[Swesent]

We have two computers connected through a new(er) Netgear Router. My comp is connected by cable, my g/f's by wireless. Both of us experience the same problem, which is as follows;

We start our computers, we surf around the web with no problems. We leave internet usage inactive for a very brief time, sometimes not more than 1 - 2 minutes (not neccessarily leaving our computers). After a min. or two when either of us start Explorer again, it's just sitting there loading, trying to find the webpage and finally we get the "The page can not be found" message. So we hit refresh, we close and re-open Explorer a few times and usually after about 30 - 45 seconds internet is back - and as long as we're keeping our internet connection continuously active, we don't get any trouble.

A few times during these momentarily losses of our internet connection I have immediately logged onto the router and checked its Connection Status. All data and numbers appear just like they should. I even try to Release the connection data and Renew them and they all come back instantly = probably no glitch between the router and wherever it gets its connection data from. (And after connection data renewal Explorer immediately begins working again - even if less than those aforementioned 30 - 45 seconds have passed.)

I have tried cutting the power to both router, computers and modem for a lengthy time but did not help. I have updated the router's firmware to latest release but no improvement. I have scanned both computers for viruses, trojans, malware etc. - nothing found. I have tried bypassing the router, connecting only my computer directly to the modem and it worked flawlessly during the +8 hours I tested.

I have also tried (maybe completely far-fetched / useless things) like setting up static IPs on both computers and using OpenDNS but no improvement. Tried resetting the router to factory settings but that didn't help either. Patched it again, but got nothing.

So right now, I'm stuck with having to try opening a new window to see whether or not my Start-page will load (Google) before I do anything - even after nothing more than having internet idle for writing a quick short message in a forum.

I have also had this problem with two other routers, one older D-Link and an older Netgear.

We both find this very annoying and hope that someone here may have some solution for us to try. I'll gladly post any info and facts you'd want to know. And FYI, I'm on a stationary computer with Windows Vista Ultimate (Swedish Edition) and my g/f is on a laptop with Windows XP SE.

Thank you in advance!

/ Mike

[JohnWill]

Some things you can try here, listed in the order you should try them.

1. For wireless connections, remove all the stored wireless profiles and search for networks. You'll have to enter the encryption key again, which is sometimes the issue for connection problems.
2. For wireless connections, change the channel on the router, I like channels 1, 6, and 11 in the US.
3. For wireless connections, try moving either the wireless router/AP or the wireless computer. Even a couple of feet will sometimes make a big difference.
4. Update the network drivers (wired and wireless) on your computer to the latest available.
5. Update the firmware to the latest version available on the manufacturer's site.
6. Reset the router to factory defaults and reconfigure.

Many times these measures will resolve a lot of intermittent issues.

[TerryNet]

Keep Task Manager open and see if there is any sudden process activity during your browsing idle time--I'm thinking something like an anti-virus that runs when it thinks the PC is idle, and doesn't relinquish the CPU as quickly as it should.

Or, can also use Task Manager, see if there is sudden network activity when you stop browsing.

I wasn't sure from your description, but it sounds like you do not lose connection, because even when the browser is complaining about a web page you can still access the router; is this correct?

[Swesent]

Thank you very much for your responses John and Terry!

IMPORTANT: This is an update to this post. I just had a look at the connection log on my router which does not look quite right to me. I have attached a txt-file with the info I pulled. Please take a look - that can't be right now, can it? AFAIK I should be sitting on a steady connection, nothing that jumps in and out as crazy as that! / End of update.

John; Most of the steps in your list I have already done, however, I will check again for updated drivers and also reset my router to factory settings one more time to see if it helps.

Terry; You've got it perfectly right. I can always log onto the router which I've done several times as soon as Explorer has started complaining. Just as quickly I have also let the router release and renew the internet connection data which has always been successful without any delays. This, to me, indicates that there is no problem between my router and my ISP. I get the feeling that whatever's causing this has to be playing ball either in or between the router and our computers.

FYI - I forgot to mention in my first post; I also have an XBox 360 connected to the same router (three devices in total are using the router). When using my X360 it logs on to XBox Live and that always works without connection trouble. And not once have I ever seen the X360 complain about losing connection to internet like Explorer does every now and then. (I do not have my X360 running when using my computer so there should be no conflict-issues to think about.)


Since yesterday, I have also re-enabled the Windows Firewall, as well as run a complete scan with an online virus/trojan/malware scanner ("Kaspersky") and with Windows Defender. Both came up green and clean.

I do not have any programs installed (that I know of) that should have any reason to get active during internet inactivity. I do count up to thirteen instances of "svchost.exe". I know that they act springboards for DLL-files but thirteen, isn't that a bit much?

I have also included an "IPConfig /all" at the bottom of this post - just in case it could reveal any helpful information - something that appears faulty or something. (Sorry that it comes out in Swedish, don't know if/how it can be displayed in English.)

Thank you again for your time, attention and help!

/ Mike


- - - - - IPConfig / All - - - - -

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6001]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. Med ensamrätt.
C:\Users\Michael>ipconfig /all
IP-konfiguration för Windows
Värddatornamn . . . . . . . . . . : michael-e464bf3
Primärt DNS-suffix. . . . . . . . :
Nodtyp. . . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP-routning aktiverat . . . . . . : Nej
WINS-proxy aktiverat. . . . . . . : Nej
Ethernet-anslutning Anslutning till lokalt nätverk:
Anslutningsspecifika DNS-suffix . :
Beskrivning . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR8121/AR8113/AR8114 PCI-E Ethern
et Controller
Fysisk adress . . . . . . . . . . : 00-23-54-37-4E-6C
DHCP aktiverat. . . . . . . . . . : Ja
Autokonfiguration aktiverat . . . : Ja
Länklokal IPv6-adress . . . . . . : fe80::8d9c:a90d:c4f5:e797%9(Standard)
IPv4-adress . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.2(Standard)
Nätmask . . . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lånet erhölls . . . . . . . . . . : den 24 juli 2009 06:10:28
Lånet upphör. . . . . . . . . . . : den 25 juli 2009 06:10:28
Standard-gateway. . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DHCP-server . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
DNS-servrar . . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.1.1
NetBIOS över TCP/IP . . . . . . . : Aktiverat
Tunnelanslutning: Anslutning till lokalt nätverk*:
Anslutningsspecifika DNS-suffix . :
Beskrivning . . . . . . . . . . . : Teredo Tunneling Pseudo-Interface
Fysisk adress . . . . . . . . . . : 02-00-54-55-4E-01
DHCP aktiverat. . . . . . . . . . : Nej
Autokonfiguration aktiverat . . . : Ja
IPv6-adress . . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:d5c7:a2d6:3878:3975:ac53:aec7(Stan
dard)
Länklokal IPv6-adress . . . . . . : fe80::3878:3975:ac53:aec7%12(Standard)
Standard-gateway. . . . . . . . . : ::
NetBIOS över TCP/IP . . . . . . . : Inaktiverat
Tunnelanslutning: Anslutning till lokalt nätverk* 10:
Tillstånd . . . . . . . . . . . . : Frånkopplad
Anslutningsspecifika DNS-suffix . :
Beskrivning . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.{4A6F0B3B-575A-4D83-A07E-75EF5BB55
9D7}
Fysisk adress . . . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP aktiverat. . . . . . . . . . : Nej
Autokonfiguration aktiverat . . . : Ja
C:\Users\Michael>

[TerryNet]

After studying the router log for awhile I decided that probably the router checks every 10 minutes to make sure it still has communication with the ISP--"the time is 03:10:33 and all is well in Swesent land." The disconnect messages indicate a problem unless those are when you told it to release/renew.

The ipconfig /all looks fine to me. Because it has a strict format and is half numbers usually we can read it no matter the language.

I now have fifteen instances of "svchost.exe", and I'm doing practically nothing; your number of svchost.exe is not a problem.

I do not have any programs installed (that I know of) that should have any reason to get active during internet inactivity.

All the more reason to check to see if there is something behind your back. Other than checking for unexpected CPU or network usage I really don't have any other ideas.

[Swesent]

Thank you Terry for your continuing support!

I hope this doesn't come back and bite me in the *ss just as I hit Submit.
I cut the power to both the router and the "fiber converter" modem thing for at least ten minutes. I also phoned my ISP and had one digit on their MAC-address corrected, which they've gotten wrong. (Somewhat surprised that I could access the internet even though they had "locked" my line to a non-corresponding MAC-address.)

And to top it all off I pressed the router's reset-button for half a minute after I had reconnected the power (also had my computer off during all this).

I do not know what or why, but since then the connection has seemed OK. Maybe that last wrong digit in my ISP's MAC-address caused this. Maybe the even lengthier and simultaneous power-cutting managed to flush away some trash packets or something - I have no idea.

I'll just make sure to enjoy the situation for as long as it is holding up and knock my knuckles bloody on the wooden desk I'm sitting at.

Thank you for everything and I apologize if I seem to have bothered you with a trivial problem in the end. I'll be back should things go south again.

A great weekend to you!

/ Mike

[TerryNet]

You haven't bothered me at all. I'm learning from your actions!

You have a great weekend also, and I hope that by Monday you can report continued success.