Internet connection suddenly halts every 24 hours

I'm presently experiencing a situation in which my Internet connection (cable
Internet) will suddenly and inexplicably come to a complete halt. This has
absolutely nothing to do with my actual cable Internet connection; everything
with the cable modem is functioning perfectly.

Instead, just about every 24 hours I will reach a point in which my desktop
system (Windows Vista Ultimate) will simply shut itself off from the Internet.

I have absolutely no idea what is causing this.

In the past, I have been able to go to the Network control panel and simply
perform a repair of my Internet connection. This no longer works.

However, restarting the system works 100% of the time.

So basically I'm left with a system that functions for approximately 24
hours, then it must be restarted in order for me to continue using the
Internet. Then of course the cycle repeats itself.

I'm not using any third party firewall software by the way, only Vista's
firewall.

I'm really getting tired of this!

Any ideas...?

 

Some Internet connections shut down every 24 hours. My DSL
connection does this. I don't know about the cable companies.
Are you supposed to have a fixed IP address? If your IP address
changes, then this may be the cause.

If so, all you have to do is set the connection for auto-redial
on demand. The computer isn't actually dialing, but certain
Internet connections still work that way.

I may be totally wrong. It may be something different. Just
thought I should mention this.

Hans-Georg

 

According to the ISP representative with whom I just spoke, there is no
automatic shutdown of the Internet connection every 24 hours. There is no
automatic or regular shutdown at all, he said.

He said the only thing he knows of in association with Windows Vista is an
issue that is sometimes referred to as "time to live." He said to do some
research on this because it sometimes governs the amount of time Vista allows
for your Internet connection to be live; after that point it shuts down and
you have to restart.

He really didn't know much more about it than this.

If anyone has any ideas on this, please let me know. Of course I'm going to
be doing research in the meantime...

 

I think he's talking about DHCP IP Lease time. On my system it is set for
48 hours, for the Comcast Internet access address and for 24 hours on my LAN
router. (two sets of DHCP addresses). Most times the address doesn't
change but it could. There could also be a blip in network access. Take a
look at your router. If its a Linksys and it's set to "0" that means 24
hours. Others may be similar.

 

Hi Bob,

This is the router that I'm using; it's the one we've been using here in our
home office for the past three or four years.

http://support.dlink.com/products/view.asp?productid=DI-704P

I'm assuming that there is the possibility that this router will have
problems with Windows Vista...?

I noticed on this support page that the Vista operating system is not
necessarily supported. Additionally, I cannot upgrade the firmware; no
firmware updates for Vista are available.

Maybe this is the underlying problem...?

I'm going to try to play around with some of the settings noted on one of
the associated tech pages; maybe this will prove useful.

Thanks!

 

UPDATE TO LAST POST:

I just discovered on D-Link's support website that our particular router
(DI-704P) is indeed compatible with Windows Vista.

We are not running the firmware software, as it is not required for this
router, by the way. So I'm unable to check on any of those settings that you
noted, Bob.

The one thing that was recommended on one of D-Link's support pages for this
router was to make sure that UPnP (Network Discovery) was disabled. This is
one step that I have taken -- it has now been turned off under the Networking
control panel.

If anyone has any additional ideas, please pass them along.

Thanks!

 

Here is the actual support webpage that shows that the DI-704P router is
compatible with Windows Vista, by the way:

http://www.dlink.com/products/vista-support/

Thanks again for any and all help!

 

in this case, compatible may mean very limited functionality. it is
a very old device in computer years.

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

What is the problem once again?

 

The problem that I was encountering was that I was losing my Internet
connection about every 24 hours. Thankfully, this hasn't happened for the
first time in several months as a result of turning off Network Discovery.

I have exceeded the 24 hours (yesterday) without losing the Internet
connection.

We will see if I'm able to maintain the connection over the next 24 hours.
I'm certainly hoping so.

Thanks very much for all input!

 

About 36 hours into the latest experiment, I once again lost Internet
connection and was forced to restart the machine. So it seems that turning
off Network Discovery doesn't really prove effective.

We are using a laptop that has Windows XP and that is also connected through
the router, but it is not experiencing any of the same disconnect problems.
So it seems something exclusive to this Vista setup.

If anyone else has any ideas, please pass them along.

Thanks!

 

This is only speculation, but I'm wondering if any of this might be cleared
up with the release of Service Pack 1...?

The reason I pose this perhaps rhetorical question is because I'm having one
other major problem with this fairly new computer system: I have an internal
hard drive that is not recognized most of the time by Vista. It requires a
restart in order to get Windows to recognize it a lot of the time (and even
this isn't working anymore).

I have been assured by the manufacturer that this problem will be
satisfactorily addressed with the release of Service Pack 1. (Although I
cannot say I have 100% and complete confidence in such a statement.)

Is there any potential connection whatsoever between these two ongoing
problems...?

(Unfortunately, Service Pack 1 may not be released until late March or even
early April. Even though Microsoft has said that it's supposed to be
released sometime in mid March, I'm not holding my breath.)

Thanks again!

 

I'd recommend posting the hard drive issue in the vista hardware and
devices group.

Have you considered a new router?

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

Please include enough of the previous message(s) so that others trying to
follow this thread know what you are talking about. Also please try to
“edit out†the non relevant portions. It helps everyone. Go to:
Tools > Options > Send > check - “Include message in replyâ€

 

Unfortunately, bypassing the router and just connecting the cable modem
directly to this desktop system did not solve the problem. After about 8
hours my Internet connection was terminated.

Immediately restarting this Vista system enabled the Internet connection to
work properly again (as usual).

Obviously the router is not the problem.

Any further suggestions from anyone would be most appreciated.

 

please run ipconfig /all when it is in the not connected state -
copy and save to a txt file. then post it here as a reply.
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com/ipconfig-all-how-to-get-text-output/

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

Barb,

Here is the info:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6000]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Kevin>ipconfig /all

Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Voodoo
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : gci.net

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection 2:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : gci.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller #2
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-4B-05-A1-5D
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::b950:3b2f:9bc3:5a13%9(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 24.237.255.97(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.248.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 17, 2008 1:36:44 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : Monday, March 24, 2008 1:36:44 PM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 24.237.248.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 209.165.131.45
DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 234882123
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 209.165.131.12
209.165.131.13
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-04-4B-05-A1-5C
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . :
isatap.{E9F1CAD5-96B3-439F-B8A9-BE6700D48
9E0}
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . :
2001:0:4137:9e66:241c:254e:e712:9e(Prefer
red)
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::241c:254e:e712:9e%10(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 9:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : gci.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.gci.net
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . :
fe80::200:5efe:24.237.255.97%12(Preferred
)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 209.165.131.12
209.165.131.13
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 10:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : gci.net
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : 6TO4 Adapter
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Temporary IPv6 Address. . . . . . : 2002:18ed:ff61::18ed:ff61(Preferred)
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 2002:c058:6301::c058:6301
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 209.165.131.12
209.165.131.13
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Disabled

C:\Users\Kevin>

 

the first thing I'd like you to try is unbinding IPv6
http://digitalmediaphile.wordpress.com/ipv6-how-to-unbind-from-a-nic-in-windows-vista/

then, go into device manager and look at the power management
properties for this adapter and make sure that "allow computer to
turn off to save power" is NOT checked.

if it is already not checked, please change your power management
scheme to high performance.

please post results -

--

Barb Bowman
MS-MVP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/meetexperts/bowman.mspx
http://blogs.digitalmediaphile.com/barb/

 

Hi Barb,

I was able to make both changes:

1. I unchecked IPv6
2. I unchecked the powersaving option for the network adapter (it was indeed
checked to be turned off for power saving).

I will keep you posted on the results.

Thanks!

 

Barb,

Because you have been so extraordinarily helpful in helping me to attempt to
resolve this underlying Internet connection problem, I'm wondering if you
have any expert advice on another problem I'm encountering, which can be
found here:

http://www.microsoft.com/communitie...&p=1&mid=14f239d4-8287-4c82-9358-5d52c381ec25

Thanks!