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DELL randomly drops Internet connection yet still talks to router

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Comments

  • Ed_Jogg
    Ed_Jogg Posts: 184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »
    Strange. Is it different before and after repairing the connection?
    Ah. Next time I will need to take readings when failed and then after recovery.
    TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »
    Do you lights on your router indicate wireless activity when you access the Internet via your PC which is wired to the router?
    Usually there's a laptop on somewhere upstairs, which will cause it to flicker. I'd need to check this when the laptop was turned off.
    TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »
    Does the LAN IP address of your router appear in the output of "route print"?
    Yes, first row of IPv4 Route table as Gateway: 
    Active Routes:
Network Destination        Netmask          Gateway       Interface  Metric
          0.0.0.0          0.0.0.0      192.168.0.1    192.168.0.101     20
    TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »
    When it's broken can you access websites by IP address, for example does http://74.125.39.106/ get you to google?
    I haven't tried a specific IP address other than the Router itself, but when it's broken, I can't even log-on to the Router .

    The Router login page is now my homepage in IE (I usually use Firefox). After resetting the network adapter I can access the Router, but occasionally this is not enough to access the internet, in which case I have to reboot the Router too. Most of the time, however, rebooting the Router is unnecessary. (As a shortcut, my son has "power-cycled" the Modem and this seemed to fix it too, albeit more bluntly.)
    TimothyEBaldwin wrote: »
    Is your wireless connection secure? (Use WPA with an unguessable passphrase or turn it off)
    Yes, "WPA-PSK" with completely unmemorable 12-character code.

    = = = = = = = = = = = =
    Another related issue (which I have asked about on another thread but not yet resolved) is that the network connection icon in the tooltray shows a red cross, and the tooltip says "Not connected: You are not currently connected to any networks", although it only gives this status when successfully connected to the internet. (When the internet connection has been lost, a different icon is shown -- can't remember which, probably just the two plain computers.)

    Could this help explain what's going on?
  • closed
    closed Posts: 10,886 Forumite
    edited 11 May 2010 at 8:51PM
    Try setting a static ip address instead of dhcp

    and post the ipconfig /all (post it now too)

    and tracert www.google.com and tracert 66.102.9.147

    when it fails

    disabling ipv6 may help

    any personal firewalls installed?
    !!
    > . !!!! ----> .
  • Ed_Jogg
    Ed_Jogg Posts: 184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    closed wrote: »
    Try setting a static ip address instead of dhcp

    and post the ipconfig /all (post it now too)

    and tracert www.google.com and tracert 66.102.9.147

    when it fails

    disabling ipv6 may help

    any personal firewalls installed?

    Answering in turn...
    1) static IP -- presumably this is just for the ethernet-connected PC. How do I set a static IP? (I can see in router where to turn off DHCP server, but everything would need to have static IPs before I did this)

    2) ipconfig -- see below

    3) tracert -- noted. Should I expect to see the router IP in the output or not?

    4) disable ip6 -- how?/where?

    5) personal firewall -- part of McAfee SecurityCenter

    ipconfig /all 
    Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : EdJoggs-PC
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : cable.virginmedia.net

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : cable.virginmedia.net
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82562V 10/100 Platform LAN Connect
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-19-D1-41-E0-9D
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::d8b:6f47:af6:a8fb%9(Preferred) 
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.101(Preferred) 
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : 11 May 2010 17:06:04
   Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : 18 May 2010 17:06:03
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : cable.virginmedia.net
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.cable.virginmedia.net
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
    And tracert outputs: 
    tracert www.google.com

Tracing route to www-tmmdi.l.google.com [216.239.59.147]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    16 ms     7 ms     7 ms  cpc4-glfd5-2-0-gw.know.cable.virginmedia.com [213.105.6.1]
  2     6 ms     7 ms     7 ms  glfd-core-1a-ge-300-1637.network.virginmedia.net [62.254.207.89]
  3    10 ms     6 ms     7 ms  glfd-bb-1a-ge-200-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.105.175.85]
  4    15 ms    10 ms     7 ms  glfd-bb-1b-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.105.172.6]
  5    13 ms    15 ms    15 ms  manc-bb-1a-ae3-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.105.175.145]
  6    14 ms    15 ms    17 ms  manc-bb-1b-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net [62.253.187.178]
  7    20 ms    19 ms    20 ms  tele-ic-3-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net [212.43.163.70]
  8    20 ms    19 ms    20 ms  162-14-250-212.static.virginmedia.com [212.250.14.162]
  9    17 ms    14 ms    15 ms  209.85.255.175
 10    33 ms    31 ms    32 ms  209.85.250.216
 11    30 ms    39 ms    27 ms  72.14.232.241
 12    29 ms    32 ms    35 ms  216.239.49.114
 13    31 ms    31 ms    28 ms  gv-in-f147.1e100.net [216.239.59.147]

Trace complete.

===========

tracert 66.102.9.147

Tracing route to lm-in-f147.1e100.net [66.102.9.147]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1     8 ms     7 ms     7 ms  cpc4-glfd5-2-0-gw.know.cable.virginmedia.com [213.105.6.1]
  2     9 ms     7 ms     7 ms  glfd-core-1a-ge-300-1637.network.virginmedia.net [62.254.207.89]
  3     7 ms     7 ms     7 ms  glfd-bb-1a-ge-200-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.105.175.85]
  4    21 ms     6 ms     7 ms  glfd-bb-1b-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.105.172.6]
  5    13 ms   100 ms   103 ms  manc-bb-1a-ae3-0.network.virginmedia.net [213.105.175.145]
  6    20 ms    14 ms    14 ms  manc-bb-1b-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net [62.253.187.178]
  7    21 ms    19 ms    19 ms  tele-ic-3-ae0-0.network.virginmedia.net [212.43.163.70]
  8    20 ms    20 ms    22 ms  158-14-250-212.static.virginmedia.com [212.250.14.158]
  9    14 ms    15 ms    15 ms  209.85.255.175
 10    47 ms    31 ms    31 ms  209.85.250.216
 11    30 ms    31 ms    27 ms  72.14.232.237
 12    32 ms    35 ms    31 ms  64.233.174.18
 13    30 ms    32 ms    30 ms  lm-in-f147.1e100.net [66.102.9.147]

Trace complete.
  • closed
    closed Posts: 10,886 Forumite
    edited 11 May 2010 at 10:14PM
    Presumably the dhcp range on the router is 100 onwards, so you can leave the router config alone, and set a static ip on the pc eg 192.168.0.10, netmask 255.255.255.0, gateway amd dns server 192.168.0.1 (google it, and ipv6 plenty of guides around).

    Next time it happens disable the mcafee firewall, then do the 2 traceroutes, which will rule out firewall and dns problems, and post here on the other pc if you can.

    http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/09/09/how-to-disable-tcpipv6-teredo-tunneling-in-vista/

    I would expect to see the router IP as the first one in the traceroute.

    Put these commands in a batch file (eg fix.bat) and try running it (as administrator) when it fails

    @echo off
    echo Disabling Tunnelling
    netsh interface isatap set state disabled
    netsh interface teredo set state disabled
    echo Test the connection now
    echo Press a key to re-enable Tunnelling
    Pause
    netsh interface isatap set state enabled
    netsh interface teredo set state enabled
    !!
    > . !!!! ----> .
  • Ed_Jogg
    Ed_Jogg Posts: 184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    Lots to think about, closed, thank you.
    I am having to make a conscious effort to copy your suggestions into a safe place on the PC so I can get at them without a network!

    So far it has behaved itself this evening...

    Incidentally, for completeness I did another tracert, just to the router, and the results were as you would expect. The fact that this doesn't appear in the other tracerts is slightly worrying, and reinforces the nagging doubt I have about the correctness of the network setup.
    tracert 192.168.0.1

Tracing route to dir-615 [192.168.0.1]
over a maximum of 30 hops:

  1    <1 ms    <1 ms    <1 ms  dir-615 [192.168.0.1]

Trace complete.
  • Ed_Jogg
    Ed_Jogg Posts: 184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    OK, it is 'failed' at the moment, and that is with a static IP address, although I have not yet disabled IP6. Have not tried resetting connection yet, as I've been working through your suggested tests (but there's a queue of people waiting for me to sort it!) Now have the laptop back, hence can post ...

    In answer to some of the queries, while disabled:
    - IE could not connect to http://74.125.39.106/ (Google)
    - 'fix.bat' didn't seem to make any difference
    - both tracert effectively failed, before and after Firewall disabled

    tracert www.google.com 
    Unable to resolve target system name www.google.com.
    tracert 66.102.9.147 
    Tracing route to 66.102.9.147 over a maximum of 30 hops
  1     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  2     *        *        *     Request timed out.
  3     *        *        *     Request timed out.
         (...you get the idea...)
 28     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 29     *        *        *     Request timed out.
 30     *        *        *     Request timed out.
Trace complete.

    ipconfig /all 
    Windows IP Configuration

   Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : EdJoggs-PC
   Primary Dns Suffix  . . . . . . . : 
   Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
   IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
   WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) 82562V 10/100 Platform LAN Connect
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-19-D1-41-E0-9D
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::d8b:6f47:af6:a8fb%9(Preferred) 
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.10(Preferred) 
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.0.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9:

   Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . : 
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{547C0E6C-7307-4A20-BD51-754BED4B0F34}
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

    What else can I try while the connection is down?
  • espresso
    espresso Posts: 16,448 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Ed_Jogg wrote: »
    I have not yet disabled IP6.

    Why not? Not all routers can handle IP6 apparently.
    :doh: Blue text on this forum usually signifies hyperlinks, so click on them!..:wall:
  • Ed_Jogg
    Ed_Jogg Posts: 184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    espresso wrote: »
    Why not? Not all routers can handle IP6 apparently.

    That's 'next'....

    You will appreciate that it's more useful for all concerned if we home-in on a single solution, and hence try to only change one variable at a time. There have been lots of suggestions so far! (Thank you to all concerned!)

    But it's interesting to hear that some routers don't support IP6.
  • closed
    closed Posts: 10,886 Forumite
    edited 12 May 2010 at 9:58PM
    ping 127.0.0.1

    ping 192.168.0.1

    disable mcafee firewall yet?

    is the light on on the ethernet port (router and pc end)?

    ping -t 192.168.0.1 (can leave this running while you diagnose, control c to stop)

    then try a different port on the router.
    !!
    > . !!!! ----> .
  • Ed_Jogg
    Ed_Jogg Posts: 184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts 
    Pinging 127.0.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128
Reply from 127.0.0.1: bytes=32 time<1ms TTL=128

Ping statistics for 127.0.0.1:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
    Minimum = 0ms, Maximum = 0ms, Average = 0ms

    Pinging 192.168.0.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 192.168.0.1:
    Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),
This discussion has been closed.
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