Help troubleshooting friend's internet

seanw87

Hey everyone,

My friend is having some issues with his internet connection and I am out of ideas so I was hoping some of you more experienced folks might be able to point me in the right direction.

He loses connection at random occurrences for 5+ minutes at a time. Yesterday we did a format and fresh install of his OS, so it's not software/virus related. He's connected directly to his modem so it's not a router issue. The power level to his modem is within the recommended numbers. His wife has the same issue with her computer so it's not his network card.

This leads me to believe it's something with either his modem or the ISP. However, the ISP claims that his modem is perfectly fine and that there is nothing wrong on their end.

Is there something I'm missing or is the ISP not being thorough enough? Thanks in advance!

MAC_Addy

I had this problem before.

Someone was stealing my internet with my modem's IP address.

CompuTron99

If 2 computers are having the same issue, I would look at the ethernet cable / modem first. You didn't mention if the ISP was Cable, DSL, Fiber, etc. Does the modem have a USB connection that you try to use? Otherwise, you could have the ISP swap out the modem. If that doesn't help it may end up being a wiring issue.

Good Luck.

mrmcmint

ok... firstly...

Is it a router you can log onto?

From the pc, leave a continous ping going to Google and see what happens to the ping results when the connection is lost.
Also leave a continous ping going to the router.

Are you able to log onto the router whilst the internet connection is down? (will tell you if the problem is between your pc and router, or router to isp.

Have you tried logging onto the router and seeing what the connection details/speed is like to the isp when the connection drops?

Make damn sure that any device using a telephone socket in your house has an adsl filter plugged in.

If this is still an issue, go right to basics.

Unplug everything from any telephone sockets in your house and just leave the router plugged in and find out if it still happens.

RobertKaucher

seanw87 wrote: »

Hey everyone,

My friend is having some issues with his internet connection and I am out of ideas so I was hoping some of you more experienced folks might be able to point me in the right direction.

He loses connection at random occurrences for 5+ minutes at a time. Yesterday we did a format and fresh install of his OS, so it's not software/virus related. He's connected directly to his modem so it's not a router issue. The power level to his modem is within the recommended numbers. His wife has the same issue with her computer so it's not his network card.

This leads me to believe it's something with either his modem or the ISP. However, the ISP claims that his modem is perfectly fine and that there is nothing wrong on their end.

Is there something I'm missing or is the ISP not being thorough enough? Thanks in advance!

I had a similar issue with my home network. The problem was clearly something with DNS in my case. I would "lose the Internet" and then try to ping www.google.com and get nothing. I would then try to ping Google's IP address and it would work. Try surfing to Google and get nothing. Try surfing to their IP address and I'd get a web page. Time Warner had me do all sorts of things but nothing worked until I changed DNS servers.

You did not give a very detailed list of steps you have taken, so some of these might be things you have tried:

1. Change the DNS Servers on one of the PCs to
208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220
2. Try using NSlookup, ping etc and give us some more details about what you find.

seanw87

CompuTron99 - It's a cable modem and there is no USB connection. Swapping out the modem is a last resort because the ISP charges him to swap it if they don't think anything is wrong with it.

mrmcmint - We took the router out of the equation, he is connected directly to his cable modem. I'll have him run a constant ping and see if that reveals anything.

RobertKaucher - I don't believe it's with his DNS service. He is a big online gamer and he loses connection to the game server(which uses an IP, not a domain name) whenever this occurs.


I'll have him let me know the results of that constant ping and we'll go from there. Thanks for your responses!

Knives Out

seanw87 wrote: »

CompuTron99 - It's a cable modem and there is no USB connection. Swapping out the modem is a last resort because the ISP charges him to swap it if they don't think anything is wrong with it.

mrmcmint - We took the router out of the equation, he is connected directly to his cable modem. I'll have him run a constant ping and see if that reveals anything.

RobertKaucher - I don't believe it's with his DNS service. He is a big online gamer and he loses connection to the game server(which uses an IP, not a domain name) whenever this occurs.


I'll have him let me know the results of that constant ping and we'll go from there. Thanks for your responses!

To elaborate a bit more on Robert and mrmcmints ideas.. is the DNS server he's using the ISP's dns provider or an external solution like openDns?

Run continuous pings and traceroutes to google.com and its IP equivalent from his PC (or his wife's since you mention it happens to both of them) when the issue is occurring. Hell, even do the same continuous ping and traceroute to the default gateway ip. Compare it to when it is working and hopefully you'll find what the difference is and it'll point you in the right direction. The potential downside of using traceroutes is some ISPs block ICMP traffic and gives inconsistent results.

Over 3 years ago I worked for an ISP a couple years ago as a tech to fix "internet" issues on site for their customers, there was one prevalent problem where they couldn't reach websites by domain name (but could with IP address)..we had a tool from somewhere online called a Winsock fix. That would only work when it wasn't working all the time though, not intermittent issues so its probably not helpful whatsoever but thought I'd mention it.

seanw87

He's using the ISP's DNS server, he has no external solution.

I've instructed him to run the continuous pings and traceroutes next time it happens, so hopefully he'll give us something we can use.:)

crrussell3

I actually just had a similar issue with my cable isp. I would randomly loose internet connectivity for no reason, then it would bounce back after a few minutes. I called up, they said the single looked good, etc.

They "claimed" my issue was my network setup, like a bad cable, router, etc. After directly connecting and running nslookup and a continuous ping I was able to prove it wasn't my equipment.

Finally convinced them to come out and take a look, and it ended up being bad connections in the pedestal box outside in my yard, which was their problem. After he replaced the connections, everything has been perfect since.

rsutton

It still could be a modem/wiring issue. The ISP may claim it's OK from their end, but there is only so much they can see remotely, especially if the problem is sporadic. There is also only so much they know how to troubleshoot.

Xenz

Questions:

1. Is it Comast?
2. What is the "Internet"? Is it websites? Can he ping say 4.2.2.1?
3. Is it Comcast?
4. Does he get a notification that a cable is unplugged in Windows when this happens?
5. Is it Comcast?
6. What kind of modem (i.e does it have a diagnostic page to see any errors)
7. If it is Comcast, is it the black Scientific Atlanta box with their name on it?
7a) If so ask them to send you a Motorola surfboard.
7b) When that conversation is over, call back and ask them to swap you for a Motorola surfboard
7c) When that conversation is over, ask again to see if they'll swap your modem for a Motorola surfboard
7d) Repeat as needed until you reach the desired result.
8 )Can he ping the modem? Can he ping Google ?
9) Is it Comcast? I'm in Northern Indiana and for the past month their DNS has been so horrible I stopped using their DNS servers altogether.

Let me know if it's Comcast so I can immediately become suspicious of what their tech support says. You'll have to let us know if he can ping an IP i.e 4.2.2.1 or the an address like Google.

Just for reference, I have been stuck with Comcast for years since Verizon wont bring FiOS to me (jerks). I have dealt with all of their crap including the "It's your router" "it's your modem" (note I lease a modem from them so technically it's THEIR modem to fix) "you have malware" "It's your NIC" "Everything looks fine". I had a tech come out and tell me that I lose 30% of my signal by hooking my modem up to a router and it was my fault (oh man I wanted to punch that old man in the throat). The very next tech they sent told me there were a ton of errors coming off the pole into the house and it wasn't because I was "losing 30% signal by using a router".

mikej412

seanw87 wrote: »

It's a cable modem

What kind? Most modems now a days will have diagnostics and/or log capabilities.

Xenz wrote: »

7. If it is Comcast, is it the black Scientific Atlanta box with their name on it?
7a) If so ask them to send you a Motorola surfboard.
7b) When that conversation is over, call back and ask them to swap you for a Motorola surfboard
7c) When that conversation is over, ask again to see if they'll swap your modem for a Motorola surfboard

I had a Tarayon Cable Modem from Comcast -- but at least it wasn't one of the ones that would burst into flames

seanw87 wrote: »

The power level to his modem is within the recommended numbers.

So did the Tarayon cable modem -- but it turned out that it was programed to display only within the range of recommended numbers.

Xenz wrote: »

7d) Repeat as needed until you reach the desired result.

Finally got a Motorola surfboard and saw the real power level.... and eventually got DSL so I'd always have a working Internet connection. 4+ years later my cable connection still starts dropping out around November (as it gets cold) and comes back around March/April.

miller811

I just had the exact situation with my Comcast cable modem
I use the internet alot, and just random drops, 3-4 minutes.... could not ping, resolve etc...
Switched to opendns, and continued to the have the same problem.
Worked with Comcast via chat, rebooted modem etc... they told me to take to the local office and have it swapped, swapped it two days ago and have had a problem yet...

seanw87

It's not Comcast, it's a company called Baja Broadband that operates on the Army base out here. Unfortunately, since he lives on post, he is stuck with them. I don't know the brand/model number of the modem offhand, I'll ask him.

I also had an issue like this(I use Comcast) and it ended up being an issue with their lines that was affecting an entire neighborhood. Only took them a week to realize it and 3 days to fix it.

The "internet" being all connections to the internet including websites via domain names or IP addresses as well as online gaming servers. I do not know if he gets a notification that the cable is unplugged, I'll ask him to check for me.

Xenz

I've had conversations with multiple comcast techs. The little black boxes of **** they send out have major problems. So much so that if you have one they replace it before even bothering checking too much more. It's kind of funny. That's what I'm told from their field techs. I also learned that they get 1 day of phone, 1 day of Internet, and 3 weeks of cable TV training. So yeah, take anything you hear from Comcast on Internet with ultimate skepticism.

Every year they are out here to fix something wrong with their ****. I haven't had 1 tech yet tell me it was my fault with any sort of confidence. The one guy that told me that I got a 30% signal loss using a router was the one where I seriously wanted to harm any of their techs. If you get a decent tech you're lucky.

I had DSL, and then after complaining to them for a year my speeds weren't what they should have been, I got a guy that old me they set the speeds wrong. At which point I went back to Comcast. At least I get fast/semi reliable service 90% of the time rather than shitty service 100% of the time. SBCGlobal and Comcast here. WHERE ARE YOU FiOS I WANT YOU!

As far as the issue, we need more information to figure it out. The ping/tracert would help us to troubleshoot a bit more. Clarification on what "Internet" is would be nice. Tell him to check the lights too.