Why can't my computer connect to the internet reliably?

January 22, 2008 7:56 AM

I'm having an intermittent problem connecting to the internet, and the problem appears to be narrowed down to one computer, as others on the network are not affected. I say intermittent because if I click links or enter a url enough times, it eventually connects.

My desktop at home has Windows XP installed, and I mostly use Firefox (although the problem is not solved by switching to IE). When I attempt to click a link on a webpage, usually nothing happens. If I click enough times, eventually the status bar and/or indicator on the tab open will show that it's working, and a connection will be made. Same thing happens if I enter a url in the address bar - at first, nothing, but if I hit enter enough times, eventually the page will load, although often incompletely.

I know the problem is isolated to my computer (and not a router/ISP problem) because my wife's laptop connected to the same network has no problems at all. Additionally, the problem exists whether I'm connected with an ethernet cable or using a wireless adapter.

I've tried rebooting, but this seems to do nothing. I'm not really sure where to start a google search for this issue, as I find it difficult/lengthy to explain and I'm not sure what terms I should be using.

Are there certain settings in Windows that I can reset to defaults or check for problems?

posted by entropic to computers & internet (13 comments total)

Wireless router?
posted by Leon at 8:06 AM on January 22, 2008

You might want to first try clearing your temporary internet file cache in both browsers via the Tool menu (look for internet options for IE, Options for Firefox.)

If you continue to have problems, you'll want to do a virus scan and an adware/malware scan of your system with a program like SpyBot or Ad-Aware Free.
posted by Kioki-Silver at 8:07 AM on January 22, 2008

Oops, sorry, should read properly. Still could be the router... can you borrow one from somewhere, or take the PC to someone else's network? (It helps to rule things out).
posted by Leon at 8:08 AM on January 22, 2008

K-S, thanks for the suggestion, I'll try that. I'm pretty sure I cleared the cache last night, but I'll try it again and do a sweep.

Leon, does the other computer working fine on the network not rule out the router entirely? I have had to reset it occasionally, more frequently than I'd like to, but that always seems to fix it, and when I do need to reset it, the problem shows up as no connectivity with either computer, which seems unrelated to my current problem.

It wouldn't be particularly feasible to take the PC somewhere else or borrow another router, at least for several days. When I get home today I'll try tethering my phone and see if I get a connection that way - if I still have issues, that should rule out any network problems.
posted by entropic at 8:27 AM on January 22, 2008

Try changing the ethernet cable, it may be dropping packets.
posted by gjc at 10:11 AM on January 22, 2008

Check that you don't have the wrong DNS server settings hard set on that system, having a bad primary DNS setting will cause such delays. Also make sure it's not set to disable the card for power saving etc.
posted by clanger at 10:12 AM on January 22, 2008

The fact that you're trying with wireless and wired rules out the cable, and leaves (to my mind) two choices: really nasty Windows networking internals, or a conflict between your router and your PC. The conflict with the router is less likely IMO, but it's easier to diagnose (try a different router).

It's unlikely to be DNS, as that would fail completely, not intermittently. Unfortunately, "nasty Windows networking internals" is the sort of thing you have to be in front of the PC to diagnose, so we're left with asking the normal questions and hoping you get lucky.

Have you tried a repair from the install discs? Is everything fully up-to-date with windows update? Have you installed anything recently? Can you take the router out of the loop completely and connect the PC straight to the cable/adsl modem? When you type this into a command prompt on both PCs, do you get any dropped packets?

ping 158.152.1.58 -t
posted by Leon at 12:43 PM on January 22, 2008

I just tethered my phone, and everything seems fine when connecting that way. I'll now try bypassing the router and connecting with the ethernet cable directly to the modem. The thing I don't understand is how I could have a problem when connected to the router using wireless, but my wife's laptop has no problems.
posted by entropic at 8:25 PM on January 22, 2008

When I type above text into the command prompt on my PC (wired connection to the router) I get the following:


Pinging 158.152.1.58 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=192ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=165ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=178ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=151ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=145ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=170ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=171ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236




When I do the same on my wife's (wireless connection), I get:

Pinging 158.152.1.58 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=176ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=176ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=170ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=198ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=170ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=169ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=165ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=169ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=172ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=151ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=151ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=169ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=146ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=143ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236



To my uneducated mind, those don't look any different, and yet I still have connection problems only on my computer. When I connect directly to the modem, I get a "limited or no connectivity" message. This makes me think the problem has to be my computer, since that modem is providing a connection to the other PC no problem. And yet, if I tether my phone for a connection, everything seems to be fine (albeit a bit slow).

I think I'm just going to start pulling my hair out now.

Upon preview, the problem seems to be lessened when I disable the ethernet connection entirely and only use a wireless adapter, but it doesn't go away entirely.
posted by entropic at 6:57 AM on January 23, 2008

When I type above text into the command prompt on my PC (wired connection to the router) I get the following:


Pinging 158.152.1.58 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=192ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=165ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=178ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=151ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=145ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=170ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=171ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236




When I do the same on my wife's (wireless connection), I get:

Pinging 158.152.1.58 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=176ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=176ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=170ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=198ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=170ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=169ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=165ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=159ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=169ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=172ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=151ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=151ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=169ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=154ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=150ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=161ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=153ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=152ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=148ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=155ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=163ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=168ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=146ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=166ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=164ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=156ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=158ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=143ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=147ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=149ms TTL=236
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=167ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=160ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=157ms TTL=236
Request timed out.
Reply from 158.152.1.58: bytes=32 time=162ms TTL=236



To my uneducated mind, those don't look any different, and yet I still have connection problems only on my computer. When I connect directly to the modem, I get a "limited or no connectivity" message. This makes me think the problem has to be my computer, since that modem is providing a connection to the other PC no problem. And yet, if I tether my phone for a connection, everything seems to be fine (albeit a bit slow).

I think I'm just going to start pulling my hair out now.
posted by entropic at 6:58 AM on January 23, 2008

Sorry about that semi-double post, it happened because I had to click the submit button approximately five billion times before it actually submitted, but apparently it worked twice.

This is driving me insane.
posted by entropic at 7:25 AM on January 23, 2008

The "limited or no connectivity" message can mean a lot of things. Unfortunately, it rules nothing out or in.

The ping results from both machines show that it's dropping them from either machine, so the problem probably exists outside of either machine.

First, reboot everything.

Then get the program pingplotter (it's annoy-ware) and set it to ping yahoo.com or your isp's website continuously. On the results screen, it will show each machine it connects through to get where you pointed it. If you're lucky, it will show you exactly where the problem lies. If you're not lucky, replace the cable between the router and the modem and hope that fixes it.
posted by gjc at 9:05 AM on January 23, 2008

Ok, I'll try that, but I really believe it's isolated to my desktop PC. I'm currently on a laptop at home connected to the same network, and experiencing none of the symptoms that I do on the desktop. I don't see how it could be a router/modem/cable issue if the problem only occurs on that machine.

The thing that throws a big twist in this though, is that when using my phone tethered to the computer, there isn't a problem.
posted by entropic at 9:21 AM on January 23, 2008