Internet freezing/cutting out.

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Cannibal wrote on 2012-05-03 18:40

Soo, this has been going on for a while now, but it's really starting to get to me.

Basically, no matter what I'm doing online, my internet will like freeze up for ~15 seconds and then start working again. This makes it reeeally hard to play games, because usually it disconnects me.

Also, I don't think it's the internet itself, because three other people in my house use laptops and connect to the same wifi, yet this has never happened to them.

Do you guys think my card is going bad or what? Is it something I can fix myself?
TA wrote on 2012-05-03 22:25

If they're on the same router and it never happens to them, then yeah... it does seem that it's likely something on your end.

There are some settings you can mess with first to see if it helps. Call up the company that made it and they can walk you through it.
rzetlin wrote on 2012-05-04 16:04

First you have to determine if this is your internet connection (ISP) or your own PC.

You mentioned you have other people connecting to your internet connection with no issues.

If that is the case then it would be something on your PC.

What game are you playing that is having the issue?

What happens if you install the game on a different PC? Does the same internet issue happens?
Yoorah wrote on 2012-05-04 17:12

But are the other people actually playing games to notice if the 'net goes out for 15 secs? 'cause maybe it happens to everyone, but they just don't know it. :P

I suggest you check your router's system log. The router's control panel can usually be accessed at http://192.168.0.1 or http://192.168.1.1. See if there's anything that would hint a disconnect has occurred, or post the log here and we can take a look at it for you. You may want to make sure the router's system clock is probably set, too, so that the timestamps in the log are meaningful. You could also clear the log after that to make sure it's consistent, then wait for the disconnect before taking a look at the log once more. :3

If it's not the ISP or the router that's causing it, then it's some software/malware on your PC.. and that would be a pain in the ass to troubleshoot/sterilize. I'd just use the scorched earth approach and format/reinstall Windows.
TA wrote on 2012-05-04 20:49

Quote from Yoorah;855654:
If it's not the ISP or the router that's causing it, then it's some software/malware on your PC.. and that would be a pain in the ass to troubleshoot/sterilize. I'd just use the scorched earth approach and format/reinstall Windows.

Uh no.................. Ethernet card going bad is very likely.

In fact, you can get a little usb thing at Best Buy for pretty cheap if you wanna test and see if it doesn't disconnect you with that.

You also have to consider interference that may be where you are, but not where others are.

You can also try a direct internet connection to bypass the wifi.
Yoorah wrote on 2012-05-04 23:34

An Ethernet card going bad is likely now? lol.. says the guy who replaced every part in their PC instead of the graphics card, which was the most likely component to fail as I had said back then. :P Buying a new USB card is probably not a good way to test this, as this will not isolate software as a possible culprit, with a new interface being created and all.

But no, network interface card hardware is pretty darn reliable. Unless you do something to damage them, they'll typically last for more than a decade. <_<

(And I thought this was about Wi-Fi?)

Anyway,
1) Check with the others if they are not having the same issue for certain. Because unless they are playing games too, they would probably not notice the brief oudatage.
2) Check router logs!
3) Actually, you can check modem logs, too. But their control panels are usually a bit harder to get to, depending on the model and your ISP's policy. You'd have to Google it or give us the modem's model number so we can try to figure it out. :P I have a Motorola DOCSIS (cable) modem, and I can access its logs through http://192.168.100.1, for example.

Just curious, but are you on a cable internet connection? 'cause mine did that while the ISP was doing maintenance work.

Also, does Windows notify you about the outage with any sort of message? Does your wireless connection lose signal?

Other things you should check:
1) Is the wireless router's firmware up to date? Firmware updates sometimes improve reliability and such.
2) Same thing for your laptop's wifi card.
3) If the signal sucks, you could try setting a different frequency channel on the wireless router. Or run it's auto channel selector function if it has one available.
Cannibal wrote on 2012-05-05 00:29

I'll have to wait until my mom's home to get the router's log-in info. As for others having the problem, yes, I'm certain they're not. When my laptop was being repaired a few weeks ago, I'd borrow my mom's to game, and I never had this problem happen with it. It also doesn't only happen when I'm gaming. I'll just be surfing the web, and my browser will slow down and stop loading things. Then, it takes me to that "cannot load webpage" screen or whatever.

Windows doesn't notify me about anything, either. I'm on cable, yes.
TA wrote on 2012-05-05 00:33

You think getting a $20 usb stick to test to see if it that part has gone bad, and then taking it back if it wasn't, is a bad idea, whereas using "the scorched earth approach and format/reinstall Windows" is a good idea, when it may not even be that to begin with?!

And if it was a software issue, there are a hell of a lot less inconvenient ways of solving the problem than telling someone to format their entire system and reinstall Windows. That just has to be the most lazy and desperate last resort suggestions you could possibly give someone...

I mean it's like someone says some icons on their desktop disappeared and you tell them that it must be a software issue so you'd format the whole damn thing and reinstall the OS. What the hell.

...nobody likes doing that.

Honestly, I'd call the company of the card in your computer, explain what's going on, and have them walk you through the troubleshooting steps that you can try so that you can determine what the problem is.