A unique networking problem

[OOZ662]

My computer's internet connection will stop accepting new connections for a period of 5-10 minutes every two hours. During that time any other device still has the ability to connect and function, but the desktop won't.

When I say that it stops accepting new connections, I mean this; downloads, chat programs, streaming media, or anything that is maintaining an open connection at the time of "failure" will continue to work fine. I generally discover the problem when my automatic email notifier says it cannot connect to the host or when I try to open a new web page or click a link and it never loads. Anything that's trying to start a new stream can't make a connection. However, during the downtime I can still ping the router and open its config page.

After a 5-10 minute period, everything returns to normal.

Desktop(wired)>
iPhone(wireless)>
PS3(wireless)>WRT54GL/HyperWRT+Thibor>Comcast Cable Modem
xBox 360(wired)>

DxDiag

EDIT: This has persisted for months through two reformats as well.

[TilDeath]

Sounds like the BIOS is shutting down the Lan connection or your lan port maybe overheating.

TD

[OOZ662]

She's been fine for nearly six years and I keep it clean. 120mm rear fan, huge Thermaltake heatsink/fan, 80mm and 120mm side fans. Case thermometer reads 85F just behind the hard drives. Suppose that doesn't rule it out, so I'll keep it in mind.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

nearly six years

That's your problem there. It's like 120 in human years.

[TilDeath]

That's your problem there. It's like 120 in human years.

LOL What is it in Dolphin years   

[OOZ662]

Well, if my hardware's going, I'm SOL. This is as deadend as it gets and I'm using savings to eat.

[gyrene81]

That's your problem there. It's like 120 in human years.

For once I agree with Ripley...  you're walking on egg shells with that system.


But fear not sir...if it is your network card (and I assume it's built onto your mobo) a replacement network card is very inexpensive.

On another note, is it possible that you're a victim of Comcasts bandwidth throttling policy (the one they deny using but is happening to a lot of customers)?

You're router is Linux based...did you happen to upgrade the firmware with dd-wrt did you? Done correctly it prevents a lot of issues, if done incorrectly it can cause more issues than you want to face.

Last thing, how old is that modem?

[OOZ662]

My firmware is in the OP.

If I am being throttled, it isn't affecting the rest of the network.

Date on the modem is 2006. Arris model TM502G.

[Vulcan]

If you can ping the router during the problem then the problem is upstream. Either your routers WAN connection or at the provider end.

[OOZ662]

Do they have the ability to disrupt a connection on just one computer on a network?

[RTHolmes]

try a new network adapter - they're cheap as chips

[MrRiplEy[H]]

For once I agree with Ripley...  you're walking on egg shells with that system.

Hey hey most of the time we can agree to disagree 

[ozrocker]

Try updating your modem drivers( yes they also update). Check your Manufacturers website.
                                                                                 Good Luck!   <S> Oz

[OOZ662]

Driver update did the trick, strangely enough. Must be some newfangled protocol out there or something.

[bbosen]

Problems like the ones you describe are FREQUENTLY caused by bad Domain Name Servers (DNS).

ISPs (Internet Service Providers) generally make several different Domain Name Servers available, and their tech support people are often aware of some that aren't very reliable.
If your PC (or your router) is configured to ask an unreliable DNS for IP addresses, then sometimes things will work ok and at other times things will NOT work OK.

If you set up a TCP connection to some web site, torrent, or other service while your DNS is working OK, then that connection is likely to continue working OK for a while, even if the DNS goes down, but NEW connections won't start up until the DNS gets fixed. It is commonplace for ISP DNS hardware to overheat or become overloaded and fail from time to time.

You can test this theory with a little advanced preparation: During a period when everything is working OK, ping a few of your favorite web sites, and WRITE DOWN the numeric IP addresses on a convenient piece of paper.

Then, during a period when you are experiencing trouble as you described. verify that you can no longer ping those same websites by DNS name. Follow up with a test to see if you can ping those same web sites through the numeric IP address. If you CAN ping them thru the numeric IP address but NOT by name, you've got a faulty DNS. In that case you need to complain to your DNS provider. This is generally your ISP. Or you can choose one of the free DNS providers like "OpenDNS".

I hope this helps!



-Peabody-

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