Apple airport extreme--works fine with wifi macbook, but hardwired PC always needs to "reconnect"

May 23, 2007 12:04 PM

Apple airport extreme--works fine with wifi macbook, but hardwired PC always needs to "reconnect"

When left idle for a while, the internet loses it's connection and is prompted to reconnect, which it does and internet returns normally. So far it seems to only happen on the PC which is connected by wire. I installed latest updates from apple. Is this a common problem and how do I fix it?

Thanks.

posted by 0217174 to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Is your PC going into standby mode when left idle?
posted by damn dirty ape at 12:28 PM on May 23, 2007

Have you tried a different ethernet cable?

Updated drivers for your ethernet hardware on the Windows computer?

It might be a faulty ethernet socket either on the Airport Extreme or the PC.

I'm not sure what you mean by "prompted to reconnect"—does the computer seek a new IP address? Or just it just glitch out for a few moments?
posted by humblepigeon at 12:43 PM on May 23, 2007

Go into 'Device Manager', and then to the 'Properties' for your Network Adapter. In the 'Power Management' tab, make sure that 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power' is not checked.
posted by fiTs at 1:59 PM on May 23, 2007

No it doesn't go into standby or power saving.

The error that happens is this: if you were to unplug your network cable and open IE, a window will pop up saying you lost your internet connection, asking if you want to try again or cancel.

That's what happens. After clicking try again, it works fine. So it is not seeking new IP addresses or anything like that, it's simply loses sight of the router. So far I think it's only doing that with the wired LAN outputs. I'll try all your suggestions and play around some more. Thanks
posted by 0217174 at 3:47 PM on May 23, 2007

Does it say media disconnected? That usually means bad cable or perhaps a bad port on the router. Also, get the latest firmware for the airport extreme. Good luck!
posted by damn dirty ape at 4:22 PM on May 23, 2007

This sounds like a hardware problem, either on the PC or the router.

One thing to try: If your PC has two ethernet sockets, try using the other. In my experience, the gigabit ethernet connection never works well unless you're actually using gigabit ethernet (which I've honestly never tried).
posted by humblepigeon at 2:32 AM on May 24, 2007