Wi-Fi mystery

Nearly a year ago I installed a wireless network in my home; then, last
April, I had Comcast come in and install their VOIP along with my
Internet and Cable TV. After many problems, I still have one unresolved
issue:
I have a cheapo LinkSys WRT54GS router which performs adequately the
house. I have a desktop running XP which is wired directly to the
router (which in turn is cabled directly into the Comcast modem). I
have a new laptop (Gateway) running Vista which has its own internal
wi-fi card. Most of the time, everything works perfectly; while my wife
sleeps in the bedroom with the desktop, router, and Comcast modem, I can
work late into the night downstairs on the laptop -- well, almost late
into the night.
And here is the mystery: Many nights, often around 2 am, I lose both
network and Internet connectivity. Not every night and never during the
day or earlier than 10 pm. Going through the repair or reconnect
routine never works; rebooting never works; using the "Trouble Shooter"
never works. I simply give up and go to bed. When I get up in the
morning (6 or 7 am) everything is back to normal. When this happens, I
check my cable tv and my phone line, but they are always working fine.
If Comcast had lost its cable or interupted the signal for some cable
work, I should lose all three services, shouldn't I? And if the
Internet goes down for whatever reason, shouldn't the home network
continue working? Why both? And why is it back to normal the next
morning?
I don't think I can blame Comcast for this one. I think it's the
LinkSys router, but I can't afford to go out and buy another one just
now, and I don't understand why it should be happening consistently
between midnight and 6 am. And it doesn't happen every night -- there
is no pattern to the days of occurrence; it could be five days in a
row, it could skip a day or two, it could be on Monday morning or
Saturday morning or thursday morning.
I'm baffled!! I know of no setup in the Linksys configuration that
would cause this.
But one change has occurred: until about three days ago, my taskbar
icons would suddenly flash and tell me that network and Internet
connectivity had been interupted, now they don't. I simply lose
connectivity, but my network, Internet, and wi-fi monitors now claim
that my signal is strong and that I'm connected, even though I'm not.
So now I'm wondering if some geeky tech at Comcast is tweaking the
system at a time when he thinks nobody will notice, or is some LinkSys
witchery at play?
I sincerely hope somebody has read this all the way through and has
some ideas or even an answer, because I'm not going to get any sleep
until I understand what's going on.
TIA,
Tim


------------------------------------------------------------------------
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sounds like work being done at Comcast. When mine goes out that is about the
time.
the next time it happens call Comcast and see what they say. I love to call
companies
and complain at 2 am. BTW I live in the Pittsburgh area.
"timcole" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> Nearly a year ago I installed a wireless network in my home; then, last
> April, I had Comcast come in and install their VOIP along with my
> Internet and Cable TV. After many problems, I still have one unresolved
> issue:
> I have a cheapo LinkSys WRT54GS router which performs adequately the
> house. I have a desktop running XP which is wired directly to the
> router (which in turn is cabled directly into the Comcast modem). I
> have a new laptop (Gateway) running Vista which has its own internal
> wi-fi card. Most of the time, everything works perfectly; while my wife
> sleeps in the bedroom with the desktop, router, and Comcast modem, I can
> work late into the night downstairs on the laptop -- well, almost late
> into the night.
> And here is the mystery: Many nights, often around 2 am, I lose both
> network and Internet connectivity. Not every night and never during the
> day or earlier than 10 pm. Going through the repair or reconnect
> routine never works; rebooting never works; using the "Trouble Shooter"
> never works. I simply give up and go to bed. When I get up in the
> morning (6 or 7 am) everything is back to normal. When this happens, I
> check my cable tv and my phone line, but they are always working fine.
> If Comcast had lost its cable or interupted the signal for some cable
> work, I should lose all three services, shouldn't I? And if the
> Internet goes down for whatever reason, shouldn't the home network
> continue working? Why both? And why is it back to normal the next
> morning?
> I don't think I can blame Comcast for this one. I think it's the
> LinkSys router, but I can't afford to go out and buy another one just
> now, and I don't understand why it should be happening consistently
> between midnight and 6 am. And it doesn't happen every night -- there
> is no pattern to the days of occurrence; it could be five days in a
> row, it could skip a day or two, it could be on Monday morning or
> Saturday morning or thursday morning.
> I'm baffled!! I know of no setup in the Linksys configuration that
> would cause this.
> But one change has occurred: until about three days ago, my taskbar
> icons would suddenly flash and tell me that network and Internet
> connectivity had been interupted, now they don't. I simply lose
> connectivity, but my network, Internet, and wi-fi monitors now claim
> that my signal is strong and that I'm connected, even though I'm not.
> So now I'm wondering if some geeky tech at Comcast is tweaking the
> system at a time when he thinks nobody will notice, or is some LinkSys
> witchery at play?
> I sincerely hope somebody has read this all the way through and has
> some ideas or even an answer, because I'm not going to get any sleep
> until I understand what's going on.
> TIA,
> Tim
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> View this thread: http://www.wirelessforums.org/showthread.php?t=37751
> http://www.wirelessforums.org
>

timcole <(E-Mail Removed)> hath wroth:

>Nearly a year ago I installed a wireless network in my home; then, last
>April, I had Comcast come in and install their VOIP along with my
>Internet and Cable TV. After many problems, I still have one unresolved
>issue:

One year of screwing around with Comcast "problems" and now you're
trying to solve this? Your patience is admirable.

>I have a cheapo LinkSys WRT54GS router

What hardware version? Look on the serial number tag. Yes, it's
important. Extra credit for the firmware version.

>which performs adequately the
>house. I have a desktop running XP which is wired directly to the
>router (which in turn is cabled directly into the Comcast modem).

Which Comcast VoIP modem? Motorola, Arris, Scientific Atlanta, RCA,
etc?

>I
>have a new laptop (Gateway) running Vista which has its own internal
>wi-fi card.

Oh-oh.

>Most of the time, everything works perfectly; while my wife
>sleeps in the bedroom with the desktop, router, and Comcast modem, I can
>work late into the night downstairs on the laptop -- well, almost late
>into the night.

I assume the laptop is connected via wireless.

>And here is the mystery: Many nights, often around 2 am, I lose both
>network and Internet connectivity. Not every night and never during the
>day or earlier than 10 pm.

I'll assume you lose connectivity on the laptop. Have you checked for
connectivity on the wired XP desktop when it goes out? The idea is to
eliminate the new and wonderful Gateway Vista laptop as a possible
culprit. Some of these go into sleep, standby, or hibernate mode, and
don't really recover very gracefully. Usually a reboot will restore
the connection. Have you tried this? Also, check if you still have
connectivity with the wireless router by running:
Start -> run -> cmd <enter>
ping 192.168.1.1
If that's dead, then there's a wireless issue. If it works, it's
something else.

>Going through the repair or reconnect
>routine never works; rebooting never works; using the "Trouble Shooter"
>never works.

Do any of these work?
1. Cycle the power on the WRT54GS.
2. Cycle the power on the unspecified model Comcast VoIP modem.
3. Punch the reset button momentarily on the back of the unspecified
model Comcast VoIP modem. You can get the same effect if you unplug
the modem and then remove the big backup battery for about a minute.

What are the lights on the front of the unspecified model VoIP modem
doing? On the current RCA VoIP cable modem, all the lights should be
green in order for things to work. Are any of the lights off?

>I simply give up and go to bed. When I get up in the
>morning (6 or 7 am) everything is back to normal.

Well, gremlins, goblins, poltergysts, and enchantments are more active
at night. Maybe the cat is chewing on the wires or playing with the
modem?

>When this happens, I
>check my cable tv and my phone line, but they are always working fine.

The cable TV does NOT go through the VoIP cable modem. It's possible
for the channels (in both directions) used by the cable modem to be
"impared" while the TV still works.

The RCA cable modem is weird. It generates dialtone internally. You
can literally uplug the CATV coax connector from the modem, and you'll
still hear dialtone. Try making a phone call to see if it works.
However, even if it does, it's still possible for the Comcast router
to ruin the internet connection, without affecting VoIP function or TV
viewing.

>If Comcast had lost its cable or interupted the signal for some cable
>work, I should lose all three services, shouldn't I?

Only if the cable were cut, unplugged, or mangled. More commonly, the
unplated copper center conductor used in the common cable F connector
gets corroded, resulting in a lossy connection. Some services will
work (depending on RF frequencies) while others may be flakey. It's
possible that water expansion caused by freezing at night may be
causing the cable to move enough to drop the connection. Hard to tell
from here.

However, you can do some troubleshooting. (So can Comcast support but
they're often clueless). Connect your PC directly to the cable modem.
Since you didn't bother to specify the model, I'll guess that it's at:
http://192.168.100.1
There should be a status page and a cable modem statistics page. The
modem page will show the data rates, signal quality, and other useful
measurements. Record what you see when things are working normally.
Do the same when it craps out. If they're the same, there's something
wrong on Comcast's end.

>And if the
>Internet goes down for whatever reason, shouldn't the home network
>continue working?

Yep. You can test that by unplugging the coax cable from the cable
modem and see what happens to your home network. If it craps out, you
may have something derranged, such as getting your IP addresses from
the Comcast server instead of the WRT54GS. Without knowing exactly
how you have things wired, installed, configured, and arranged, it's
difficult to tell from here. However, in general, you're correct that
unplugging the coax should have no effect on PC to PC (or printer)
communications.

>Why both? And why is it back to normal the next
>morning?

Because they're in series. If the internet goes away, it looks like
BOTH the internet and wireless are dead. Try:
ping 192.168.1.1
or:
http://192.168.1.1
to see if you can still connect to your router. If yes, then it's the
internet that's down. Your router is fine.

>I don't think I can blame Comcast for this one.

Well, the first stop to solving a problem is to blame someone. Comcast
is the usual culprit, but if you are hesitant to assign the blame,
perhaps the dog or cat might be a suitable replacement.
Hint: Never blame your wife or kids. They retaliate.

>I think it's the
>LinkSys router,

I don't.

>but I can't afford to go out and buy another one just
>now, and I don't understand why it should be happening consistently
>between midnight and 6 am.

Can you borrow a different model wireless router? Find a retail store
with a liberal return policy? Incidentally, there are wireless
routers (Belkin My Essentials) that retail for about $35. Methinks
you can afford that.

>And it doesn't happen every night -- there
>is no pattern to the days of occurrence; it could be five days in a
>row, it could skip a day or two, it could be on Monday morning or
>Saturday morning or thursday morning.

Kinda like the weather? Any correlation with temperature?

>I'm baffled!!

I'm entertained.

>I know of no setup in the Linksys configuration that
>would cause this.

Good thinking. What else is in between your Vista laptop and the
internet that might be causing problems. Hint:
Comcast router
Lots of coax cable and black boxes.
Your house wiring.
Splitters and directional couplers
Your unspecified model cable modem.
One short piece of CAT5
The WRT54G
Start at your end and start testing or replacing each step.

>But one change has occurred: until about three days ago, my taskbar
>icons would suddenly flash and tell me that network and Internet
>connectivity had been interupted, now they don't.

It's Vista, which has a mind of its own. There's some setting that
says something like "Notify me if connectivity is lost" in the
properties for the network connection. However, in Vista, there are
two of these. One for the wireless connection to the WRT54GS and
another for loss of internet connectivity (even if the connection to
the WRT54GS is still there). As before, it's hard to tell from here.

>I simply lose
>connectivity, but my network, Internet, and wi-fi monitors now claim
>that my signal is strong and that I'm connected, even though I'm not.

Use ping to be sure that you are (or are not) connected to the router.

>So now I'm wondering if some geeky tech at Comcast is tweaking the
>system at a time when he thinks nobody will notice, or is some LinkSys
>witchery at play?

Actually, that's possible. I've had customers cable connections go
insane for a few minutes at random times. I eventually determined
that someone was running a test (of something) and left the program
running. This is very unlikely, but still possible.

>I sincerely hope somebody has read this all the way through and has
>some ideas or even an answer, because I'm not going to get any sleep
>until I understand what's going on.

Sleep deprivation has not been known to fix network problems.

--
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