[SimianRaticus]

Okay, I've been having a lot of problems with my connection, and I was thinking maybe it could have something to do with the fact that I've never updated my modem's firmware. I'm not sure exactly how to do this, though, so if anyone could walk me through it, I'd really appreciate it. As it says it the subject line, I have a Westell 6100, and I'm not sure if this would be relevant, but my ISP is Verizon. Thanks.

[SimianRaticus]

Just to clarify, the whole reason I'm wondering about this is because I've been have serious connection troubles. I'll often get disconnected, and I'm almost having trouble with my connection speed. Every so often, my download speed lowers from the 1500 kb/s to 150 kb/s and lower. My upload is usually unaffected. Also, I'm certain that the problem has nothing to do with my router, because these slow speeds carry over even when the router is disconncted. I've also noticed that when I disconnect either my modem or router and then reconnected, the network icon on my taskbar stays on "acquiring network address". I tried selected repair, but it said something in the vain of "could not complete the following action: register with dns". I've also noticed that when I switch my IP from static to dynamic, I'm unable to connect to the internet, and also, when I input ipconfig in command prompt, nothing comes up, just a bunch of zeros in the place of where my ip, dns, etc. would normally be. Anyway, I just mentioned these things, because I figured they could be related. Do you think my not upgrading my firmware could be causing all this?

[JohnWill]

I'm going to guess this also has nothing to do with the Westell 6100, but rather the ISP and/or interior wiring.

[SimianRaticus]

Could you elaborate a little? What can I do to fix things?

Also, I should point out that I have two modems and I'm having the same problem on both.

[JohnWill]

Further evidence that it's not the modem.

The fact that you come up with zeros indicates you may have a problem with either the Ethernet NIC hardware or drivers. The other common reason for that is a duplicate IP address on the network. However, if they're all zeros, I think it's the first option.

[SimianRaticus]

Well, what can I do?

[SimianRaticus]

Anyone?

Sorry, I don't mean to sound like I'm rushing anyone. Afterall, you don't have to help me. It's just that I keep getting disconnected, and I'm worried things will worsen, and I won't be able to get back online.

[JohnWill]

You need to download and reload the latest drivers for your NIC, if that doesn't do it, I'd pick up a PCI Ethernet NIC and replace the one you have.

[SimianRaticus]

God, I hate to be one of these people, but could you tell me where specifically I could download those drivers? As I said, my ISP is Verizon and I'm using a Westell 6100. If there's any other information you need, let me know.

Also, is the PCI Ethernet NIC the yellow Ethernet cable or something else? Forgive my ignorance.

[JohnWill]

I wouldn't have a clue where to download them. See my comment about not being clairvoyant. I have no idea what equipment you have, you never told us that.

Please supply the following info, exact models of the equipment please.

The name of your ISP and country of residence.
Make/model of the broadband modem. If dial-up, please specify.
Make/model of the router (if any).
Connection type, wired, wireless.
Make/model of network card or wireless adapter.
Make/model of your computer (motherboard if home-built).
Version and patch level of Windows on all affected machines, i.e. XP-Home SP2.

[SimianRaticus]

- Verizon, USA
- Westell 6100 (DSL)
- Linksys WRT54g ver. 6
- Wireless
- WMP54G Ver. 4.1
- Dell Dimension 2400
- XP Home SP2

[JohnWill]

The NIC (Network Interface Card) is in the Dell 2400. If you go to the Dell site www.dell.com, and enter your service tag number, they'll direct you to the correct drivers.

[SimianRaticus]

Thanks. I'm not sure what the procedure is, though. I mean, am I supposed to unplug my router and wired the PC directly to the modem when doing this? Or can I just install the drivers everything as is?

[SimianRaticus]

Nevermind my previous post. I just installed the driver and now everything's fine. Thanks for the help.

[SimianRaticus]

Okay, so I'm having the same problem as before. Everything is explained in this thread:
http://forums.techguy.org/networking...e-westell.html
To summarize, basically my connection speed has lowered from the 1500 kb/s to lower than 150 kb/s, and my upload is unaffected. I've been having this problem for awhile now, and usually, I've managed to temporarily fix the problem by doing various different things. The last time I tried downloading the NIC driver from my PC's manufacturer's website as was suggested in the previous thread I made. And this did solve the problem, but just today, I started having the same problem again. I'd really appreciate some help.

Also, in that same thread, it was suggested that I might need a new NIC card, but this is kind of a problem, because in the coming months I plan on buying a new computer, so it would be ridiculous to spend any money for something for a PC I won't be using anymore.