Couple of days ago, I'd get random cases where I'll have a bunch of tabs open in the Firefox browser ... everything working fine (always has in the past), then out of no where I lost all connectivity to the internet. If I clicked on a tab, it would just sit there and spin and never re-connect ... zero connectivity to the internet at that point. I tried my other browsers (Explorer and Chrome) at the point thinking it might be Firefox, but they were also non-functional. Closing the browses and re-opening them didn't help.
If I rebooted my computer, my internet functionality would return most of the time ... but sometimes it didn't. I talked with my brother who suggested I change my network settings to use the Google public DNS server addresses of 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4 thinking my internet provider's server might be having intermittent issues. I changed the DNS server addresses as he suggested, and all seemed to run fine for about 10 hours, then I lost network to the internet again. Again, rebooting the computer brought it back.
So, anyone else have ideas of what might be going on? Maybe the network interface card is going bad? Maybe I should open up the box and ensure the network card is seated well, maybe remove and re-seat it?
Here's a screen shot of the DNS setting change that seemed to work, but apparently that wasn't the fix. I'm running Windows 7 and it's all up to date.
Internet Network Issues
- Thread starter ZeeOSix
- Start date
Did you check your broadband router to see if all the lights are a steady green or whatever color they're supposed to be? A flaky internet connection can easily cause this.
I would have the machine obtain the DNS server address automatically. Does the machine have a separate networking card? I haven't had a machine with an individual network card in ages.
Put all the PC settings back to obtain automatically and reboot both your router and modem or whatever gear you have. Do this with the ethernet cable disconnected from the PC. If you have a separate modem and router let the modem come up first with all its status lights then plug the router in.
Also to narrow issues out, change the PC settings back to automatic reboot the modem and plug the PC directly into the modem. One way to figure out if it's a routing issue.
Last edited:
My first though would be to uncheck the IPV6 Internet Protocol since it is not functioning.
Instead of rebooting try just disabling and enabling the network adapter.
That should at least renew your IP address (likely from your router)
Check the "Status" of your network adapter-
Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Does your router support Gigabit?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
Who is your internet provider?
What router / modem do you have?
Checking for a log on the router might give some clues.
Originally Posted by SureshR
Did you check your broadband router to see if all the lights are a steady green or whatever color they're supposed to be? A flaky internet connection can easily cause this.
Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Does your router support Gigabit?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
That's what my 2nd thought would be I had that issue even though I'm not on gigabit speeds.
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
I would have the machine obtain the DNS server address automatically. Does the machine have a separate networking card? I haven't had a machine with an individual network card in ages.
Put all the PC settings back to obtain automatically and reboot both your router and modem or whatever gear you have. Do this with the ethernet cable disconnected from the PC. If you have a separate modem and router let the modem come up first with all its status lights then plug the router in.
Also to narrow issues out, change the PC settings back to automatic reboot the modem and plug the PC directly into the modem. One way to figure out if it's a routing issue.
Yes, you narrowed down you don't have an issue with the ISP since you're browsing wireless with your phone while the PC is offline.
Try doing what shanneba mentioned - Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
I had a similar issue and that worked for me in the past.
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Does your router support Gigabit?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
That's what my 2nd thought would be I had that issue even though I'm not on gigabit speeds.
Originally Posted by shanneba
My first though would be to uncheck the IPV6 Internet Protocol since it is not functioning.
Instead of rebooting try just disabling and enabling the network adapter.
That should at least renew your IP address (likely from your router)
Check the "Status" of your network adapter-
Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Does your router support Gigabit?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
Who is your internet provider?
What router / modem do you have?
Checking for a log on the router might give some clues.
Originally Posted by Oildudeny
Any firmware update for the internet adapter?
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
When you are having this issue, open up a command prompt (Windows Key + R, CMD) then type ipconfig and see if you still have a valid IP address. If you do, ping the ip address of your router. Do you get a response? If so, it isn't your network card. If not, do ipconfig /release and then ipconfig /renew and see if it is able to renew its IP address.
If you can't renew your IP address, move the ethernet cord from the port you are plugged into on your switch to another port. Does the connectivity return?
If the connectivity does not return, go into the properties of your adapter again, give yourself a static IP address outside the DHCP scope, set all the other parameters accordingly (SNM, Gateway) and then see if you have connectivity. If no, then we can conclude that it most likely has something to do with the NIC or drivers.
try unchecking the 'QoS packet scheduler' box . . . . . mostly not needed and often causes this kind of intermittant problems...
Last edited:
You may just need to turn on IPV6 in the modem.
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/actiontec-c1000a.html
I can uncheck IPv6 since it's not being used anyway ... but it's always been checked for 4+ years when I got this computer. When checked, it says "No network access" in the LAN status (as show in the screenshot in my 1st post), so I'm assuming it's being ignored (?).
I think I did try and just disable and re-enable the network card. Don't recall exactly, but I don't think it helped. I can try it again next time I get a lock-up.
Yes, as posted above the Auto Negotiation is on.
Not sure if this DSL modem supports Gigabit.
Internet Provider is CenturyLink, and I'm on DSL with their Actiontec model C1000A. It's been solid for 3 years. When I get a lock-up I've tried just rebooting the modem, but that didn't solve the issue.
It looks like your modem has Gig ethernet ports.
You may just need to turn on IPV6 in the modem.
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/actiontec-c1000a/ipv6-turn-on.html
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/actiontec-c1000a.html
I would try a "Speed & Duplex" set to: 100MB full duplex or specify GB
(I wonder if your install of the updated driver may have defaulted to "Auto Negotiation")
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Originally Posted by shanneba
My first though would be to uncheck the IPV6 Internet Protocol since it is not functioning.
Instead of rebooting try just disabling and enabling the network adapter.
That should at least renew your IP address (likely from your router)
Check the "Status" of your network adapter-
Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Does your router support Gigabit?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
Who is your internet provider?
What router / modem do you have?
Checking for a log on the router might give some clues.
Last edited:
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted by shanneba
You may just need to turn on IPV6 in the modem.
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/actiontec-c1000a.html
I can uncheck IPv6 since it's not being used anyway ... but it's always been checked for 4+ years when I got this computer. When checked, it says "No network access" in the LAN status (as show in the screenshot in my 1st post), so I'm assuming it's being ignored (?).
I think I did try and just disable and re-enable the network card. Don't recall exactly, but I don't think it helped. I can try it again next time I get a lock-up.
Yes, as posted above the Auto Negotiation is on.
Not sure if this DSL modem supports Gigabit.
Internet Provider is CenturyLink, and I'm on DSL with their Actiontec model C1000A. It's been solid for 3 years. When I get a lock-up I've tried just rebooting the modem, but that didn't solve the issue.
It looks like your modem has Gig ethernet ports.
You may just need to turn on IPV6 in the modem.
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/actiontec-c1000a/ipv6-turn-on.html
http://www.centurylink.com/home/help/internet/modems-and-routers/actiontec-c1000a.html
I would try a "Speed & Duplex" set to: 100MB full duplex or specify GB
(I wonder if your install of the updated driver may have defaulted to "Auto Negotiation")
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Originally Posted by shanneba
My first though would be to uncheck the IPV6 Internet Protocol since it is not functioning.
Instead of rebooting try just disabling and enabling the network adapter.
That should at least renew your IP address (likely from your router)
Check the "Status" of your network adapter-
Second check the settings for your network adapter card, is it set to Auto Negotiate the network speed?
Does your router support Gigabit?
Click in Configure- then "Advanced" and look for a Speed and Duplex
Who is your internet provider?
What router / modem do you have?
Checking for a log on the router might give some clues.
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
The modem is going to be set to auto negotiation by default, there's no reason to hardcode to ports to 100full, gig or whatever.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted by shanneba
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
The modem is going to be set to auto negotiation by default, there's no reason to hardcode to ports to 100full, gig or whatever.
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Also note that it was working just fine up until this point with the current set of drivers as per the OP's posts.
OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
Originally Posted by ZeeOSix
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
Also note that it was working just fine up until this point with the current set of drivers as per the OP's posts.
If the issue returns, follow the instructions I gave you earlier to isolate the issue to your computer or your networking equipment.
