No Internet access occasionally

Ivan8ias

Ivan8ias

Hi Elizabeth,
You always have answers to my questions. :) I keep my computer on 24/7 because of my home automation program web interface. Recently, I noticed that several times over the past few weeks, my automation stopped working due to no Internet access. The network card is functioning properly and I have LAN access to all my other computers all the time, which, incidentally, always have Internet access. Any ideas what might be the problem? The icon on the taskbar always shows connected at 100MBs. After rebooting, all is fine for weeks at a time.

Thank you for any help,
Ivan
 
is it just one pc, and are all connected to each other?

connectivity is usually an ISP problem, where I live there are outages every time the wind blows, sometimes short and sometimes longer.

are there any error messages in event viewer at the particular outage that will give a clearer picture?

have you talked with your provider?
 
ELizabeth, thank you for your prompt reply. I have Verizon Gigabit FiOS and never had any outages. The three computers are Ethernet connected directly to the FiOS router and through the router they form the LAN, which I have no problems with. They connect with each other all the time. The other two laptops have uninterrupted Internet access all the time. The computer running XP is on a 1500 Watt UPS which, incidentally, I replaced the batteries on, so there's no power interruption. Everything is working fine, except for the times the XP machine looses Internet access. I have the machine tucked away in a spare bedroom with the monitor always off. It sits there doing its thing, 24/7 until I notice that the home automation has stopped working from time to time. Since it is based on a web interface, I see that it cannot access the browser, even though it reports that the network connection is working properly at 100Mbs. Both Firefox (which is the default browser for HomeSeer automation control) and IE cannot connect to the Internet until I simply reboot and all is fine again until the next time. It's really weird because it affects both browsers. And it's not the AV program. This just started happening a month or so ago. At this point it's just a nuisance, but I was wondering what might cause this? Where can I access the event viewer? I rely on the home automation system for security and remote access through its app on my phone. Also, I haven't added any hardware or software, nor made any changes whatsoever to the computer.

Thank you,
Ivan
 
have you tried an older version of firefox with the update service disabled?

I have noticed that firefox is a lot slower with it's latest update for the ESR channel, and maybe your connection timed out?

but if you are on 24/7 this should not hamper connection as you stay connected all the time. Hmmmmmm.

start run :type in netsh winsock reset and then click ok and your online.

http://www.winhelponline.com/xp/winsock.htm
read the above tips on winsock repair.

it might be worth just checking one other thing: go to control panel > network connectors and right click on the one marked local area connection (ignore 1394 devices). Go to properties and scroll down the list until you reach tcp/ip - double click to select properties and confirm under the general tab that the device is set to obtain IP addresses automatically -if they were preset, make a note of the numbers before you change anything, If you change anything, click OK and reboot to make sure the cache is cleared and settings applied.

above (2) from HERE, might help
 
Hi Elizabeth,
I woke up this morning and all the lights were on, so I knew that my home automation program was not working. It said that it attempted 110 times for Internet access. I did check the network TCP/IP settings and DHCP was enabled, TCP/IP filtering was Permit All, LMHOSTS Lookup Enabled, Obtain IP Automatically and Obtain DNS Server Automatically.

However, I didn't try: start run :type in netsh winsock reset and then click ok and your online.

I will do that the next time the Internet connection fails. As always, the other laptops have uninterrupted Internet access and the XP machine has full LAN connections. After I rebooted, Internet access is working.
As I have said before, nothing was updated, no new hardware, no new programs, no changes, etc. for months. It just started to happen, now more frequently.

Just wanted to let you know.:)

Thank you,
Ivan
 
Hello again Elizabeth. It happened again last night. No Internet access but full LAN connectivity. After a reboot all is well again.....for now. Do you think it might be a hardware problem? I can't see how, since the card connects to the LAN, but I can't imagine that it would be the network card. It will connect to the Internet for weeks at a time and then just drop the connection sometimes. Weird.

Just wanted to run that by you. Thank you for your help,
Ivan
 
https://www.belarc.com/products_belarc_advisor

download and run above, it tells a lot about your computer and there may be a missing software update, but it really seems that it might be a hardware prob. when a component gets too hot it shuts down, there is a spray that can be used with electronic components to see which ones burn hot or cold, you might have to see if an electronic shop has this spray and can test the boards, but let me know what belarc says, you can paste a link to the html results.

also what is the version of the Homeseer program, I want to read up on that, please?

there is a registry edit I want you to make so that each shutdown/reboot will put an event in the event viewer:


SHOW REASON XP CRASH IN THE LOG FILES


If you would like to have more information about the reason of a Windows crash, you have to change a key in the Windows registry. Visit the following location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Reliability

and change the DWORD-value ShutdownReasonUI from 0 to 1.

Now you will find more information about the reason why Windows crashed in the log files, which are available through the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Event Viewer. If your problems are solved, restore the value to 0.

============

did you reset winsock?
 
Hi Elizabeth,
I typed a whole scenario and went to see the version of HomeSeer I have (HomeSeer Version: HS3 Standard Edition 3.0.0.368) , only to return here to see everything I meticulously typed vanished. :( Let me try to recreate what I previously typed. I have a 1GB/s NIC installed, replacing the integrated A-BIT network card on the motherboard, in the hopes of attaining those speeds on my FiOS Gigabit connection. No such luck. Maybe I should just reset my BIOS to the original settings for the internal network access and disable this BUS card. What do you think?

I will certainly try SHOW REASON XP CRASH IN THE LOG FILES to see why this computer occasionally, randomly shuts down unexpectedly. That doesn't happen that often, but don't forget, I leave it unattended for weeks at a time.

I take all your recommendations seriously, and appreciate all your help. It's just now that our rescue dog of twelve years just passed away and so many other circumstances have occupied our time.

Very sincerely,
Ivan
 
I am sorry to here about your dog, :(

do please try resetting the bios and keep an eye out to see if the shutdown still occurs, I am going to check on your version to see if any problems with that software have come up. Take all the time you need. Have a good holiday, :)
 
Elizabeth23 said:
I am sorry to here about your dog, :(

do please try resetting the bios and keep an eye out to see if the shutdown still occurs, I am going to check on your version to see if any problems with that software have come up. Take all the time you need. Have a good holiday, :)
Click to expand...
 
ELizabeth,
Thank you for your concern about our dog. It has become a sad holiday. I went up to the spare bedroom and reset the Bios for the former internal network card and we'll see what happens. In perspective, what is really important? You have been a very helpful friend to me. :) I will address the sh
utdown problem later.
Your good friend,
Ivan
 
Hello again Elizabeth,

I successfully returned to the onboard NVIDEA network controller. All seems fine now. My LAN 1304 connection appears at 400/Mb/s and my LAN connection is at 100M/s. We'll see what happens. As for the computer's random (rarely) shutdown I have replaced a defective case fan, blew out any dust from the CPU and also got an additional goose neck fan to cool the CPU several months ago. I think we're OK now. I will let you know of any future developments, should they happen.

You have been such a help to me.

Your friend,
Ivan
 
ELizabeth, you're the best. :) Thank you for your prompt reply. It's comforting to know that you are always there. Please keep up the good work! I always appreciate your help.

Your good friend,
Ivan
 
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