ask lj: computer network woes

[coraa]

So my shiny new laptop is very shiny and works beautifully, except for one thing -- it gets weird about the Internet sometimes.

There are three symptoms:

1. Not infrequently -- once or twice an evening, usually -- it drops the connection for some reason. This means that everything that requires the Internet (Firefox, AIM, Final Fantasy XI, etc), plus everything that require the local network (mapped drives, remote desktop, etc) all die at once. This can be fixed pretty quickly by repairing the connection, but it's annoying.
2. Also not infrequently (at least once and sometimes many times per evening), programs that involve streaming a lot of information over the Internet/network (primarily Final Fantasy XI and remote access to my desktop) will time out. No other Internet/network services are affected. This usually fixes itself between two and five minutes, allowing me to reconnect, without input from me, but is also annoying.
3. Sometimes, usually when coming out of hibernation or suspend, or more rarely while I'm actively using the computer, the connection will switch from 'local and Internet' to 'local access only.' This means that access over the local network is fine, but the Internet at large isn't available. Nothing seems to fix this besides rebooting my laptop, at which point it's fine.

Specs: It's a Dell laptop with Windows Vista Home Premium. The boy also has a Dell laptop (slightly different specs) with Windows Vista Home Premium, and he doesn't have these issues -- once in a while his connection drops, but not as often as mine, and the lag/timeout doesn't happen for him at all.

I have already disabled auto-tuning, which helped but not enough. I did the Microsoft Network Connectivity Testing thing, and it says that everything's working fine except Universal Plug and Play, which, I don't know whether that would be causing these symptoms or how to fix it if so. Otherwise, I'm puzzled, since the boy's laptop with very similar specs works just fine. I can't find anything in Event Log about it, either, although I suppose I might be looking for the wrong thing.

Anyone have any ideas what could be causing this kind of problem? Or an idea for a diagnostic I could use to figure it out? (It happens often enough that I could easily run a diagnostic until the problem appears, if that would help; I just don't know what to run.) It's really super annoying.

(Anyone who gives a response such as "Go back to XP" or "Switch to Linux" or "Switch to Mac" or whatever -- which are designed to make you feel superior rather than to help me -- will be roundly mocked and then soundly ignored.)

Comments

[geekjul.livejournal.com]

If you haven't yet, go to support.dell.com, put your service tag (from the sticker on the laptop) and update (or reinstall the existing even) the driver for your network/wifi card. And while you are there download the dell diagnostics tool and if there are other drivers that could be updated you could do those. If updating the driver for your wireless card doesn't work, then I'd recommend running the diagnostic. All it will give you is an error code, and then you'll have to report that code to Dell Support.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

I think I've updated the drivers, but it's definitely worth checking -- and if that doesn't solve it, I'll try the diagnostic. Thank you!

[triath.livejournal.com]

It seems to be all network related. Have you checked your network cable or wireless hub? Do the same symptoms occur with Pava's computer on the same cord or location compared to the wireless router?

[jmpava.livejournal.com]

I exhibit basically none of the symptons and the laptops are very similar (although not identical) - both being Dell Studios. We've tried comparing settings a few times.

[cwendy41.livejournal.com]

Not sure if this is valid or not, but in the past I had issues where my internet connection would drop periodically while other computers in the house were not affected. I noticed that when it did, the microwave seemed to be on, though not always. After a few OS updates, the issue went away. At my aunt's house, their internet connection would drop when the telephone (landline with wireless phones) rang.

[kagejim.livejournal.com]

Well, here's your problem! "It's a Dell laptop with Windows Vista Home Premium." -_^

On a more serious note, I was having not too dissimilar issues a while back, and it had to do with the router/modem configuration. Wound up switching the modem to bridge mode and it went away after that.