equipment in it and is connected to my PC via wired Ethernet.

My PC has been assigned a static IP for the network, and because we are
behind a router its not a real world IP.

The problem is that rnadomly I loose my connection to the internet. I
still show a connection on the LAN indictaors on the status bar.

Now I find that if I click Repair on the context menu for that
connection everything is fine again.

This can happen a few times a day. The service provider swears its
nothing at his end, and the fact that I have to repair to fix it kinda
supports this theory. I dont know much about the gear but that its
Trango. I am on XP SP2 with the latest IE7.

Anyone able to shed any light pease?

Thanks

-AL

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Hi Guys,
>
> I will attempt to explain this problem as best I can. I recently got
> high speed access to the net via a wireless dish. The dish has some
> client equipment in it and is connected to my PC via wired Ethernet.
>
> My PC has been assigned a static IP for the network, and because we are
> behind a router it's not a real-world IP.
>
> The problem is that randomly I lose my connection to the internet. I
> still show a connection on the LAN indictaors on the status bar.
>
> Now I find that if I click Repair on the context menu for that
> connection everything is fine again.
>
> This can happen a few times a day. The service provider swears it's
> nothing at his end, and the fact that I have to repair to fix it kinda
> supports this theory. I don't know much about the gear but that it's
> Trango. I am on XP SP2 with the latest IE7.
>
> Anyone able to shed any light pease?

Open the Device Manager, locate the Ethernet card, open Properties and
turn off the power option to "Allow the computer to turn off this device
to save power".

--
Joe =o)

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

> Hi Guys,
>
> I will attempt to explain this problem as best I can. I recently got
> high speed access to the net via a wireless dish. The dish has some
> client equipment in it and is connected to my PC via wired Ethernet.
>
> My PC has been assigned a static IP for the network, and because we are
> behind a router its not a real world IP.
>
> The problem is that rnadomly I loose my connection to the internet. I
> still show a connection on the LAN indictaors on the status bar.
>
> Now I find that if I click Repair on the context menu for that
> connection everything is fine again.
>
> This can happen a few times a day. The service provider swears its
> nothing at his end, and the fact that I have to repair to fix it kinda
> supports this theory. I dont know much about the gear but that its
> Trango. I am on XP SP2 with the latest IE7.

The first thing to try is to disable power management on your computer's
network adapter. Go to Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager. Expand
the network devices category and find your ethernet adapter. Double-click
it to get its Properties. Click on the Power Management tab and uncheck the
box that says "allow Windows to turn off this device when not in use". See
if that helps and if it does not, then please post back with a bit more
detail about your particular computer's hardware and its virus/malware
status.

Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

(E-Mail Removed) hath wroth:

>I will attempt to explain this problem as best I can. I recently got
>high speed access to the net via a wireless dish. The dish has some
>client equipment in it and is connected to my PC via wired Ethernet.
>
>My PC has been assigned a static IP for the network, and because we are
>behind a router its not a real world IP.

Does it also have a statically defined gateway IP?

Are the DNS servers listed or are they set to obtain their addresses
from the ISP router? (This is important. Check the settings).

>The problem is that rnadomly I loose my connection to the internet. I
>still show a connection on the LAN indictaors on the status bar.

The connection you're seeing in the system tray is the ethernet
connection, not the wireless connection. You could block the wireless
signal completely and it will still show that you're plugged into the
Trango wireless bridge.

>Now I find that if I click Repair on the context menu for that
>connection everything is fine again.

Impossible. All the you're doing is repairing the ethernet
connection. Others have suggested checking the power save setting. My
guess(tm) is that you won't find a "wireless" connection in the:
Control Panel -> Network
window and that the ethernet device on your unspecified model computer
does not have a power save feature.

However, the question remains, why does it work for you. My guess is
that you can get the exact same effect by simply unplugging the
ethernet cable, waiting a few seconds, and plugging it back in. Does
this also fix the problem?

>This can happen a few times a day.
>The service provider swears its nothing at his end,

- How many times is "a few"? Numbers please.

- Is there any pattern to the outages? For example, does it only
happen during normal eating times, when microwave ovens tend to be
operating? Is it different on weekends?

- Are you using the computer when it dies, or have you left it idle
for a long while?

- You may have lost the internet, but have you checked if you've lost
your ISP's gateway? Determine the gateway IP address by running:
start -> run -> cmd <enter>
ipconfig
Then try pinging the gateway when it's working, and when it dies:
ping ip_address_of_gateway
If it does NOT work when it goes dead, you have lost your wireless
connection to the WISP.

- Does it *REQUIRE* that the connection be repaired, or does it fix
itself if you wait long enough? How long? Use:
start -> run -> cmd <enter>
ping -t ip_address_of_gateway
and watch the error messages. When normal results return, it's back
to working. If the downtime is approximately that of cooking a
microwave dinner, I think we have the culprit. There also ping tools
which will help run this test continuously:
<http://www.tools4ever.com/products/free/freeping/>

>and the fact that I have to repair to fix it kinda
>supports this theory.

No, it doesn't. For example, if the WISP's DNS servers were screwed
up and not responding, it would appear that you can't surf the
internet, while all that's happening is that you can't resolve the
domain names into IP addresses. Try obtaining the IP address of a
popular web site and using that instead of the name to see what
happens when it does down. To get the IP address, run something like:
ping www.yahoo.com
then try the resultant IP address in the form:
http://66.94.234.13
If your wireless ISP is using some kind of DNS load balancing scheme,
or you have one of the three possible DNS servers typed in wrong, you
might see some problems.

It may also be something as simple as the time delay required to
repair the connection if the outages are fairly short in duration.

>I dont know much about the gear but that its
>Trango. I am on XP SP2 with the latest IE7.

Trango has a support forum. I suggest you ask about signal strength
and interference problems.
<http://www.trangobroadband.com/forum/default.aspx>
If the diagnostics returns that you have a marginal signal to your
WISP, you may need to tinker with the antenna, or do some
repositioning to avoid interference.

>Anyone able to shed any light pease?

If shedding light is anything like shedding fur on a dawg, I don't
think you will want it.

My guess(tm) is that if you're absolutely sure your XP setup is
correct, that your signal is good and strong, and that you have line
of sight to your WISP, I would then look into interference problems. A
"few" times per day sounds like a microwave oven. It does not need to
be yours as anything along the line of sight (and beyond) to the ISP
will cause problems. See the FAQ at:
<http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi#Interference>
for a laundry list of possible culprits.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Gee - Thanks for all the great suggestions so far!!

I have turned off power management for the adapter as instructed, but
as i can not re[licate the problem at will, I will just have to wait
and see.

> Does it also have a statically defined gateway IP?

Yes

> Are the DNS servers listed or are they set to obtain their addresses
> from the ISP router? (This is important. Check the settings).

They are listed.

> >Now I find that if I click Repair on the context menu for that
> >connection everything is fine again.
>
> Impossible. All the you're doing is repairing the ethernet
> connection. Others have suggested checking the power save setting. My
> guess(tm) is that you won't find a "wireless" connection in the:
> Control Panel -> Network
> window and that the ethernet device on your unspecified model computer
> does not have a power save feature.

I am running an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard with a AMD Athlon64
2.2Ghz 3500+ chip. The twin onboard (motherboard) ethernet adapters are
Marvel Yukon 88E8053 Gigabit Ethernet Controllers.

Under power management for these adapters I have unchecked the setting
"Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

>
> However, the question remains, why does it work for you. My guess is
> that you can get the exact same effect by simply unplugging the
> ethernet cable, waiting a few seconds, and plugging it back in. Does
> this also fix the problem?

Will try that next time it does it.

>
> >This can happen a few times a day.
> >The service provider swears its nothing at his end,
>
> - How many times is "a few"? Numbers please.

It varies, but the average would be twice.

>
> - Is there any pattern to the outages? For example, does it only
> happen during normal eating times, when microwave ovens tend to be
> operating? Is it different on weekends?

Thats a interesting point - because it has been happening in the
mornings, but also happens overnight (I am not on my computer but my
MSN is logged out suggesting a loss of connectivity)

> - Are you using the computer when it dies, or have you left it idle
> for a long while?

It has happened when I am using it, and I am pretty sure it has also
happened when i am not.

>
> - You may have lost the internet, but have you checked if you've lost
> your ISP's gateway? Determine the gateway IP address by running:
> start -> run -> cmd <enter>
> ipconfig
> Then try pinging the gateway when it's working, and when it dies:
> ping ip_address_of_gateway
> If it does NOT work when it goes dead, you have lost your wireless
> connection to the WISP.

Good suggestion.

> - Does it *REQUIRE* that the connection be repaired, or does it fix
> itself if you wait long enough? How long? Use:
> start -> run -> cmd <enter>
> ping -t ip_address_of_gateway
> and watch the error messages. When normal results return, it's back
> to working. If the downtime is approximately that of cooking a
> microwave dinner, I think we have the culprit. There also ping tools
> which will help run this test continuously:
> <http://www.tools4ever.com/products/free/freeping/>

Another good suggestion - will try that too.

> It may also be something as simple as the time delay required to
> repair the connection if the outages are fairly short in duration.

Someone else mentioned Malware/Virus? I thought about that too - I have
had my HiJackThis log checked over at CastleCops- and I am clean. Also
running Ewido and Kaspersky - all clean.

Cheers

-Al

Just after I posted my last message the connection dropped. So I can
now offer the following info:

When the connection first dropped I did a ping to the gateway within
about 1 min. No ping.

Then about 30 seconds of the first set of pings I pinged the gateway
again and got a return, but no connection to the internet.

Unplugging and plugging the ethernet cable back in had the same result
as repair - it allowed me to connect to the internet again.

Cheers

-Al

On 2 Jan 2007 11:03:19 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Just after I posted my last message the connection dropped. So I can
>now offer the following info:
>
>When the connection first dropped I did a ping to the gateway within
>about 1 min. No ping.
>
>Then about 30 seconds of the first set of pings I pinged the gateway
>again and got a return, but no connection to the internet.

The gateway connection recovered but not the internet? Is this
wireless contrivance part of a mesh network or does your WISP use a
store and forward system for their access points? Having a radio
disappear from a mesh network will cause the network to re-route
packets around the node. That could explain why it doesn't recover
immediately.

If I really stretch my imagination, it's possible that the gateway
might be alive, but no routing if there were some manner of exotic
mesh routing protocol operating on this system. However, that's
usually not the case. Does this wireless system include some manner
of "monitor" program that is running on your computer that sends "keep
alive" packets to the WISP?

My overactive imagination can also contrive a situation where the
default route changes in response to RIP2 updates from the ISP. That
would give you a proper ping return from the gateway, but would route
all your packets to nowhere in particular. Run:
start -> run -> cmd <enter>
route print
before and after the connection drops and note the default route
listed at the bottom.

>Unplugging and plugging the ethernet cable back in had the same result
>as repair - it allowed me to connect to the internet again.

Ok, that's a good clue. Unplugging the ethernet connection usually
causes the ethernet connection to reset and to obtain a new DHCP
assigned IP address when plugged back in. However, you state that you
have static IP address, gateway, and DNS servers, so that's not what's
happening. Are you sure that they're static?

It's possible that the Trango radio is part of the problem. If it has
an IP address, try to ping it. If your lucky, it's one IP address
above or below your assigned IP address. However, it may not be
easily accessible from your Windoze box. Try running:
arp -a
and see if you can identify the box. Trango starts with:
00-01-DE-xx-xx-xx

My crystal ball still says it's interference. However, the question
is why doesn't it recover by itself. It should recover, but without
detailed knowledge of the wireless topology, I can only speculate.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558 (E-Mail Removed)
# http://802.11junk.com (E-Mail Removed)
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) ups.com...
> Just after I posted my last message the connection dropped. So I can
> now offer the following info:
>
> When the connection first dropped I did a ping to the gateway within
> about 1 min. No ping.
>
> Then about 30 seconds of the first set of pings I pinged the gateway
> again and got a return, but no connection to the internet.
>
> Unplugging and plugging the ethernet cable back in had the same result
> as repair - it allowed me to connect to the internet again.
>
Hopefully you are using high quality CAT6 cable?




--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

> I will attempt to explain this problem as best I can. I recently got
> high speed access to the net via a wireless dish. The dish has some
> client equipment in it and is connected to my PC via wired Ethernet.

Explain what equipment. Make, model and exact ways it's all wired together.

> My PC has been assigned a static IP for the network, and because we are
> behind a router its not a real world IP.

What static IP? Presumably it's also got static DNS addresses too?

> The problem is that rnadomly I loose my connection to the internet. I
> still show a connection on the LAN indictaors on the status bar.

Spell it 'lose'.

> Now I find that if I click Repair on the context menu for that
> connection everything is fine again.

Repair? With a static IP?

When it's working, try opening a cmd prompt and typing "ipconfig /all" and
post the results here. Then, when it dies, use the same command and see if
there's *any* differences.

When using the ping command, does it always return a successful ping to the
gateway? Even before doing a repair or disconnect/reconnect of the ethernet
cable from the PC to the router?

When it's working, what lights are lit on the router *and* on the back of
the PC? Does your network card in the PC have lights for connection, duplex
and speed (often color-coded)?

I'm left wondering if the wireless device isn't doing something to detect
that the PC is connected and altering the wireless link. As in, it drops
the internet link based on it thinking the PC isn't there. If that's the
case then either your PC is "doing something" that confuses the router or
the router itself is misconfigured or just plain defective.

-Bill Kearney

> > Unplugging and plugging the ethernet cable back in had the same result
> > as repair - it allowed me to connect to the internet again.
> >
> Hopefully you are using high quality CAT6 cable?

For the connection from a PC to a router like this that's a useless
suggestion. Plain old CAT5 would work fine. Presuming it's a good cable of
course.