View Full Version : A puzzling Broadband connection
Win XP SP2.
I have 2 options for connection on the Desktop, a RJ45 into a USB adaptor or wifi. (Normally in the evenings) I get one or both of them showing cycling disconnect/reconnect but then with 'limited connectivity'. Reboot re-enables normal connections (which is how I am here now). Laptop works fine with wifi all the while.
It would seem there must be something 'common' in these Desktop connection problems and I would be grateful for any pointers.
green granite
10th Oct 2007, 09:31
Are you saying that you have the two network connections running at the same time on the same computer to the same router? If so why? (I'm intrigued) You could try disabling one of them and see what happens :confused:
Parapunter
10th Oct 2007, 10:22
I recently had an intractable connection problem on a laptop (not me mum & dads - that's still frazzed) where the router could see the connection, but wouldn't hook up to it. In the end, I found BT Home hub software left on the machine - got rid of it & the network connection associated with it & voila. Connected straight away. So I would try to disable one connection & go with the other.
Saab Dastard
10th Oct 2007, 11:01
Despite all the vendors of 802.11 (b & g) claiming that their kit is 100% compatible, I have found a few instances where one wifi network card will just not, ever, connect to a given WAP, while other brands have no problems.
This can even (in one instance) be a problem between a wifi NIC and a WAP from the SAME vendor (Netgear)! :ugh:
But in all the cases I have come across it has been NO connection, not periodic failure.
Good advice so far, to which I would add - ensure that you don't have both Windows AND the card vendor's config software trying to manage the wifi card at the same time.
SD
HuntandFish
11th Oct 2007, 14:08
Im currently having trouble making a wirless connection to an Orange Livebox . RJ45 works fine I suspect its a compatability issue between my USB wirless adapter and the router . To make things more interesting Im running Vista .
Mumbai cant help because the adaptor didnt come from Orange they suggested a couple of config changes to the router but that didnt work.
I have tried using the Livebox software to set up the connection and also tried Vista . The strange thing is that the devices see each other and the PC says it has a connection but NO internet access.
Anyone else had this problem ?
All the above boxes ticked and only one connection device in action, falling back on wifi when RJ45 fails. I am just toying now with a theory that it might be happening after a Roxio back-up process. I run an email every night and a doc and settings twice weekly. Any known conflicts with Roxio?
Turn It Off
11th Oct 2007, 19:16
Sounds like a driver issue.
Roll back to the last known good driver for each one. If you go into device manager, select the devices that you are having the problem with, hit the drivers tab, click the roll back to last driver button.
TIO
Yes- but why do both become 'flakey'? Must be something 'common'?
Parapunter
11th Oct 2007, 23:28
Connection problems are an asrehole. Have you IPV6? Newest, not very supported TCP/IP protocol?? I found it on an xp machine recently & found that net chatter says disable it...
I had not even heard of it, so I doubt it - how would I now, say, if MS had sneakily installed it?
Parapunter
12th Oct 2007, 08:03
Click on your internet connection icon in the system tray I.e. the one that looks like a monitor with radio waves coming out of it, on the general tab, click properties & it will be there in the 'this connection uses the following items' box - where tcp/ip & QoS packet scheduler etc all live.
Worth a try...
TCP/IP Version 6 - the swines! What now?
Parapunter
12th Oct 2007, 15:23
Well, I removed it & it sorted out that machine. However, i would recommend a little reading on the internerd, before you go hacking away at your ip settings. I know you know all this, but I don't wish to be sued:p
The Nr Fairy
12th Oct 2007, 16:42
IP v6 (to give TCP v6 its more formal name) shouldn't impact home users at all - it's only really being asked for in the US Federal market, and its unlikely to be required for all Internet users for a while.
Why ? IP v4 was going to run out of addresses to give people, until some clever bods came up with the idea of Network Address Translation, which obviates the need for everyone in the world to have their unique address, and instead only the device at the edge of the network, which directly connects to the Internet, needs one, and it mediates between devices inside the network which want to access resources on the Internet. IP v6 allows for enough addresses for everyone to have lots.
If you've got an IPv6 stack installed on your home puter, I doubt your broadband access device would understand it is it used it anyway.
I cannot see that it will be IPV6. I am still getting ''network cable is unplugged' then it shows 'reconnected' and also 'limited connectivity', sometimes I can access the internet/emails sometimes not.
All the checks I have run on the system come up clean, so any ideas? Right now the RJ45 shows 'dead' and the wifi is good. Shortly I will need to swap again, and it may or may not work. Reboots seem to fix temporarily. :confused:
Mornington Crescent
13th Oct 2007, 14:53
BOAC My experience with RJ45 into a USB might help (might not)
I used the adapter without any probs on two computers without network cards. (at different times) Then when I introduced WiFi into the house the computer using the adapter worked erratically and then froze.
The locked up computer recovered when the adapter was disconnected and a reboot was performed.
My solution was to dump the adapter in the bin and go wireless on that computer.
Can you put a network card in the PC?
Sorry I cannot explain why this happened - but I'm feeling better now.
MC
MC - thanks - that was almost my first action, but the wifi then showed the same problem. I am puzzled. There MUST be a common chip on the motherboard, driver or summat?
I see repeated inbounds from 'smurf' in the log. I HAD blocked WAN ping on the router on installation, but have taken that off to see what happens.
Following MC's line, I pulled out the RJ45 USB module, but the wifi still comes and goes on its own. Laptop still fine???
Parapunter
15th Oct 2007, 20:32
Couple more ideas. Have you tried progressively switching off stuff, like the firewall, the anti virus etc. then connecting? Not ideal to be exposed, but if you can't connect anyway...
Also, you don't have windows & the router software both trying t manage the connection do you? It should be one or t'other. Lastly, have you tried disabling one & seeing how the other gets on? If that works ok, it would suggest a conflict when they're both enabled.
Same firewalls and AV on the Laptop. Only Windows manages the connection. Stumped!
green granite
16th Oct 2007, 06:59
Lets get silly, have you changed anything (not computer related) lately? Started leaving your mobile in a different place, moved an anglepoise light, changed to energy saving light bulbs etc? What happens in the house just before things go flakey? As I say it sounds silly but...............
Saab Dastard
16th Oct 2007, 08:10
BOAC,
Is it related to your wiring saga, by any chance?
SD
Parapunter
16th Oct 2007, 08:20
I have a friend who could not, no matter how much fiddling he did, remove the ghost lines from his telly picture. Eventually, we moved a speaker a couple of feet away from the telly...
Parapunter
16th Oct 2007, 08:22
When the connection is recycling, have you hovered your mouse over the system tray icon - windows will give a commentary on what it's doing during the changes.:confused:
Its the usual 'acquiring IP address' etc. I has a fit of Google yesterday and I have changed 'Media Type' setting from 'Autosense' to '100base TX' on the RJ45-USB adapter.
So far so good....................
Parapunter
16th Oct 2007, 21:21
Ray! No need to thank us:}:D:}
I was actually waiting to see if it was fixed!:cool:
Still far better, and I am wondering if the ISP (Tiscali) had perhaps changed their polling method to cause the conflict.
Fullsome thanks and a link to the item I read on Google to follow in due course.:) - but,of course, thanks to all for the hints so far:ok:
A depressing update - problem still with me after being 'on-line' over a day so it could be a heat problem? I thought I was 'there' today when I cleared 2 kg of dog hair out of my bios chip fan duct but on return from my hospital visit of 'dad' I found the disconnect still there.
I have noted mav64's post, and indeed I have one of those 3Com routers but I'm pretty sure the link is good on the laptop when this one goes flakey. Still looking for that 'common point' between USB-RJ45 link and wifi link which would cause both to 'wobble'.
Turn It Off
24th Oct 2007, 07:25
I have missed some of these posts but you say USB port to RJ45, would the USB port be powering down in standby mode. There may also be a configuaration setting that powers down the wireless hardware for power saving mode?
TIO
AFAIK no 'power-saving' selected. I will run the Laptop on an extended day's 'on-line' on the RJ45 (direct connection, no USB) just to confirm whether it is after all a router problem involving this AR7 chip.
Saab Dastard
24th Oct 2007, 09:55
BOAC,
My Netgear WAP/Switch/Firewall regularly dies, requiring a reboot. Once or twice a day, I would estimate.
It seems to have got worse since configuring a large list of blocked sites to keep the kids in check. Or maybe that's co-incidence. Maybe it has got worse since Virgin Media took over NTL... or maybe THAT's co-incidence?
SD
Are you talking computer reboot or just router/switch?
GearDown&Locked
24th Oct 2007, 15:23
BOAC, Is your XP internal firewall running?
No - Zone Alarm. In the middle of a 'burn-in' test with the laptop and it might just be possible after all this that it IS a Router issue:ugh:
Saab Dastard
24th Oct 2007, 17:06
Just router/switch reboot
Mav64
24th Oct 2007, 20:12
Hi all, I wasn't aware of this thread when I posted the AR7 info. That issue should only affect the DSL connection itself and shouldn't affect the (w)lan side of things at all. Having said that, it is supposed to be a router on a chip... :hmm:
I know you said you'd set the card to "100Base-TX", but was there also a duplex setting? If so, set it for full.
A fairly useful utility, seems to log everything and displays it nicely with a description of the event etc. See what XP thinks your connection is doing.
http://www.eventlogxp.com/
Good luck with the "Burn". :ooh:
Yes, full duplex, and the 'burn' is beginning to point after all to the 3Com router.
Still puzzling! Today I ran the lappie and the desktop all day while I went about my business. This evening, with wifi running on both, the desktop is cycling the connection but the lappie remains steady.
Does ANYONE know of a common point in a PC which the various internet conns go through? It has to be something like that.
The system log shows TCPIP event 4201
Google (MS) says "The system detected that network adapter Compaq NC6134 Gigabit NIC (NB Not MINE) was connected to the network, and has initiated normal operation over the network adapter. A single TCPIP 4201 event is typical after you restart the computer or after you disable or enable the network adapter."
and Browser event 8033
Google says "The browser has forced an election on network /Device/NetBT_E100B5 because a master browser was stopped.":confused:
Heeeelllllllpppppppp...............
green granite
31st Oct 2007, 18:55
"The browser has forced an election on network /Device/NetBT_E100B5 because a master browser was stopped."
Anytime the Master Browser machine in the network stops, an election is held to find a machine to assume that role. The reboot of a domain controller is a common reason for this event to show up in the event log.
This message is normal, it means nothing unusual unless is repeated very often
I don't know If this helps :hmm:
Why would the ?'master browser'? 'stop'?
Saab Dastard
31st Oct 2007, 20:39
BOAC,
"The system detected that network adapter Compaq NC6134 Gigabit NIC (NB Not MINE) was connected to the network, and has initiated normal operation over the network adapter. A single TCPIP 4201 event is typical after you restart the computer or after you disable or enable the network adapter."
MS are just lazy in their entry - Compaq NC6134 Gigabit NIC - should simply be Your Network adapter. There is nothing mysterious about that - there are loads of 4201 in my System Event log.
The Master Browser hasn't necessarily stopped - I suspect that it just can't communicate because your network card is yo-yoing.
SD
...........yes, buy why? Can someone offer any clues? Is it the browser that is causing the break or a TCPIP problem - ie do I re-install either/both or is there some other data I can look at to locate the problem? This am the wifi link 'broke' on the PC within 2 minutes of boot and I am now running on the RJ45 which is ok right now.
Still scratching thorugh the undergrowth on this. I need help please to remove some installed items.
I looked in Hardware, hidden items and it still shows the USB/RJ45 adapter athough it has been physically unplugged and likewise an older wifi card which was replaced some months ago by a new one. EDIT: Found an uninstall prog:ugh:I actually had two instances of the USB/RJ45 which might have been causing the problem? I now have one. Card is a UN-LU 20AN from ?'Shenzhen'?
I have 'disabled' both and removed any folders from the registry which refer. Booted into safe and tried to 'uninstall' but am told they may be required during boot. I cannot see where, msconfig, registry, all start-up folders show no trace. Where are the b***s hiding and how do I persuade them to 'leave'?
Lazy Gun
9th Nov 2007, 22:44
My house mate had a similar problem. We each have a computer connected to a router. He was using win XP and was trying to connect to the router via a G202 wireless usb adapter while I was connecting via a standard ethernet cable. The router is in my room so I don't mind a cable and well my OS is a bit flakey with wireless.
When he tried to access the router the connection would cycle connect/disconnect. We tried an ethernet cable and he got the "limited connectivity" warning. I had no problems, except sometimes I lost WAN side access but could still see the router (only during the occassions he was trying to connect to the router).
Our router has a "bandwidth manager". I turned it off. Both connections work perfectly now. I thought it would be worth pointing this one out. Perhaps it is not as helpful to this discussion but with people experiencing similar issues this is worth a try. Router model: Zyxel P660HW. Got to Advanced -> Bandwidth MGMT -> uncheck for LAN, WLAN and WAN. Check out the settings in your router maybe there is something similar.
LG
LG - thank you for that. This thread (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=299176) shows how I sorted it out with bnt's help, and 'discovered' I had the very thing I needed on the mobo:ugh:, just lacked the drivers. Talk about 'limited' tech info on the Mobo - a large sheet of paper folded into A4 size was all I got, and no mention of downloading the drivers. Nothing obvious on the CDRom or the web either.
As you will see the new 'connection manager' part of the download knackered ALL connections but when un-installed it was fine.