A desktop network question, you can call that a call for help…
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)
Loading...Hello !
I thought I could ask here for advice with a technical problem…
My google-fu is too poor and I don’t manage to find webpages related to it, so I hope I can get some help on Hentairules 
There will be no porn in that page, only techie talking, sorry, if you’re after a quick fap, you can move on 
My problem isn’t a BIG problem, more like an annoyance, I’d love to get rid of it.
Simply said, as soon as I leave my computer idle for a while, or if it has just booted and I didn’t use it yet to browse the internet : my internet connexion is down, and will take as far as 30 seconds to be initiated.
If I were with dial-up, that might be more or less normal. The problem is that I’m on a LAN type connexion, my ISP’s “box” acts like a LAN for my computer’s network, using the internet should be as easy as to plug the ethernet cable and enjoy the internet pr0n.
And yet, unless my computer’s been active online a short time ago, when I open a website, my browser (firefox, IE, Opera, Chrome, Safari, same deal) spends a long time “searching” for the connexion (and sometimes returning me an “omg internet not found” error that won’t budge until I hit F5 a few times, for 20 seconds).
I don’t know what it may be related to.
My ISP, I doubt it, it wasn’t like that in the past (I should have been more attentive, I can’t tell when I noticed it, I only got progressively pissed off).
My operating system, maybe.
My computer’s hardware, who knows, but I can tell almost for sure that there was a time when the same hardware didn’t cause that kind of annoyance.
If you want specs…
– 5 or 6 years old computer (well, various parts are newer – desktops rule -, but the tower and the motherboard, including the network chipset, are from that time), with a nvidia-something network chipset.
– Windows Seven Ultimate (I wonder if my problem doesn’t come from a setting inside win7, my transition to win7 might have been concomitant with the arisal of my network annoyance : might, I’m not sure. Maybe Win7 finds it witty to put the network card to sleep when it is not used, but that wouldn’t make sense).
– Free.fr as an ISP, ADSL2+ bandwdidth, Freebox at home with a LAN type connexion (plug ethernet, enjoy).
– PLC between my ISP’s freebox and my computer (you know, these network plugs over the power plugs, to avoid pulling ugly ethernet lines through your apartment). Every 4 or 5 days, I have to unplug and replug the PLC plugs to make them recognize there’s an internet connexion. I bought the PLCs around the same time I installed windows 7 in replacement of good old XP.
And, no, I’m sorry I don’t have a double boot with another OS to make the test, and I’m even too lazy to open my tower, place and plug my internal DVD writer currently eating dust somewhere in a carton, and burn a linux liveCD 
Maybe one of you can help, or knows exactly what’s been wrong, who knows !
Thank you very much if you can help, and don’t sweat it if you can’t !
You said you are using PLC's? If you can (and dont mind) could you run an Ethernet cable from the modem to your computer? The reason behind this is because you said you have to unplug them and plug them back in every now and then. If this works, you may have 1 of 2 problems (or both problems). The PLC's themselves are damaged or worn (happens a lot of times with solid state devices that run on AC current) or there is a device plugged into the same circuit that is causing EM "noise" along the wires (some times happens with deteriorating wiring as well). Anyway, try running a wire (i know you dont want too :P) and see what happens? Also, have you considered a wireless network? Wireless N devices are 3 times faster (with proper configurations and equipment) than 100M wired connections and they are fairly affordable.
Hope this helps,
Hc2995
I'm betting on poorly configured ethernet power-saving options + messy file sharing + TCP/IP even worse messing with coupled with faulty-aging hardware…
BUT…
Sorry to say that if "you are too lazy to "[insert activity here]" then there's little to give advice about since most network problems arise mainly from faulty hardware, poorly configured energy-saving options, even poorer configured OSes and the always faulty "Windows upgrade install".
Everybody could give you TONS of things to try, but all of them require:
1. The willingness to do them.
2. Tons of patience.
3. Additional hardware/software for testing purposes.
It is a well stablished fact that Win7's "energy schemes" are very faulty and that even when you set the options to "always on" or the like, unless you actually mess with the registry, they won't work AT ALL. Just google "usb harddisk/thumbdrive/flash drive sudden disconnections on win7" just to see how faulty energy saving is even on brand machines with Win7.
Advice? Just this… ALWAYS make your system be able to dual-boot from the start. Saves time, saves hassle and saves MONEY.
without having read the previous comments, my guess is this: your router/modem (I assume you're using a combined hardware type) only initiates the internet connection upon request. My modem has as setting that enables me to set "Disconnect internet connection after XXX minutes of inactivity". By default this was 5 minutes. I set to to "keep internet connection permanently so I am pretty much connected to the Internet 24/7 (appart from the short period each day (every 24 hours) my ISP forces my Modem to reconnect. I myself am using PLCs, btw.
I guess it is the setting of your modem/router like
Maximum Idle time – The amount of time of inactivity before the device will disconnect your PPPoE session. Enter a Maximum Idle Time (in minutes) to define a maximum period of time for which the Internet connection is maintained during inactivity. If the connection is inactive for longer than the defined Maximum Idle Time, then the connection will be dropped. This option only applies to the Connect-on-demand Connect mode.
Connect mode select – Select Always-on if you would like the router to never disconnect the PPPoE session. Select Manual if you would like to control when the router is connected and disconnected from the Internet. The Connect-on-demand option allows the router to establish a connection to the Internet only when a device on your network tries to access a resource on the Internet.
I am sorry for the wall of texts.
I got the same problem with some LAN port that is on my old desktop motherboard.
Usually, the issue is usually resolved by updating the modem driver, but sometimes it does not. In that case, then just get Ethernet PCI card, and the issue should be fine.
Try changing your DNS servers and see what that does for you.
Silly workaround – open up a command prompt, and type "ping http://www.google.com -t
That will leave it running forever, so your Internet will be constantly "in use".
I have seen this work before…
Messed up – it should be "ping http://www.google.com -t" – not sure how the -t got out of the quote…
Hello
windows 7 has a setting to put your network card to sleep mode if not used and this can be switched off plus it is normal for windows that after booting to have approx. 60 seconds without network connection (if dhcp is on with static ip it should be less)
Now to the annoying "disable network device if not used part"
go to your network cards preferences (where you can change ipv4 and stuff)
1. if ipv6 is enabled and not used as to your knowledge disable it (can slow down your connection)
2. go to configuration (new window should pop up)
3. go to power management and disable al 3 checkboxes
3. done
hope you can follow my explanation and find the settings because im not using an english windows and freely translated it from german
also a common know problem with lossing networkconnection is the "Task Offload" function from some Networkchips.
This happens more often than thought.
Mostly in networks with high loads of mutliple connections when using P2P Software (Torrents).
Second option could be that your PLC or Router(Modem is giving a to short lease time for the IP so when no activity is sensed it is possible that one of these 2 are "killing" your IP and needs some time to enable it again after the first packages have sent.
So option 1.) go to your networkcard settings and search for the "Task offload" function and switch if to OFF — this could reduce your computerspeed about 0,01%
Option 2.) try to connect to the both of theirs internal software and try to find if there is a "lease time" setting. — not many of them do have a option to change settings of this
the root for Option 2 is (if PLC is giving to short lease time) Windows 7 with some "creepy" energysaving functions which sometimes makes troubles with the Networkcard software.
If the Modem is giving to short lease time possible the PLC is having a problem cause by windows 7 energysaving functions which let the PLC "disconnect" from the Modem.
The root for Option 1 is an old Hardware bug which is not 100% solveable.
This comes from to high load from many connections in combination with high signal levels so the "onboardchip" gets to hot in one spot — its like a stalled part of the Networkchip which needs to "reboot" to set it free again.
On easy try to see if it is the networkchip in your computer.
when the problem occures — go to networksettings and disable/enable it shortly — if this helps try option 1 to solve it.
“Maybe Win7 finds it witty to put the network card to sleep when it is not used, but that wouldn’t make sense.” Well I guess it doesn’t make sense. That is turned on by default(at least on mine).
You can just open device manager and select your network card from the list select its properties and go to the power managment tab and uncheck the box.
Don’t have much experience PLC but trying to connect with Ethernet is worth a try to see if that is a problem if the above doesn’t work.
As for trying a linux liveCD, you if you a spare flash drive you could just make it do the exact same thing. Ubuntu has an easy tool to do it here: http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download
Not sure if you have solved this or not.
Degrading performance sounds like hardware failing. I would suspect it's the PLC units first from your description and the age of the units. A quick connect of a cable to your ISP box from your PC would tell you that.
I have also seen routers slowly degrade overtime and performance drops until it fails altogether. eg the freebox unit.
Windows could be 'putting it to sleep' but that usually only happens with USB devices and laptops to save power.
Yeah, you could use wireless too as a option to the PLC units. it's bit more complicated to setup.
Actually, nothing changed, so I guess it's "wait and see" :-/
Slightly random question, Oliver – I was troubleshooting some PLC issues for a friend recently myself. I'm a bit late to the party, but here goes…
We couldn't find anything wrong with the PLC units themselves after testing them at a different house. The computer in question was a laptop, which also worked fine at another house – which pointed to a problem inherent to his home (or more specifically, with his home's wiring.)
His issue turned out to be some standing lamps he had plugged in – specifically, the type that dim or brighten when you touch the base of the lamp (some people call them switchless.) What happens in the case where you haven't got the laps at full brightness is that the voltage the lamps aren't using is dumped back into the wouse wiring, and throws off the voltage assumptions most PLC units rely on to function properly.
More google research reveals that many people have issues with PLCs when using MANY types of dimmers in the house; whether they're built into the wall switch or the appliances themselves. I have no idea if you've got any of these plugged in anywhere in your house, but I figured it coulnd't hurt to spread the word…
You might also test your home's many outlets to make sure they're all grounded properly – one improperly grounded receptacle can throw off voltages across the board. Most home improvement stores will sell a tester unit for fairly cheap.
This was one of the first things I did after moving into my apartment several years ago, and I'm very glad I did; over half my outlets tested with a faulty ground! I have WAAAY too many electronics to trust them to bad voltage.
I replaced ALL the outlets and switches (which took about a day) before I plugged everything in, using wiring diagrams off the web. The peace of mind alone was well worth it.