Cable Modem Connectivity Questions
I am having some connectivity issues
my internet connection putzes out after about 15 minutes and I have to reboot the computer. This started last night.
I am assuming it is my cable modem which is about 8 years old. So my question is, do I have to get a new one from TimeWarner?
I may or may not be online to see the responses, or to answer questions until Monday when I am at work. I do reboot to pick up email. Thanks for all the help. This is really annoying.
by
hobbit
asked 2 years ago
If rebooting the computer "fixes" the problem (if only temporarily), then I'd be disinclined to blame the cable modem hardware off the bat. The problem could be hardware or software in nature, and if it is a hardware problem, it could be your network card; your router (if you have one); your cable modem; or even something outside your home.
If the connection dies after the same amount of time every time, then my first guess is a configuration problem (something is set to timeout and the necessary feedback isn't getting to it).
Does rebooting the modem help? What happens to the status lights on the modem when the connection goes down? If they are unchanged, it's probably inside your house. If they change to indicate trying to establish connection, it's probably outside the house. If say no connection, it's less clear.
Is a hard reset (back to factory fresh) available on your modem? You'd have to work with TWC tech support to get everything reconfigured after such a reset.
not done, just out of space
Do you have an old computer that you can connect up, or can a friend bring over a laptop? It would be helpful to see if the problem happens with all computers or just yours.
If you have a pc, open a command window and type "ipconfig" are the results different when the connection is alive and dead?
If it says "media disconnected" it thinks (but could be wrong) that either the network card is bad or the cable has been disconnected.
If your IP number changes, something is probably off on your router configuration.
Admittedly, these are all pretty wild guesses-- it's hard to diagnose without knowing more details. Plus, I have DSL, so I don't know the ins and outs of cable modems. But I'll post more if anything else comes to mind.
Good luck!
P.S. If you do need a new cable modem, I'll bet TWC will give you a new one as a "loyal customer" of 8 years. AT&T gave me a replacement DSL modem after only 5!
Cable is fine, well I am assuming it is since I still have TV reception.
No router.
I only have the one computer. I haven't changed anything on the computer. But I was getting a weird malware attack yesterday when I was working on some stuff elsewhere. I wasn't officially ONLINE but as you know when you have cable it is never off.
the lights stay the same on the modem. I just lose internet connectivity. I do not know if there is a hard reset. I have already tried unplugging all the cables on it, there are no buttons. This is the modem that Time Warner gave me - officially they are not my internet provider someone else is who contracts with them blah blah blah. But I know they will replace it free if I take to their offices. Which seems like such a hassle.
If you encountered malware, maybe your firewall is kicking in? That would be consistent with an apparent need to reboot.
@heymo: but I am no longer encountering the attacks. Now I just can't connect to my ISP.
@hobbit: I could easily be barking up the wrong tree. But if the malware succeeded in planting some rootkit, worm, or other nasty on your computer, the following scenario could play out:
You boot up, everything is fine. You connect to the internet and get X minutes before the nastiness tries to initiate outbound traffic. The firewall does its job, slamming the door shut. No internet (at least not on the port you were trying to use). You reboot, and a new cycle intiates.
I'd recommend a prophylactic virus/malware scan and a check of your security logs. Never can be too safe.
There are lots of folks WAY more knowledgeable than I over here on deals. A little help?
Even if it is your computer, Time Warner should be able to help all the way to determining that. As long as you do not know the cause, then TW should help to diagnose it. After all, it isn't your responsibility to make sure their hardware is working as expected, especially after 8 years. I would recommend giving them a call.
A low-level tech can tell you whether or not your modem is connected to their network. If your computer is directly connected to the modem, the tech should also be able to help troubleshoot any configuration issues on that end of things. If you have a router provided by Time Warner, again, they will be able to help you go through the standard battery of tests. The only time I have had a cable company get wary of helping is when I have stated that I had my own router between my computer and their modem. Still, even if that is the case, you should be able to get some basic modem diagnostics out of the tech. (More on next post... out of chars)
Post #2:
As has already been suggested, do some malware / virus scanning. Microsoft Security Essentials is really a nice way to go, if you are running Windows. If you are not, well, I'd honestly believe it to not be your OS or an infection if you aren't running Windows. Another way to test this would be to use a Linux LiveCD as a test. You can download one of those and burn it or put it on a USB key, and then boot your system from that. If it can still connect to the net, and you aren't experiencing the disconnect, then the issue is likely a software problem.
If TW can't figure it out, and the LiveCD doesn't work, the best bet would be to go through the hassle of getting a new modem. I'm a bit surprised they wouldn't send out a service person to check that, so you could ask about that through the support #. That would also allow someone to check your physical cable, to make sure the line itself is good. We had some connectivity problems that resulted from a bad cable drop.
@apfrehm: bleh, wasting a third post to add extra info:
When our cable drop was bad, we got television just fine, but the internet connection was quite flaky. Even if you have a TV signal, the issue could be your physical connection. That's something a tech should be able to read remotely off of your modem.
@heymo: I did all of that BEFORE I posted this. But thanks.
I found it, it was a weird section of my firewall apparently. One that I had never seen before that for some reason decided to block everything. Thanks for the suggestions.
@hobbit: Sorry! In that case, I think @apfrehm's suggestion to try a live CD (if you can make one at work) is a great one. At least that will let your rule out the OS.
Another thing (if you haven't tried it already) would be to monitor the connection to see if it really stays dead or comes in and out intermittently. I had a coworker with a wonky network card that would cycle on and off randomly. It drove our IT guy crazy.
@heymo: Psst. You replied to hobbit's previous post, without noticing that her next one said that she'd fixed it. Hooray! for the fixing.
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