troubleshooting

[desh]

My new WinXP Pro computer seems to lose its internet connection entirely if the connection is completely idle for too long. There was a helpful option in the hardware manager to tell the network adapter to go to sleep if it's idle for too long; I disabled that, but it didn't help. The only workaround I have is rebooting; logging out of Windows and back in doesn't help. (At least, I don't think it does, if I remember from last time; I can't test it this time, since logging back in seems to be hanging the computer. Whoever said XP Pro got the bugginess out was lying.)

Now it could be a problem with my crappy crappy router. (Don't buy D-Link!) In fact, that seems likely, because I can successfully ping my other local computer. But does anyone know of anything else it might be? Known issues with ZoneAlarm, XP Pro SP1, or ethernet adapters onboard NVIDIA mobos?

Edit: Apparently it's DNS that stops working! I can get to Google by its IP address, but not by "google.com". I'm totally confused now. Ideas?

Edit 2, ~6:15pm EDT: What timing. Now my cable modem is entirely non-functional, and Comcast has a message on their tech support line that there are widespread problems. Yippee. This dialup is painful.

Comments

[t3chnomag3.livejournal.com]

I like my D-Link router just fine, and I've never had that problem.

I'd look it up for you, but I'm at work, so perhaps later.

Weird

[dredpiraterober.livejournal.com]

Nothing liek that has ever happened to me. DOes it happen when you are plugged directly in to the cable modem also? My guess would be that your computer goes in to sleep mode, and it disables the network connection. My suggestion would be to upgrade all of your drivers.
Also, did you install Windows XP with SP1 and then upgrade to SP2? Because I have been told that has caused some trouble for people in the past (I have never done it, so I do not know). Ummm, yea, I have some more ideas, so IM me or something

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

Why are you using SP1? Upgrade to SP2... it's much better. Sort of. And XP pro is still way better than home. Or any other MS OS. If you can ping the other computer on your network / the gateway/router, then your network connection is operational. Can the other computer access the internet when this happens? If it can't, it's definitely a router issue. You might want to check to see if there is a newer firmware for the router... if you haven't updated it since you bought it, there probably is.

Other things to try: go into control panel > network connections > local area connection, right click and either repair, or disable and then enable it.
Worst comes to worst, if it really is a sleep issue, there are plenty of "keep alive" connection programs that will keep sending packets and such.

[desh]

Computer couldn't survive the SP2 upgrade. It kept freezing somewhere during the install (different place each time), and then it was screwed up afterwards and I had to recover with Ghost. Will try again some other time.

I could try upgrading the router firmware, but I'd rather just hook up this new router I got. Motorola. I know, I should've only gone Linksys, but this was $8, so it was worth a shot. I'm lazy, though, which is why I haven't done it yet.

And I've tried the disable/enable thing. Yeah, I'll just get some little keep alive program if I need to.

Thanks!

XP SP2

[dredpiraterober.livejournal.com]

I have an XP SP2 CD I can loan you if you want to try installing with that

Re: XP SP2

[desh]

I might at some point.

[bumonyou.livejournal.com]

what is this ghost thing that everyone talks about? Is it awesome?

[chincotaco.livejournal.com]

Norton Ghost (http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/) is a utility for making images of disks, almost like an ISO. That way, if your HD gets fscked, you can just take your Ghost image that you made when your HD was working, and revert back to that working state.

I worked at a computer store where we sold 100s of computers to freshmen, and they all needed to be configured exactly the same way. So we configured one laptop, made a Ghost image, and then just applied that image to every other laptop. Bingo.

[bumonyou.livejournal.com]

wow...I wants!

[myq.livejournal.com]

obligatory OSX comment.

[desh]

Or any computer that comes with all the hard work already done for you. This is a learning experience!

(Though if it's a problem with my router, then there's no reason to think an OSX computer would fare any better.)

[jdcohen.livejournal.com]

Of course, with a Mac you would easily be able to rule out your computer as the point-of-failure - because Apple has full monopolistic control over the hardware and drivers, ensuring that more often than not the Mac is working fine. Additionally, the system interface is a hell of a lot more logical and easy to use than that of Windows (at least in my experience with them both). Of course, it doesn't come cheap...

--Jeff

[chincotaco.livejournal.com]

Macs used to be ridiculously expensive, but not anymore. Not on the low-end systems, and certainly not on the high-end ones. Just a quick comparison:

Apple eMac (entry-level computer):

• 1.25GHz PowerPC G4 (w/standard G4 Altivec)


• Mac OS X 10.3


• 1-year limited warranty


• 256MB RAM


• 40GB hard drive


• Keyboard and optical mouse


• Combo drive

$799

Dell Dimension 3000:

• 3GHz P4 w/hyperthreading (to match the Altivec)


• Windows XP Pro (needed Pro to match standard OS X features: multiple languages, encrypting file system, access control, multiple processor support, etc)


• 1-year limited warranty


• 256MB RAM


• 40GB hard drive


• Keyboard & optical mouse


• Combo drive

$757

That's a $42 Apple premium. Not exactly a huge difference, and the difference decreases as you move to higher-end machines as well... Plus, you don't ever need to deal with Windows!

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

G4 is 1.25 ghz is slower than a 3ghz p4. Hands down. Also, emac's are heinously ugly, and if you want to wait for the right deal, you can get that dell for about 600 bucks with a free LCD panel.

I'm not going to argue that OS X is anything but awesome, but please... PC's are still way cheaper, not at all harder to use, much more expandable, and have far more available software.

Also, neither of those computers is going to perform well with only 256 megs of RAM.

[jdcohen.livejournal.com]

Well, you're right about the RAM being paltry, PC hardware being cheaper in general, and the dearth of software available for Mac... but "not at all harder to use"? What planet are YOU from? The whole selling point of OS X is that even the dumbest user can use the thing - just plug it in and turn it on. Windows' claims of Plug-and-Play still have yet to be fully realized, and might never fully be so because of the problem of 3rd party hardware and non-standard drivers (which is what makes the hardware cheaper anyway). My point is only that while PCs are cheaper and faster (faster per dollar, at the very least), first time users would be much better off spending the extra hundred dollars and getting an entry level Mac that won't confuse the hell out of them. PCs really do need to be administrated by moderate to advanced users only.

--Jeff

[desh]

Agreed, with the caveat that absolute beginners can't admin either one. My aunt called me a few weeks ago, asking me to help her pick out and buy a computer, since her old one is REALLY old. Since she doesn't know much or do any power computing, I told her to just go to the Mac store and ask them what to get. They ended up selling her a Mini Mac and a 3rd-party flat panel monitor. They were incredibly helpful, of course, and it was the best machine for her, of course, but she still needed them to come and set it up and teach her how to use it.

So it's a relatively small segment of people who can set up and run a Mac themselves, but not a Windows computer. Of course, it's not just that segment that should be buying Macs. I'm certainly not as anti-Mac as I was a few years ago, but I'm still not as pro-Mac as I was in 1994.

[flyinbutrs.livejournal.com]

I'm from earth, where entry level people don't care about plug and play, or anything that's going on behind the scenes. What they care about is "can I find my files easily, can I check my e-mail, can I browse the web, and can I write papers". For those features, out of the box, a windows PC is every bit as usable and stable as a mac. The mac is certainly shinier, and a prettier computer to look at, but functionally, it's the same for entry level people.

In my opinion, Mac's advantage has totally flip flopped from where it started. It's doesn't have a clear stability or useability advantage for the basic computer user, but for the power user, OS X blows XP out of the water, for no other reason than being based on *nix. Having a nice, slick GUI thrown on top of a bash shell is enough to make me want to lay out the cash to buy one. Almost.

[conana.livejournal.com]

I don't know how your network is set up; my first thought is that dhcp might not be renewed if the network is idle; but for all I know you have a static IP. How long is the timout threshold?

[desh]

I just released/renewed DCHP, and it didn't help. But I just realized something weird; see the updated post.

[jdcohen.livejournal.com]

So, your router, when left on for long periods of time, "loses" its DNS server addresses... interesting. If you go to your network settings > Properties > Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) > Properties, you can choose the "Use the following DNS server addresses" option to input some IP addys by hand, which would solve the problem from your computer, at least. You might be able to set the DNS addresses manually on your router, too - but since I have never dealt with D-Link router software, I wouldn't know how off the top of my head.

--Jeff

[bumonyou.livejournal.com]

I've had a d-link 4port for oh...3 years now and it's never given me any trouble.

[t3chnomag3.livejournal.com]

My work had comcast cable troubles today, too.