Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

OK, I've had this ongoing problem with my PC for the last three weeks. I run a really old PC, I won't even go into how embarassingly old it is beyond it runs Windows 2000 NT

Yeah, that bad, but I never really cared to upgrade as I just use it for webrowsing and dumb photoshop stuff. At any rate, I plan to get a new PC in a couple months, but I'm stuck with this hunk of junk for now.

My internet connection is perfectly fine. I run FFXI on the PS2 and it keeps moving right along and, yet, all my PC web functions seem to stop at varying points. So the internet still works, the PC just stops working with it. Doesn't matter if I'm web browsing, running Skype or AIM, MSN messenger or what have you.

I've run virus and spyware scans, defragged and reset my modem and router; I've also checked the directory and I think there's something in my directory or the System32 folder, one of the shell.dll type files that's causing this because I've caught my browser directed to that folder time and again. Again, the internet itself is working since my PS2 remains online and FFXI is active while this happens, so its not the connection itself, but something in the PC.

The only other thing I could think of this that I did have Time Warner change my cable modem changed recently, but I don't think that would matter since running FFXI on PS2 remains unaffected.

I might have to reinstall, but that brings up the other problem with this piece of crap PC I have - I have the install discs, but the system no longer recognizes my CD or my DVD drive :/

[Icemage]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

This is a recent occurrence? Have you installed any new software on the PC that might be slowing things down? (anti-viral stuff counts).


Icemage

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

Most recent software I can think of is Skype, which I downloaded in July. I reinstalled McAffe to to diagnose the problem and it seems the situation hasn't improved.

I also installed Registry CleanUp since my Disk Cleanup and Defragmentation programs didn't seem to be working. McAffe seems to replace those in function and does it better, though, so maybe I'll try getting rid of those programs.

[Feba]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

You've tried it with all the antivirus/spyware/etc. shit turned *off*, right?

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

You've tried it with all the antivirus/spyware/etc. shit turned *off*, right?

I've never left those programs active while browsing.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

Well, after so trying so many other different means, I'm gonna see if Internet Explorer itself was just screwed up. My internet seems to crap out in as little five minutes or as much as 48 hours, then requires a reboot. All while FFXI is still running just fine on my PS2.

I downloaded Mozilla Firefox again and I'm on my first run with it, gonna see what happens with it.

[Mhurron]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

It might be worth mentioning that Skype recently had numerous problems with their service. You might find others who have had similar problems on a Skype community board somewhere.

Other then actually start running some performance monitors and using its alerts to try and figure out what's going on when these things happen you're going to be kind of lost until a cause can be found.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

Well I haven't run skype, but I've let Firefox run for about the last 36 hours and my connection doesn't seem to be having any problems. Problems arose when I would use YouTube or DiV primarily, or when I would just download something.

McAffe seems to actually work better with Firefox and pages load faster. The only site it doesn't seem to work so great with is Allakazham, but then, their site formatting has always been terrible. It just looks worse on Firefox.

[Pillowcase]

Re: Can't figure out why my connection keeps dying.

Perhaps your hardware is wearing out on you.

Are you using a wired Ethernet connection or a wireless connection?

If wired, do you have an expansion network adapter or is it one of those on board network adapters?

My school's machine has a very poor on board network adapter that cuts off after a while of streaming or just heavy web surfing in general.

Go into your device manager and make sure that there are no issues there, check your network connections to make sure that there's no issues there, and ping your default gateway when you are unable to connect to anything.

If you can successfully ping your gateway, then most likely it's not your network card. However, if you are unable to do so, then you know that the problem is a hardware issue in which case, I would recommend that you go ahead and purchase that new computer. If you'd like some advice on building your own PC, I can definitely help you out.

(If you don't know how to ping your default gateway,

1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. Type 'cmd'
4. Hit <Enter>
5. Type 'ping 192.168.0.1'

However, you'll need to make sure that your default gateway's IP address is in fact 192.168.0.1. To check this,

1. In the same command prompt, type 'ipconfig /all'
2. Locate 'Default Gateway' and use that IP address for your ping.

This should help you out.)