router problems

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zed Rafi
  • Start date Start date
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Zed Rafi

Hello all,

our router has been losing its internet connection quite frequently
recently.

Does such a problem normal typically worsen with the age of the router?
Might it be our DSL modem? Might it be due to the internet usage (massive
downloads, etc...)? How do i determine the source of the problem??? Can it
be linked to massive bandwidhth usage by Azureus on one of the computers?

setup:

6 computers on WinXP SP2
1 of the computers downloading massively on azureus

i feel i'm not giving you enough info to help me fid the problem; please
feel free to inquire more in order to help me identify the problem.

thanks
 
Zed Rafi said:
Hello all,

our router has been losing its internet connection quite frequently
recently.

Does such a problem normal typically worsen with the age of the router?
Might it be our DSL modem? Might it be due to the internet usage (massive
downloads, etc...)? How do i determine the source of the problem??? Can it
be linked to massive bandwidhth usage by Azureus on one of the computers?

setup:

6 computers on WinXP SP2
1 of the computers downloading massively on azureus

i feel i'm not giving you enough info to help me fid the problem; please
feel free to inquire more in order to help me identify the problem.

thanks
Click to expand...
I had the same symptoms with a 3 years old US Robotics router. To make it
work again, I had to switch the router down for 20 sec. and then it worked
again for some hours. My first thought was the router had an intermittent
hardware problem, and I intended to replace it with a D-Link. But after
having found similar problems on Internet with the D-Link, I changed my
mind. It appears that all those routers seem to become relatively hot and
then start to regularly loose connection after a time.
So I gave a try to remove the cover of the box, and it appeared to work days
after days without any problem.
Finally, I cut a hole on the top of the box and mounted a small chipset fan,
so I could again work with the box closed. I took the power from the power
adaptor. It' s only 5 V, but the speed is enough to keep the router cool,
and it's silent. No problems anymore (after 5 months).
 
Hello all,

our router has been losing its internet connection quite frequently
recently.

Does such a problem normal typically worsen with the age of the router?
Click to expand...

It can, if the router was persistently overheating and it
wore out the capacitors inside, or if over time, the socket
contacts were contaminated with residue/dirt/smoke/whatever,
or stress on a network cable reducing it's electrical
continuity.

This time of year with the temp changes, it could as easily
be a problem with the lines outside your home, or if your
lines are routed in an attic or other areas subject to large
temp changes, even inside the home in a non-dwelling area.

Might it be our DSL modem?
Click to expand...

Does the modem have connection or status lights (LEDS?)?
If the router is logging this, what do the logs show?
When the connection goes down, can you ping other systems
(if there are any) on your lan, or ping the router, or can
you do a tracert to some IP number on the internet
(specifically the IP number, not a domain name), THEN if
that works, tracert a domain name (website).
Might it be due to the internet usage (massive
downloads, etc...)?
Click to expand...

On your end?
Not massive downloads elsewhere, unless there was some kind
of rare DOS attack momentarily that caused external changes,
not isolated to your connection. Have you contacted your
ISP? When the connection fails, right then is when you
should contact them to see if they see your modem on their
network.
How do i determine the source of the problem??? Can it
be linked to massive bandwidhth usage by Azureus on one of the computers?
Click to expand...

One of your systems? Why ask us this? Just stop all your
P2P/filesharing/etc activities at least long enough to see
what's going on. Maybe they're monitoring ports and trying
to discourage you from doing that through occasional
disconnects but I doubt it. Just don't do it, with the idea
being to remove as many variables as possible until you find
the source of the problem.

Generally speaking though, no, simply having massive
bandwidth would just make any other system's connections
sluggish, maybe even refused, BUT your other system doing
all that Azureus stuff should still be connected and
usurping all the bandwidth, the entire connection would not
drop to the router itself.

You might take the cover off the router and point a fan at
it for while and see if that makes a difference. Some of
the low-end consumer grade gear gets rather hot, maybe a lot
hotter if you're really hammering it.
setup:

6 computers on WinXP SP2
1 of the computers downloading massively on azureus

i feel i'm not giving you enough info to help me fid the problem; please
feel free to inquire more in order to help me identify the problem.
Click to expand...

Focus on getting one computer working, and the router and
modem, ignoring the other 5, actually not having them do
anything. Check your cables, swap in another cable, try
other ports on the router (and power cycle the router and
modem).
 
Zed Rafi said:
Hello all,

our router has been losing its internet connection quite frequently
recently.

Does such a problem normal typically worsen with the age of the router?
Might it be our DSL modem? Might it be due to the internet usage (massive
downloads, etc...)? How do i determine the source of the problem??? Can it
be linked to massive bandwidhth usage by Azureus on one of the computers?

setup:

6 computers on WinXP SP2
1 of the computers downloading massively on azureus

i feel i'm not giving you enough info to help me fid the problem; please
feel free to inquire more in order to help me identify the problem.

thanks
Click to expand...

Are you sure it's not your internet connection itself that is dropping,
rather than the router. FWIW, I had a similar problem which turned out to
be my serive provider's signal not being strong enough. This caused my
connection to drop intermittently. I have a cable broadband whihc was fine
for two years in my home then suddenlt the signal was no longer strong
enough. The provider added a signal amplifier and that solved the problem.
 
I agree w/ Peter, don't immediately blame the router, lots of possibilities
here.

I originally had a Linksys BEFCUM10 cable modem. But my connections would
stop working randomly, sometimes multiple times a day, sometimes not for
days, but the problem always returned. Looked everywhere BUT the cable
modem initially (called cable company, came out three times, switched
routers, etc.). Then a search on DSLReports.com indicated this Linksys
cable modem was known to have problems w/ dropped connections. So I picked
up a Motorola Cable Modem SB5100 from Amazon, and whalla, all my problems
went away. Haven't had an issue for the past 18 months since then.

That's why it's important to be VERY specific, brand/model helps a lot,
people may be aware of specific problems.

Jim
 
Zed Rafi said:
Hello all,

our router has been losing its internet connection quite frequently
recently.

Does such a problem normal typically worsen with the age of the router?
Might it be our DSL modem? Might it be due to the internet usage (massive
downloads, etc...)? How do i determine the source of the problem??? Can it
be linked to massive bandwidhth usage by Azureus on one of the computers?
Click to expand...

I had a similar problem and every time I phoned the cable company they
blamed my router. What I did in the end was write a small program that would
download a webpage once per minute and log success or fail to a file. I
found out my connection was down 10% of the time mostly from 2pm onwards. I
then took out the router and connected the cable modem direct to a PC and
ran the test again. While the outages did improve I think it was because I
ran it overnight when it is more reliable anyway. I phoned the cable company
told them the results when they tried to blame the router. Finally they sent
someone out and fixed the problem, which was that a piece of plastic was
stuck in the box on the wall where the cable goes into it, giving it a poor
connection. Since then my program hasn't missed downloading that webpage for
7 days straight.

Anyway that's probably not all that relevant to you except that if you want
the program I'm happy to make it available, just let me know.

Regards,
Michael
 
Zed said:
Hello all,

our router has been losing its internet connection quite frequently
recently.

Does such a problem normal typically worsen with the age of the router?
Might it be our DSL modem? Might it be due to the internet usage (massive
downloads, etc...)? How do i determine the source of the problem??? Can it
be linked to massive bandwidhth usage by Azureus on one of the computers?

setup:

6 computers on WinXP SP2
1 of the computers downloading massively on azureus

i feel i'm not giving you enough info to help me fid the problem; please
feel free to inquire more in order to help me identify the problem.

thanks
Click to expand...

you need another router to test it!

I had that prob with an old dlink and an old netgear.
now i have a linksys, I have faith in it! but not too much faith. i
have a spare!

Or, instead of a spare router. a spare pci dsl modem. VERY cheap. so
useful.
 
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