Need help from a techie

bbne1

I know a lot of you are systems or hardware pros...here's my situation. I have high speed cable. Adelphia just changed to Time Warner. Now my internet connection keeps dropping. In order to get it back I have to:

Turn off the computer.
Unplug the Cable modem (RCA).
Unplug the wireless router Linksys).
Wait a couple minutes.
Plug them back in.
Turn on the PC.

Do you think it's a router or modem problem?
Or is Time Warner unstable?

If I put in a new modem, why do I have to notify Time Warner?

Thanks for any help - this is driving me crazy!

Mark

mmoin

Probably a service provider problem- I had this same problem (and used the same solution) with my cable ISP at home for about a year as they rolled out service and worked out the kinks, and since then I haven't had a single outage. I still have the same modem as I did back then, so it couldn't have anything to do with the hardware.

-Andrew

Griffins

Lots of complaints about that this weekend on the east coast, mirroring the fiasco they had on the west coast a few months ago. It's a service provider issue.
My suggestion is to tell them to stuff it- go to DirectTV and dsl from the phone company.

grote15

DSL has more than its fair share of service problems and outages, too. I had DSL for about a month before switching to cable and there's no comparison, cable is much faster and much better.

zef204

If resetting the modem and router fix the problem, I don't think it's a service provider problem. I would guess its the modem because Cisco(Linksys) makes a much better product than RCA. Next time it happens, only reset the wireless router and see if the outage is still there. If so, then its the modem. Go to Best Buy and get a decent cable modem. I don't think you "need" to tell Time Warner, but they probably are charging a "rental fee" on their modem.

sagard

<< <i>I know a lot of you are systems or hardware pros...here's my situation. I have high speed cable. Adelphia just changed to Time Warner. Now my internet connection keeps dropping. In order to get it back I have to:

Turn off the computer.
Unplug the Cable modem (RCA).
Unplug the wireless router Linksys).
Wait a couple minutes.
Plug them back in.
Turn on the PC.

Do you think it's a router or modem problem?
Or is Time Warner unstable?

If I put in a new modem, why do I have to notify Time Warner?

Thanks for any help - this is driving me crazy!

Mark >>



Where I'm at DSL is far superior to cable both in price and quality of service. $22.95 for 3MB. If you need more bandwidth Cable maybe your best bet for now, but few internet applications need the extra bandwidth cable may or may not get them.

To trouble shoot the problem.

1. When all is working. Look at the LEDs on both the cable modem and the Linksys. Write down what you see.
2. When all is broke. Repeat the above.
3. If a LED on the cable modem goes from green to red while the problem is happening, there is likely a problem with either the cable modem or the service provider.
4. If no LEDs change on the cable modem occur while the problem is happening, try plugging your PC directly into the cable modem. Then reboot the PC and see if the problem re-occurs.
5. The problem is 95% likely to be either the cable modem or the service provider, which isn't unfortunately isn't going to make you sane.

The reason they want you call them when trying a new modem is probably a security mechanism. The Ethernet (mac) address you report to them is unique. There are lots of bad people doing lots of bad things on the internet today. When such bad things originate from a service provider's network they are required to be able to identify the who and the where the problem started.

envoy98

If you put in a new modem you have to notify them so they can register the MAC address and get you on the network.

Instead of resetting everything each time, try this.

Start->Run-> type cmd and hit Enter

Once you are in the black window type ipconfig /release and hit enter.

then type ipconfig /renew and hit enter.

You should see a bunch of numbers come up after it renews. Then try your internet connection again.

You can also try typing in Http://192.168.100.1 in your web browser. Some modems have a built in diagnostics at that address which might help you out.

Good Luck.

-Josh

phreakydancin

Does the problem happen at regular intervals? I used to have a problem with my old DSL provider (Telus) where once every day or two, my router simply failed to renew it's IP address when the DHCP lease expired. Once I switched to cable (Shaw), I had no more issues. Make sure the firmware on your router is current, as this can resolve numerous issues over what came installed out of the box.

DooF

<< <i>I know a lot of you are systems or hardware pros...here's my situation. I have high speed cable. Adelphia just changed to Time Warner. Now my internet connection keeps dropping. In order to get it back I have to:

Turn off the computer.
Unplug the Cable modem (RCA).
Unplug the wireless router Linksys).
Wait a couple minutes.
Plug them back in.
Turn on the PC.

Do you think it's a router or modem problem?
Or is Time Warner unstable?

If I put in a new modem, why do I have to notify Time Warner?

Thanks for any help - this is driving me crazy!

Mark >>




I have a funny story. I have Comcast High speed internet. I think it's around 8 megs down & 720 up. I am running it wireless with Linksys gear. The first few months I would
get disconnected. It usually happened at the worst times. I called Comcast & they looked into it. I heard everything from my cable to the house is old & bad, to the Linksys is messing it up.

I no longer have the problem. I found through a series of eliminations....narrowed it down to sharining my hook up with my t.v.
I use the 3rd bedroom as a computer/sports card room. Of course I had to have a tv in there. At first I used a splitter that shared my tv & internet. Now I run it separate from the one splitter from where it comes into the house. I know if I split the connection in my room.... I will & a connection drop & LOK when (LOK= lord only knows)

Now I ain't the most technical guy... but I can carry heavy things. I do know what works for me....


Good luck

Webhead1968

Good advice here. I agree with with changing the modem, but don't buy your own. Just get a different one through Comcast. Call them first, they can ping your cable boxes and modem to see if they are getting a signal. Also make sure you have only one tv spilt off on the line that your computer is on.

Good Luck!

lawnmowerman

Sorry! I thought you said Trekie!

bbne1

Hi guys. Thanks for the suggestions. Well, I tried the following:

Start->Run-> type cmd and hit Enter

Once you are in the black window type ipconfig /release and hit enter.

then type ipconfig /renew and hit enter.

You should see a bunch of numbers come up after it renews. Then try your internet connection again.

You can also try typing in Http://192.168.100.1 in your web browser. Some modems have a built in diagnostics at that address which might help you out.

and it didn't work.

The diagnostics came up but I couldn't interpret it. Looks like there was some type of event on 12/6 but I don't know what it means.

Wed Dec 06 13:10:43 2006 Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.
Wed Dec 06 13:10:25 2006 Critical (3) No UCD's Received - Timeout
Wed Dec 06 11:48:47 2006 Critical (3) Received Response to Broadcast Maintenance Request, But no Un...
Time Not Established Critical (3) DHCP WARNING - Non-critical field invalid in response.

Any idea what it means?

I called Time Warner and sat on hold for an hour then gave up.

mmoin

I wouldn't start messing around with the really technical stuff- I see what some people have said here, but I had the exact same problem you did, same symptoms, same "solution", and it was a service issue. I'd probably keep calling. At the very worst, you can constantly get on their case and ask for prorated refunds for whatever service outages are occuring (it's not much, but it'll annoy them and you'll at least get something in exchange for your inconvenience).

Stone193

Mark

For me - a modem only has two speeds - "on and off!"

I'm kind of confused - her in San Antonio - I get a tech really fast and they do a system check and let me know what to do - I did have a modem failure once.

Not sure about wireless type setups - that could have it's own set of problems.

I'm with hounding them to fix the problem.

Important - a lot of times these guys don't do a good job in setting it up - I had a guy come in and tell me the first person didn't do it right!

I'm with letting them know - get a refund - and get it done right.

I have rarely had a problem with RoadRunner.

But, I do have SBC DSL at my office and it works pretty good.

Merry Christmas
mike