cutting out regularly

jburton · 10-08-2005, 15:40

Hi all,

we got our broadbad installed on July 29th (upgraded from dial-up) and apart from a few still unresolved problems (webspace disappeared) it seems to be okay, sometimes...

About 4 or 5 times an evening - especially if we haven't used it for an hour - the broadband goes dead and we have to go through the Broadband Medic to test the connections, turn the broadband off and then on again for it to work.

This is quite annoying, with dial-up we had to wait 20-30 seconds to download our email. With broadband this simple tasks now requires trying, wait, failing, wait, go through Medic, wait, test connections, wait, turn off broadband, wait, turn on broadband, wait 2 minutes, press Send and Receive to download email....

Do other people experience this problem?

Incidentally, as I said we had the broadband installed on the 29th July. Yesterday we got a letter from NTL welcoming us and including the PIN number necessary to install the software!

Jon

**Chris** · 10-08-2005, 15:43

This is not normal behaviour. Give them a call!

Raistlin · 10-08-2005, 15:45

Hi Jon,

Sorry to hear that you're having problems.

Can I ask a few questions, the answers to which might help us to diagnose what's going on?

What operating system (OS) are you using? I'll assume that this is Windows of some sort, but are you on XP Home or some other?
Have you downloaded and installed all of the relevent updates?
Do you get your internet through a Stand Alone Cable Modem (SACM - usually a little silver box) or through a Set Top Box (STB - the same box the TV comes through)?
Do you connect directly to the SACM/STB or have you got a router of any sort between the PC and the box?
Are you connected via a USB cable or via an Ethernet cable?
Do you have any software firewalls installed on your PC (ZoneAlarm for example)?
Have you run a full Antivirus/Spyware sweep recently?
Are you running any Peer-2-Peer software (Bittorrent/Kazaa, anything like that) on your machine?

I'm sure there are more questions but these will do as a start

I know it seems like a bit of a nause to have to supply all this information but the exact setup that you're running can sometimes help to more accurately sort out what's going on. It should also help us to give you some pointers on different things to try.

Cheers,

Raist

jburton · 11-08-2005, 09:51

[QUOTE=Raistlin]Hi Jon,

Hi Raistlin, you were great in the Dragonlance books.

What operating system (OS) are you using? I'll assume that this is Windows of some sort, but are you on XP Home or some other?

XP Home

Have you downloaded and installed all of the relevent updates?

Yes

Do you get your internet through a Stand Alone Cable Modem (SACM - usually a little silver box) or through a Set Top Box (STB - the same box the TV comes through)?

SACM, that sits on top of the computer, but the lead from that goes to the STB, which now has a splitter. At least, I think it is a SACM, it is a sliver box, not very big, with a row of green lights on the front.

Do you connect directly to the SACM/STB or have you got a router of any sort between the PC and the box?

USB from computer to the SACM directly.

Are you connected via a USB cable or via an Ethernet cable?

USB

Do you have any software firewalls installed on your PC (ZoneAlarm for example)?

ZoneAlarm. I originally had AVG but the email scanner part of that reacted badly to the broadband, so I now have ZA.

Have you run a full Antivirus/Spyware sweep recently?

yes, I do that every 2 days.

Are you running any Peer-2-Peer software (Bittorrent/Kazaa, anything like that) on your machine?

nope.

I'm sure there are more questions but these will do as a start

thanks :-)

Jon

jonbr · 11-08-2005, 12:34

Moving from USB to Ethernet connection may help, it's helped others in the past. Also, if you have analogue TV from NTL is the picture still good, a bad picture can indicate a signal loss problem which could affect the modem, in which case you'd need to call NTL.

11-08-2005, 17:15

First port of call is to upgrade from USB to Ethernet and see if that helps at all.

Raistlin · 11-08-2005, 17:47

Ok, I'm going to stick my neck out here and say that your problem IS ZoneAlarm

I'm prepared to bet that ZoneAlarm is interfering with the DHCP lease process which is preventing your machine from correctly re-indentifying itself to the network.

Start > Run

cmd

ipconfig /all

There should be an entry in the list that pops up that lists your connection and IP details, one of the items listed should be your DHCP lease expiry date/time. Can you tell me what this is set to? Or at least see if it seems like quite a short time?

The next time your computer stops responding should be on, or around, this time.

If that's the case it's ZoneAlarm and we need to get it configured so that it allows the lease process to work properly.

(ooooh, I'm gonna regret sounding so confident

)
__________________

By the way, the previous advice about changing over to Ethernet (rather than USB) is good advice

I would say that you should do this if you can, regardless of whether it solves the problem or not

__________________

Oh, by the way.....

I am right in thinking that ipconfig /all will show the DHCP lease expiry aren't I?

It doesn't on mine, but I think that's because I've got a fixed IP through a router

jburton · 12-08-2005, 18:30

Hi all, esp. Raistlin,

> one of the items listed should be your DHCP lease expiry date/time. Can
> you tell me what this is set to? Or at least see if it seems like quite a
> short time?

Lease Obtained - 12 August 2005 17:35:44
Lease Expires - 14 August 2005 17:35:44

I'll check with the ethernet thingy later this evening/the weekend.

Thanks for your help and advice

Jon

Raistlin · 12-08-2005, 21:53

Hi Jon,

I'mnot sure (perhaps someone can confirm for me) but that looks like quite a short time for a DHCP lease to me......I could be wrong though.

I'd be interested to know if your connection dies on/around 14th August at 17:35 (without you changing anything).

Have you had to reboot your modem (or had to take steps to restore your connection) recently?

Radeon · 13-08-2005, 04:01

It might be worth removing Zone Alarm and see what happens, worth a try

I have NTL Silver modem and my DHCP lease expires on January 19th 2038

13-08-2005, 08:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radeon

I have NTL Silver modem and my DHCP lease expires on January 19th 2038

So does mine, but that's 'cause I'm going through a router, and the router gives an 'infinite' (or near as) lease. If you are connecting directly to the modem, your DHCP lease should expire after a few days.

jburton · 15-08-2005, 08:35

Hi all,

Over the weekend I re-activated my ethernet card thingy and am now using the ethernet cable instead of the USB. At the moment it seems a lot more stable (haven't crashed to Broadband Medic yet). I'll keep an eye on it for the weekday evenings (when it tended to occur more frequently).

Thanks for all your help everyone!

Jon

Raistlin · 15-08-2005, 12:28

NIce one, glad you're a bit more stable now (well, your connection is anyway

).

Keep us posted