A Very Odd Question

I'm not sure if this question belongs here, but here goes:

What makes connecting to the internet a problem when my computer has
been idling for a few minutes (I have to restart my computer to get the
internet again). OR - When I'm watching a DVD on my PC, I finish, and
then when I try to log onto the internet, it won't let me unless I
restart my computer.

It's a very odd thing, and I've tried to research this problem, but
couldn't find anything on Google.

I use D-Link Wireless.
Windows XP
512 RAM
2.0Ghz

Check under the Control Panel, Device Manager, Network Adaptor and make sure
its power setting are set as to not allow the system to turn it off to save
power, i.e. it should be on all the time. They seem to be powered down quite
happily but Windows in its various flavours seems unable to power them back
up resulting in a power down reset to wake them up again.

Peter

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) oups.com...
> I'm not sure if this question belongs here, but here goes:
>
> What makes connecting to the internet a problem when my computer has
> been idling for a few minutes (I have to restart my computer to get the
> internet again). OR - When I'm watching a DVD on my PC, I finish, and
> then when I try to log onto the internet, it won't let me unless I
> restart my computer.
>
> It's a very odd thing, and I've tried to research this problem, but
> couldn't find anything on Google.
>
> I use D-Link Wireless.
> Windows XP
> 512 RAM
> 2.0Ghz
>

On 14 Dec 2005 17:09:21 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>I'm not sure if this question belongs here, but here goes:

Don't worry. Off topic questions are tolerated (barely).

>What makes connecting to the internet a problem when my computer has
>been idling for a few minutes (I have to restart my computer to get the
>internet again). OR - When I'm watching a DVD on my PC, I finish, and
>then when I try to log onto the internet, it won't let me unless I
>restart my computer.
>
>It's a very odd thing, and I've tried to research this problem, but
>couldn't find anything on Google.
>
>I use D-Link Wireless.
>Windows XP
>512 RAM
>2.0Ghz

Well, I'll have to make some assumptions. I'll assume you're
connected to your DLink wireless via wireless and not wired. From
your posting IP address, I deduce that you're in Beverly Hills and
that you're at:
67-23-128-249.ontrca.adelphia.net
Adelphia is a cable modem ISP, so you do NOT have the usual DSL
problem of having the router logout when idle.

Is your PC perhaps a laptop? If so, many laptops have power saving
features that turn off power to unused devices when idle. Check the
properties for the wireless card and see if there is a "power save"
feature that might be turning things off. The same power save problem
might also exist in a desktop.

Also, you might wanna check your power management settings.
Control Panel -> Power
Try turning off all the power saving features. Also turn off
hibernate. If you have a 3rd party power manager (i.e. Toshiba), then
make sure it doesn't go into hibernate on idle.

If the problem magically goes away, it's one of the power saving
settings. I can't tell which one it might be. Turn them back on one
at a time and see if you can identify the culprit. If you find it, I
would be interested in knowning which one is causing the problem as
it's a common question that never seems to draw a specific solution.

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On 14 Dec 2005 17:09:21 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
> >I'm not sure if this question belongs here, but here goes:
>
> Don't worry. Off topic questions are tolerated (barely).

Thank you.

> Well, I'll have to make some assumptions. I'll assume you're
> connected to your DLink wireless via wireless and not wired. From
> your posting IP address, I deduce that you're in Beverly Hills and
> that you're at:
> 67-23-128-249.ontrca.adelphia.net
> Adelphia is a cable modem ISP, so you do NOT have the usual DSL
> problem of having the router logout when idle.

Not in Beverly Hills. I am wireless. No laptop. Cable modem.

> Also, you might wanna check your power management settings.
> Control Panel -> Power
> Try turning off all the power saving features. Also turn off
> hibernate. If you have a 3rd party power manager (i.e. Toshiba), then
> make sure it doesn't go into hibernate on idle.

I just disabled the power save in my wireless card.

When I look under power schemes, what should that be set to?

>
> If the problem magically goes away, it's one of the power saving
> settings. I can't tell which one it might be. Turn them back on one
> at a time and see if you can identify the culprit. If you find it, I
> would be interested in knowning which one is causing the problem as
> it's a common question that never seems to draw a specific solution.

I will let you know for sure.

On 14 Dec 2005 22:43:53 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>> Well, I'll have to make some assumptions. I'll assume you're
>> connected to your DLink wireless via wireless and not wired. From
>> your posting IP address, I deduce that you're in Beverly Hills and
>> that you're at:
>> 67-23-128-249.ontrca.adelphia.net
>> Adelphia is a cable modem ISP, so you do NOT have the usual DSL
>> problem of having the router logout when idle.

>Not in Beverly Hills. I am wireless. No laptop. Cable modem.

So much for Geobytes. See:
http://www.geobytes.com/IpLocator.htm
Plug in your IP address (which is currently 67.23.128.249). It says
Beverly Hills with a 99% certainty. However, the "ontrca" in the
reverse DNS lookup implies Ontario, California, where Adelphia has a
regional operations center. Am I getting closer?

>I just disabled the power save in my wireless card.
>
>When I look under power schemes, what should that be set to?

Set it to the "Home/Office Desk" or "Always On" seting.
Then set the hard disk, monitor, and standby modes to "Never". That
will effectively disable any power saving features. Also, make sure
the hybernate tab is not checked. There may also be a power saving
feature running in the desktop's BIOS setup. Dive into the BIOS
settings and see if there's any such settings. If so, temporarily
disable them.

Again, if it's not the power save feature on the wireless card, then I
would be interested to know which power saving feature in the power
management or BIOS solves the problem.


--
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

Jeff Liebermann wrote:
> On 14 Dec 2005 22:43:53 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
> >> Well, I'll have to make some assumptions. I'll assume you're
> >> connected to your DLink wireless via wireless and not wired. From
> >> your posting IP address, I deduce that you're in Beverly Hills and
> >> that you're at:
> >> 67-23-128-249.ontrca.adelphia.net
> >> Adelphia is a cable modem ISP, so you do NOT have the usual DSL
> >> problem of having the router logout when idle.
>
> >Not in Beverly Hills. I am wireless. No laptop. Cable modem.
>
> So much for Geobytes. See:
> http://www.geobytes.com/IpLocator.htm
> Plug in your IP address (which is currently 67.23.128.249). It says
> Beverly Hills with a 99% certainty. However, the "ontrca" in the
> reverse DNS lookup implies Ontario, California, where Adelphia has a
> regional operations center. Am I getting closer?

Closer, yes. : )


> >I just disabled the power save in my wireless card.
> >
> >When I look under power schemes, what should that be set to?
>
> Set it to the "Home/Office Desk" or "Always On" seting.
> Then set the hard disk, monitor, and standby modes to "Never". That

Check.

> will effectively disable any power saving features. Also, make sure
> the hybernate tab is not checked. There may also be a power saving
> feature running in the desktop's BIOS setup. Dive into the BIOS
> settings and see if there's any such settings. If so, temporarily
> disable them.
>

Check.

> Again, if it's not the power save feature on the wireless card, then I
> would be interested to know which power saving feature in the power
> management or BIOS solves the problem.
>

Well, with all of those things disabled, I'm still having the same
problems. Let me be more specific with my problem.

I click onto Firefox - My homepage is Yahoo.com - It doesn't come up.
(The usual "cannot find website - check name again). But when I click
on certain other websites in my favs, the home page for those certain
websites come up, but I can't get into the heart of the website.
(Again, "make sure you check the name and try again.")

I sometimes use Agent for newsreading - And it comes up "Cannot find
host".

So I know it's not connecting - For whatever reason. Baffled, just
baffled.

It's frustrating because I'm having 3 major problems going on with my
computer, and this is just one of them I've been living with. The other
is my audio (out of nowhere) will stop working. No volume control.
Nothing in the task bar. I have to restart to get it back. And don't
get me started on this divx problem. Choppy friggin' playback on all my
divx videos. (I've tried everything in the book - codec blah blah blah
- for months now)

Anyway, thanks for helping me, Jeff. I have no idea what to do about
this internet shutting down after idling.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
Snip...........................................
>
> Anyway, thanks for helping me, Jeff. I have no idea what to do about
> this internet shutting down after idling.
>

Are you running a firewall such as Zone Alarm? This has an option to
lock internet access after a set number of minutes of inactivity or when
the screensaver activates.

Rob

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>It's frustrating because I'm having 3 major problems going on with my
>computer, and this is just one of them I've been living with. The other
>is my audio (out of nowhere) will stop working. No volume control.
>Nothing in the task bar. I have to restart to get it back. And don't
>get me started on this divx problem. Choppy friggin' playback on all my
>divx videos. (I've tried everything in the book - codec blah blah blah
>- for months now)

You might be having a hardware problem, either hard disk errors,
memory errors, or other such things. Run the (disk drive)
manufacturer's full diagnostic, then WinDoze full scandisk with all
the options turned on, then memtest86, then any other diags from your
computer manufacturer.

Also, check to make sure your antivirus, anti{spy,ad,mal}ware programs
are up to date, that you have the latest drivers for everything, and
all that rot.

Sounds like your computer needs a major overhaul...

On 15 Dec 2005 01:22:00 -0800, (E-Mail Removed) wrote:

>Well, with all of those things disabled, I'm still having the same
>problems. Let me be more specific with my problem.

OK, then it's not power management. That would have been too easy.

>I click onto Firefox - My homepage is Yahoo.com - It doesn't come up.
>(The usual "cannot find website - check name again). But when I click
>on certain other websites in my favs, the home page for those certain
>websites come up, but I can't get into the heart of the website.
>(Again, "make sure you check the name and try again.")

First, we need to determine if this is a browser issue, IP network
issue, or wireless issue. Open an MSDOS window before the computer
goes comatose with:
Start -> Run -> cmd <Enter>
and run:
PING 192.168.1.1 (where this is the IP address of your router)
Leave the window open and let the browser go comatose as previously
described. Then, try it again. If it works, you have a working
connection to your router via wireless and the problem is elsewhere.

If ping fails, run:
IPCONFIG
and check the IP address. If it's 0.0.0.0, then the Windoze client
has timed out (somewhere) and shopping around for new IP address. If
you wait long enough, it might eventually go to 169.254.xxx.xxx. If
it's 192.168.1.xxx, then it's fine. If you get any other message such
as "no route to host", that's something else.

Next, some of the symptoms sound like a slow or comatose DNS server. I
think it's time for you to kindly disclose the exact model DLink
router as some hardware/firmware versions do have DNS problems.
However, instead of pounding on the router, try setting the DNS server
in your XP Network setup to the actual IP address of the Adelphia DNS
servers instead of to the IP address of the router. That will bypass
any DNS issues in the router. If that fixes the problem, then it's
time to upgrade the firmware in the DLink router.

Also, check the contents of the hosts file at:
c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\lmhosts
If it's full of common web site names followed by IP addresses,
congratulations. You have a worm or virus.

>I sometimes use Agent for newsreading - And it comes up "Cannot find
>host".
>
>So I know it's not connecting - For whatever reason. Baffled, just
>baffled.
>
>It's frustrating because I'm having 3 major problems going on with my
>computer, and this is just one of them I've been living with.

It's difficult to fix multiple problems at the same time.

>The other
>is my audio (out of nowhere) will stop working. No volume control.
>Nothing in the task bar. I have to restart to get it back. And don't
>get me started on this divx problem. Choppy friggin' playback on all my
>divx videos. (I've tried everything in the book - codec blah blah blah
>- for months now).

A 2GHz something processor running XP something, with 512MB of ram
should run DIVX just fine. My 550MHz Celeron will do it full screen
although I had to reduce the number of colors to 256 to get decent
vidoe speed.

Something is hogging CPU cycles. My guess is that a virus, worm,
spyware, keylogger, spambot, downloaders, etc, is probably going
inactive when you're using the machine, but comes alive when it's
idle. That might explain the slothishness on recovery. Look for
unexplained activity on your network by watching the flashing lights.
I suggest you run multiple scans of your computer looking for such a
program. If you don't have functional anti-virus or anti-spyware
programs, I suggest the free version of AVG Anti-Virus, Microsoft
Anti-Spyware Beta 1 1.0.701. Also Lavasoft Ad-Aware, and Spybot
Search and Destroy. These are all free and work just fine. If you've
already installed a virus and spyware scanner, do NOT install more
than one at a time. That really sucks CPU cycles. Try one of the
online virus and spyware scanners such as:
http://housecall.trendmicro.com
http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/

My guess(tm) is that the CPU hogging, idle failure, and the loss of
DNS lookups is related somehow.

>Anyway, thanks for helping me, Jeff. I have no idea what to do about
>this internet shutting down after idling.

--
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

William P.N. Smith wrote:
> (E-Mail Removed) wrote:
>
> >It's frustrating because I'm having 3 major problems going on with my
> >computer, and this is just one of them I've been living with. The other
> >is my audio (out of nowhere) will stop working. No volume control.
> >Nothing in the task bar. I have to restart to get it back. And don't
> >get me started on this divx problem. Choppy friggin' playback on all my
> >divx videos. (I've tried everything in the book - codec blah blah blah
> >- for months now)
>
> You might be having a hardware problem, either hard disk errors,
> memory errors, or other such things. Run the (disk drive)
> manufacturer's full diagnostic, then WinDoze full scandisk with all
> the options turned on, then memtest86, then any other diags from your
> computer manufacturer.
>
> Also, check to make sure your antivirus, anti{spy,ad,mal}ware programs
> are up to date, that you have the latest drivers for everything, and
> all that rot.
>
> Sounds like your computer needs a major overhaul...

Funny thing is that this is a brand new motherboard/hard drive/video
card. Go figure.