Periodic Limited Connectivity

[Adrian101]

Hi,

I am running Windows Vista, and every so often, in intervals that can be anywhere from hours to minutes apart, my (wired) internet connection will seemingly die, telling me each time that it has limited or no connectivity. Each time to fix it the diagnose/repair tool 'resets the network adaptor,' after which it works fine, untill the next random time it dies. As a quicker option I have recently been disabling / re enabling the Local Area Connection network device, which also temporarily resolves the problem. I am in a residence and nobody else is experiencing this problem.

I have no idea what is causing this, and am hoping that somebody knows more than I do and could possibly help me out. Many thanks in advance.

 

[TerryNet]

To what are you connecting?

Please show the following for a good connection and for a bad one.

Start, Run, CMD, OK to open a command prompt:
(For Vista type CMD in the Search box after Start)

Type the following command:

IPCONFIG /ALL

[Note that there is no space between the slash and ALL.]

Right click in the command window and choose Select All, then hit Enter.
Paste the results in a message here.

If necessary use a text file and removable media to copy the results to a computer with internet access.

 

[Adrian101]

Line for line both reports are the identical while experiencing normal connection and for when it goes to limited connectivity;



Windows IP Configuration

Host Name . . . . . . . . . . . . : Adrian-PC
Primary Dns Suffix . . . . . . . :
Node Type . . . . . . . . . . . . : Hybrid
IP Routing Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
WINS Proxy Enabled. . . . . . . . : No
DNS Suffix Search List. . . . . . : uoguelph.ca

Wireless LAN adapter Wireless Network Connection:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : uoguelph.ca
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Network Con
nection
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-1F-3C-76-CD-89
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : uoguelph.ca
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : Atheros AR8121/AR8113/AR8114 PCI-E Ethern
et Controller
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-A0-D1-A7-57-DC
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : Yes
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::801c:9318:771f:cd0c%10(Preferred)
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.10.48.172(Preferred)
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Lease Obtained. . . . . . . . . . : September-19-08 4:15:12 PM
Lease Expires . . . . . . . . . . : September-20-08 4:15:11 AM
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.10.48.1
DHCP Server . . . . . . . . . . . : 131.104.20.10
DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 131.104.20.10
131.104.136.36
NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.uoguelph.ca
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 7:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.dwarfs.technopoly.ca
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 13:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . : uoguelph.ca
Description . . . . . . . . . . . : isatap.uoguelph.ca
Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-E0
DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes

 

[TerryNet]

Strange. In Device Manager right click on your ethernet adapter - Properties - Power Management tab. Don't allow the device to be turned off or to get reduced power. See if this makes any difference.

Open a Command prompt and try these three pings, with a good connection and again when the problem occurs.

ping 10.10.48.1
ping 206.190.60.37
ping yahoo.com

 

[Adrian101]

Unfortunately changing the power settings had no effect. The ping results with the problem are;

C:\Users\Adrian>ping 10.10.48.1

Pinging 10.10.48.1 with 32 bytes of data:
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.

Ping statistics for 10.10.48.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\Adrian>ping 206.190.60.37

Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.
PING: transmit failed, error code 1231.

Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\Adrian>ping yahoo.com
Ping request could not find host yahoo.com. Please check the name and try again.

And after I disabled/enabled the connection, for a good connection it is;

Pinging 10.10.48.1 with 32 bytes of data:
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.

Ping statistics for 10.10.48.1:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 0, Lost = 4 (100% loss),

C:\Users\Adrian>ping 206.190.60.37

Pinging 206.190.60.37 with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 206.190.60.37: bytes=32 time=28ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.60.37: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.60.37: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=54
Reply from 206.190.60.37: bytes=32 time=27ms TTL=54

Ping statistics for 206.190.60.37:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 27ms, Maximum = 28ms, Average = 27ms

C:\Users\Adrian>ping yahoo.com

Pinging yahoo.com [68.180.206.184] with 32 bytes of data:
Reply from 68.180.206.184: bytes=32 time=85ms TTL=54
Reply from 68.180.206.184: bytes=32 time=85ms TTL=54
Reply from 68.180.206.184: bytes=32 time=85ms TTL=54
Reply from 68.180.206.184: bytes=32 time=84ms TTL=54

Ping statistics for 68.180.206.184:
Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 84ms, Maximum = 85ms, Average = 84ms

 

[TerryNet]

I didn't find any good explanation for "PING: transmit failed, error code 1231." My guess is some corruption; maybe caused by some software running on your PC or maybe a "little" corruption that just gets worse over time. Try the following repairs. If they don't fix the problem, try running in Safe Mode with Networking to see if the problem occurs that way.

(From a JohnWill post)

TCP/IP stack repair options for use with Vista.

Start, Programs\Accessories and right click on Command Prompt, select "Run as Administrator" to open a command prompt.

Reset WINSOCK entries to installation defaults: netsh winsock reset catalog

Reset IPv4 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv4 reset reset.log

Reset IPv6 TCP/IP stack to installation defaults. netsh int ipv6 reset reset.log

Reboot the machine.

 

[Adrian101]

Hey, the problem did occur during safe mode. I also tried those repair options, and still have the problem.

 

[TerryNet]

Make sure you have the latest driver for the ethernet controller from your PC manufacturer's web site. Don't know what else to suggest.