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pmd · 24-06-2004, 20:51

I'm using an iBook running OS X 10.3.4, connected via wireless to a Linksys BEFW11S4 router, to a standalone cable modem on ntl in Cambridge.

Last Thursday night my connection suddenly virtually disappeared, and pinging www.ntlworld.com was showing 80% packet loss.

I ran ntl support on Saturday and was told it was a problem in my area and there was no estimated time for a fix. By Tuesday, with it still not working, I rang ntl support again.

This time, they said my line was fine, and there were no problems in my area! The tech suggested connecting directly to the router with a cable. This fixed the problem - no packet loss. So it's my router? Connecting to the router via a cable wasn't working, so it's not a wireless problem.

I power cycled the router, reset it, put new firmware on it. Nothing helped. Just to repeat, it suddenly went - I was about 3 minutes into a streaming Quicktime presentation. I hadn't changed anything for days, if not weeks.

Yesterday (wednesday) morning, I put it all back to how it was (wireless to router, to cable modem). Huge packet loss still. I closed the laptop, putting it to sleep, and went to work.

I came home in the evening, opened the laptop, and pinged www.ntlworld.com again. Perfect connection, 0% packet loss! So what's going on?

Two hours later, the problem reappeared. Again, connecting to the cable modem directly removes the problem. The weird thing is, the connection went when I was attemping watch the same streaming movie. :-(

Booting the laptop from a Firewire drive containing a clone I made of my system disk a couple of weeks ago shows the same problem, so it's not something I've unwittingly done to my iBook's OS.

I've reset everything numerous times, changed the ethernet cable between the modem and the router, wiggled the connections. Nothing. My next step is to borrow an identical router and another iBook and try them.

Can anyone suggest anything else? I'm really at a loss here.

24-06-2004, 20:51	#1
pmd Inactive Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Cambridge, UK Posts: 18	Sudden huge packet loss. Router problem? I'm using an iBook running OS X 10.3.4, connected via wireless to a Linksys BEFW11S4 router, to a standalone cable modem on ntl in Cambridge. Last Thursday night my connection suddenly virtually disappeared, and pinging www.ntlworld.com was showing 80% packet loss. I ran ntl support on Saturday and was told it was a problem in my area and there was no estimated time for a fix. By Tuesday, with it still not working, I rang ntl support again. This time, they said my line was fine, and there were no problems in my area! The tech suggested connecting directly to the router with a cable. This fixed the problem - no packet loss. So it's my router? Connecting to the router via a cable wasn't working, so it's not a wireless problem. I power cycled the router, reset it, put new firmware on it. Nothing helped. Just to repeat, it suddenly went - I was about 3 minutes into a streaming Quicktime presentation. I hadn't changed anything for days, if not weeks. Yesterday (wednesday) morning, I put it all back to how it was (wireless to router, to cable modem). Huge packet loss still. I closed the laptop, putting it to sleep, and went to work. I came home in the evening, opened the laptop, and pinged www.ntlworld.com again. Perfect connection, 0% packet loss! So what's going on? Two hours later, the problem reappeared. Again, connecting to the cable modem directly removes the problem. The weird thing is, the connection went when I was attemping watch the same streaming movie. :-( Booting the laptop from a Firewire drive containing a clone I made of my system disk a couple of weeks ago shows the same problem, so it's not something I've unwittingly done to my iBook's OS. I've reset everything numerous times, changed the ethernet cable between the modem and the router, wiggled the connections. Nothing. My next step is to borrow an identical router and another iBook and try them. Can anyone suggest anything else? I'm really at a loss here.