Intermittent internet connection help

[DBryan]

Hello.

I have Windows XP, my PC is an 'emachine'.

My connection seems to work fine in accommodation I have in Manchester. But when I'm home in Belfast, it cuts off regularly. Whether its wireless or plugged in through an ethernet cable. And my sister's laptop does not have this problem, it does not cut off.

The wireless signal can range from low to good, but seems to stay on. The wireless icon in the bottom right corner remains there, constant, even when the connection stops working I'm still being told there is a signal, sometimes a good signal and yet I can't get anything internet related to work.

When I right click this icon and click 'view available wireless networks', there is nothing there. It just says 'windows cannot configure this wireless connection'. But when I hover the mouse over the wireless icon it says its connected to the router.

The internet will work for a while. Sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes up to an hour.

When it cuts off, I can only get it working again by restarting the computer.

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Hello.

I have Windows XP, my PC is an 'emachine'.

My connection seems to work fine in accommodation I have in Manchester. But when I'm home in Belfast, it cuts off regularly. Whether its wireless or plugged in through an ethernet cable. And my sister's laptop does not have this problem, it does not cut off.

The wireless signal can range from low to good, but seems to stay on. The wireless icon in the bottom right corner remains there, constant, even when the connection stops working I'm still being told there is a signal, sometimes a good signal and yet I can't get anything internet related to work.

When I right click this icon and click 'view available wireless networks', there is nothing there. It just says 'windows cannot configure this wireless connection'. But when I hover the mouse over the wireless icon it says its connected to the router.

The internet will work for a while. Sometimes 5 minutes, sometimes up to an hour.

When it cuts off, I can only get it working again by restarting the computer.

First thing I would recommend doing is to check and see if there are any updates to the drivers for your ethernet card and wireless card. Granted, you have to have an internet connection to check to see if there are any updates, but if you can manage to sustain an internet connection for a few minutes then you should be able to search for an update. If by chance you absolutely cannot check for an update, then proceed with uninstalling the driver and then let Windows re-install the driver upon boot up. That should take care of your problem. Here is a pretty good step by step tutorial on how to remove the drivers completely.

http://www.inetdaemon.com/tutorials/computers/software/drivers/uninstall.shtml

In the link above, there is a picture of the Device Manager, and you'll notice that the ethernet card is highlighted. (NOTE: Your most likely have a different ehternet card, than what is show in the picture, but the same principal still applies). With the ethernet card highlighted, right click and select "Update Driver" and follow the prompts to check for an updated driver. Again, you have to have an internet connection to even check for a driver update.

Hope this helps.

 

[DBryan]

Well I tried searching for an update but no update could be found.

I uninstalled the driver and restarted the computer. Strange, there was no option to re-install the driver. It was just back where it was in Device Manager. I've input my network key into my wireless network, and so far so good. Been connected for about half an hour now. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Well I tried searching for an update but no update could be found.

I uninstalled the driver and restarted the computer. Strange, there was no option to re-install the driver. It was just back where it was in Device Manager. I've input my network key into my wireless network, and so far so good. Been connected for about half an hour now. I'll let you know how it goes.

Yeah, Windows automatically re-installs the driver for you, so there is nothing you have to do.

Yes, please keep me updated. Hopefully this did the trick. Windows can be fickle sometimes.

 

[DBryan]

Well, it didn't work. Sooner or later the connection cuts off and I have to restart the computer.

 

[LOBO3315a]

Is her router configured to allow you to connect through it automatically, or do you have to enter a password or WEP key to connect? It could be that the router is intermittently losing power, and "forgetting" that you are authorized to use the connection. She may have that info saved on her computer, and that's why it automatically connects, if she has it set that way.
Is her Laptop XP too? Or another operating system?

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Another simple thing to try is to unplug BOTH the router and the modem. It kind of sounds like a modem problem to me. Because you say that your computer will show that you are still connected to the router, but your internet drops in and out, right? That almost certainly sounds like an issue with the modem. Many times a simple reboot of the modem will do the trick. Unplug the modem and router (might as well do both while you are at it) for about 15-20 seconds and then plug them both back in. It will probably take a minute or two for both to fully boot back up. If your computer is set to automatically connect to the router, then it will do so. After your router and modem are booted up, I want you to release and renew your IP Address. To do this, follow these instructions....

1) Hit the "Start" button
2) Go to "All Programs"
3) Select "Accessories"
4) Select "Command Prompt"
5) When the Command Prompt box appears, type this exactly how you see it here........ipconfig/ release
6) Once it's done type ipconfig/ renew

Try that, and let me know if that works.

 

[DBryan]

Okay, I followed the steps. When I do the ipconfig/release, it says

Windows IP Configuration

IP Address for adapter Wireless Connection 2 has already been released. IP Address for adapter Local Area Connection 3 has already been released.
When I do ipconfig/renew, it says…

Windows IP Configuration

An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection 2: The RPC server is unavailable.

An error occurred while renewing interface Local Area Connection 3: The RPC server is unavailable.


Still won't connect after all of this.

 

[Kryptonian Warrior]

Okay, I followed the steps. When I do the ipconfig/release, it says

Windows IP Configuration

IP Address for adapter Wireless Connection 2 has already been released. IP Address for adapter Local Area Connection 3 has already been released.
When I do ipconfig/renew, it says…

Windows IP Configuration

An error occurred while renewing interface Wireless Network Connection 2: The RPC server is unavailable.

An error occurred while renewing interface Local Area Connection 3: The RPC server is unavailable.


Still won't connect after all of this.

OK, I did a search on Google for "The RPC server is unavailable Windows XP" and this is the first thing that I found.....

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...et-error/15490792-f93a-49ec-97cb-c9af1df58044

This is what one of the posts said....

I would check the status of Services.
Click on the Start button and select Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Locate RPC Endpoint Mapper in the list and check that the StartUp type is Automatic. If it is not set to Automatic right click and select Properties, General tab. There is a box after StartUp type. The options are available on a drop down by clicking on the arrow down to the right of the box. Make the change and click on Apply and OK. Restart the computer and check whether it has started.

 

[DBryan]

It's already set to Automatic.

This problem is kicking my ass!

 

[black_dust]

If both yours and your sisters computer are obtainting the Ip address' automatically her laptop could be getting the same IP as yours and kicking you off. Change your Ip address to something in the 20 - 89 range you will also need to find out what your default gateway and DSN is if this is the case

 

[DBryan]

Okay - how do I go about doing all of that?

 

[LOBO3315a]

http://www.onlinehowto.net/how-to-change-my-ip-address-in-windows-xp/810

Look there.

 

[DBryan]

Well, I'm doing something wrong. When I change the IP address and restart the computer it won't connect to the internet at all.

 

[terry78]

I'm gonna wager you restarted the router before all this, right?

 

[DBryan]

Restarting the router after I change the IP address?

 

[LOBO3315a]

Generally speaking, if you aren't losing signal, then your connection is being interrupted not by the router, or your WiFi/network card, but by the Modem.

Best way to figure this out is the next time your connection to the internet stops is to try to get to the router's web interface. Generally speaking, you can open up an Internet Explorer window and type in Http://192.168.x.x where the "x"'s represent the gateway address of your computer. If you can get there, there's generally a way to see the status of the Internet Connection for the router. If it shows that it's down, reboot the Modem.

If you get a "Page cannot be displayed" when you try to type that Gateway address, then there's something mis-configured with either the router or your WiFi/Network card.

 

[DBryan]

I tried that out and I can only get to the router's interface when the internet is working, When the internet isn't working, I get a 'page can't be displayed' error on the router interface. Do you think I should replace the router?

What's weird is that its so inconsistent. I've been trying to write an article for University all day, requiring a lot of information from various online sites, and its been frustrating the hell outta me 'cause every 5 minutes I have to restart the computer to get back online.

But now? It's been connected online for over an hour. But I know, sooner or later, its gonna cut out and the only way to fix it is to restart the computer.

 

[LOBO3315a]

Yeah, it looks like the router might be to blame. If it doesn't happen with any other router, then that's where I'd say the fault lies. You might see if there is a firmware update for it before buying a new one.